St J Auto

June 9, 2008 Sweet Racing Scores Top 5 Finish in Connecticut Race

Waterford, CT -  ACT Late Model Tour Rookie driver Nick Sweet drove his STJAUTO.COM Pontiac to his best career finish on Saturday night, racing from his 10^th starting position up to 5^th in the Nutmeg State 100 at the Waterford Speedbowl, in Waterford, CT. 

 

This was Sweet's 6^th start of the season, and his third consecutive top 10 finish as he and the crew continue to ride a wave of momentum into the second ½ of the 12-race touring schedule.  "I am so excited and happy with our performance tonight," stated the 23 year old Barre, VT driver. "I really love this race track, and the car ran so well!"  The event was won by 26-year Scott Payea of Milton, VT, the current point leader on the tour.  Thirty-eight drivers attempted to qualify for the 30-car starting grid. 

 

Sweet qualified in the first round of qualifying early in the day, enduring 95 degree temperatures at the southeast CT speedway.  He started the main event in 10^th position, and wasted no time in moving up through the top 10.  Groton Connecticut's Ron Yuhas, Jr, a regular competitor at Waterfrord finished ahead of Sweet in 4th. "I thought I could get around the 96 car (Yuhas), but we just didn't have enough grip left in the closing laps, but 5^th is great, we are very happy with our run tonight."

 

Mike Loschiavo, co-owner of the Saint J Auto Group was delighted with Sweet's performance this weekend. "It's great to see that Nick is bettering himself with every race!  He is definitely in his groove now."

 

 Photo by Leif Tillotson

The Saint J Auto Group on Memorial Drive in St. Johnsbury Vermont are one of the states largest  GMC, Buick, Pontiac dealer and Subaru dealer, as well as quality pre-owned vehicles.  Their entire inventory can be browsed at www.stjauto.com.

 

June 2, 2008 STJAUTO.COM Team Riding Momentum to Connecticut
 

Barre, VT - Driver Nick Sweet and the Saint J Auto race team are poised and ready to return to Waterford, CT this weekend as the ACT Late Model Tour makes its first visit to the Waterford Speedbowl after a several year hiatus.  Sweet, 23 from Barre and his team traveled down to the speedway for a pre-season test session earlier this year.  "We did really well in our test session back in April," stated Sweet. "I really liked how the car handled." 

 

The STJAUTO.COM team is riding a pretty big wave of momentum right now, after scoring 2 consecutive top-10 finishes on the Tour.  "I feel that we have been able to gel really well as a team, and have gotten rid of the bad luck that plagued the start of our season," Sweet explains. "Plus, I'm continuing to get quality seat time in the Late Model, I'm more and more comfortable every lap I race."

                                           Photo by Eric LaFleche

 

Sweet sits on top of the Rookie of the Year point standings on the ACT Tour after 5 events of the 12-race schedule, and is 17^th in overall points coming into the 100 lap event in Waterford.  This is a remarkable turnaround for the team after finishing poorly in two of the first three events on the calendar, and failing to qualify for the third one.    "If we can continue to score top 10 finishes, we can bring the SJTAUTO.COM Pontiac into the top 10 overall, which has been our goal from the beginning." 

 

Sweet began racing in his teens, and was the 2007 Thunder Road Tiger Sportsman Champion.  This is his first year in competition on the ACT Late Model Tour.

 

The Saint J Auto Group is entering it's 10^th year of selling new GMC Trucks, Pontiacs and Buicks in St. Johnsbury VT. Saint J Subaru has been in operation since 2004.  For a complete inventory listing of all new, and over 150 preowned vehicles in stock, log onto www.stjauto.com.

May 19, 2008 Sweet Scores Top 10 Finish On ACT Tour

Plattsburgh, NY- STJAUTO.COM Driver Nick Sweet scored his first top 10 finish of his young rookie career on the ACT Late Model Tour Saturday Night in the 34^th Annual Spring Green 100 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY. Sweet, from Barre, VT drove his Pontiac Grand Prix from the 16^th starting position up to as far as fourth place by lap 75, before being shuffled back through the field during a number of late race restarts. Jean Paul Cyr from Milton won the event.

"It feels so good to have some good luck this year," commented Sweet. "We didn't have the best start to the season, but it's good to have things start turning around for us." Sweet qualified the STJAUTO.COM Pontiac by finishing second in his qualifying heat on the ½ mile flat asphalt track. During the 100 lap main event, Sweet used both the inside and outside lanes to advance position, and raced against many of his mentors in the sport, including Milton, VT's Bobby Dragon, Montpelier, VT's Phil Scott and many others. John Loschiavo, one of the owners of the Saint J Auto Group was thrilled to hear about Sweet's run on Saturday. "I know that Nick and the team had a tough start to the season, I was thrilled to hear about their 10^th place finish on Saturday."

This week, the STJAUTO.COM team travels back to their home track, Barre, VT's Thunder Road for the Memorial Day Classic, a 100 lap event on the high-banked quarter mile. "After this strong finish, we are definitely pumped to get back to Thunder Road and have a strong finish there" commented Sweet. Nick Sweet is the 2007 Thunder Road Tiger Sportsman Champion, and has numerous main event wins at his home track.

Saint J Auto Group sells new GMC trucks, as well as Buick, Pontiac, and Subaru cars and SUV's. They are located on Route 5 north in St. Johnsbury, VT.

May 5, 2008 A Weekend of Ups and Downs

A rookie American-Canadian Tour Late Model stock car pit crew defeated the reigning ACT
championship team to win Saturday's Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl Pit Stop Contest in downtown Barre City, VT, part of the 10th Annual Merchants Bank 150 and Car Show weekend.  The STJAUTO.COM  #88 team, led by Crew Chief Shayne Sweet, completed a two-tire change, washed the windshield, and simulated a fuel refill in 25.44 seconds to take the victory over the seven-time ACT Champion Ehler's RV/RPM Racing Engines #32
team.

    Pitting a race-ready Late Model show car owned by veteran Joey Laquerre, the seven-man "over the wall" crews were each tested by Mother Nature as a light mist fell during the competition.  The winning crew members were jackman Brandon Surprenant, tire changers Craig Deyo and Keith Fortier, tire carriers Anthony Sweet and Nathan Sweet, gasman Normand Fortier, and windshield cleaner Aaron Holden.

    Their driver, ACT rookie and 2007 Thunder Road NAPA Tiger Sportsman Champion Nick Sweet of Barre, was proud of his team.  "I'll take credit for that win," he joked.  "As many mistakes as I've made learning how to drive these cars this year, those guys have learned how to fix things in a hurry.  They did a great job." 

 

  The SJTAUTO.COM team was kept busy on Sunday, as Sweet qualified for his second career ACT Start, and his first at his home track.  After starting 19^th in the Merchants Bank 150, Sweet was involved an incident early in the race, causing the Saint J Auto Pontiac to slide through the wet infield grass.  Once Sweet was able to rejoin the track, he had fallen a lap down to the field.  "At that point I figured I would fall into line and ride and get some quality seat time."  That plan worked out well, as Sweet was able to keep up with the lead cars during much of the race.  However a restart late in the race would bring more trouble.

 

  "My spotter told me of two other drivers near me on the restart that were upset with each other," explains Sweet.  "He told me to be careful and to watch for trouble."  The moment the race resumed, those two drivers did have contact, which sent #97 Joey Pole into a spin, collecting Sweet, careening both into the front-stretch wall.  "It is just so disappointing to come to our home track and have such bad luck."  Sweet and the team have the upcoming weekend off, and will be headed to Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY for the 34^th annual Spring Green on Saturday May 15^th.  Sweet is again looking to return to a track the he did well at with his Tiger car. "I hope that our luck changes when we are at Airborne, that's such a fun track to be at."

 

April 20, 2008 Lee USA Speedway

That STJAUTO.COM race team had a VERY EXCITING and action-packed opening weekend at Lee USA Speedway.  Nick Sweet and the team traveled down to the speedway by the NH Seacoast on Saturday to take in a full day of practice.  Every time Nick took to the track, his comfort with his new ride increased, and his times got better and better.  By the end of the day, he was going as fast as some of the top American-Canadian Tour Veterans! All was looking good for a great day on Sunday!Sunday morning came around, the weather was perfect, the pit area was full of 49 teams, all who will be attempting to qualify for a 30 car starting field for the NH Governer's Cup 100.In round 1 qualifying Nick wheeled his STJAUTO.COM Pontiac from 9th position up to 5th position before the ½ way mark in the race.  He was set to move on the outside to make a pass for 4th (the final qualifying position) when the third place driver, #55 Brad Leighton started to overheat, causing his car to spray water onto the racetrack.  That mechanical failure caused Leighton's car to be disqualified, which moved Nick up into that 4th and final qualified spot!  That move from 9th to 4th earned Nick a +5 in the ACT handicapping system, which placed him 2nd> in the starting lineup for the main event, the NH Governor's Cup 100. "The car was fast, and handled perfectly!" Sweet said of his ride through the qualifier. "I can't believe that I was able to qualify in round one qualifying! This car was so fast!" It appears as though all of Nick's luck was used up in qualifying however.  Soon after the green flag dropped on the 100 lap event, Nick and eventual race winner Joey Pole made contact in turn 4, causing Nick to lose control and spin out.  Nick did a great job keeping the car from spinning into the wall.  He was able to regain control of the car, and fall back in line just outside of the top 20 positions on the track.  "After I spun, I figured I would just settle in towards the back of the pack, and get some valuable seat time, and slowly work my way back up through the field."  Nick's plans and his race-day came to an end shortly after that spin.  In turn 2, Jean-Paul Cyr spun out, and when Nick tried to slow down to avoid the spinning car, he was hit from behind, spinning him into the turn 2 wall.
"It was a disappointing day," added Sweet, "but we will get the car fixed and be ready to try again in this Saturday."  The STJAUTO.COM Team heads to Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford Maine this Saturday afternoon, for a 100 lap event, race #2 on the ACT Late Model Tour.

SAINT J DEALERSHIPS TO SPONSOR ACT ROOKIE

St. Johnsbury Vermont - Saint J Auto and Saint J Subaru have entered into a partnership with American-Canadian Tour stock car driver Nick Sweet for the 2008 championship season.  Sweet, 23, of Barre, VT will compete as a rookie on the ACT Late Model Tour behind the wheel of the stjauto.com  #88 Pontiac, one year after winning the NAPA Tiger Sportsman division championship at Barre, Vermont's Thunder Road International Speedbowl. Sweet and his family team have had their sights set on racing with the Tour for a couple of years. "We have been looking for the right opportunity to move up to the Tour, and the support we have received from Saint J Auto, Saint J Subaru, and John and Mike Loschiavo has made the move possible," said Sweet. "This is the most competitive racing series in New England, and our goal is to qualify for every race and contend for the Rookie of the Year title."

John Loschiavo, President of Saint J Auto, is excited about the company's sponsorship."This is a great opportunity for us to break into the regional racing scene," he said."We feel that Nick will be a great representative for our dealerships. He and his team have a winning, professional attitude and realistic goals. It really is a great fit for Saint J Auto." St.J Auto has been proudly serving the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont for over 10 years selling new GMC, Pontiac, and Buick cars, trucks, and SUV's.Saint J Subaru opened in 2004, and is Vermont's fastest growing Subaru Dealership.

The combined website, www.stjauto.com offers a live new-vehicle inventory of both stores, as well as full-color photographs of over 100 in-stock pre-owned vehicles. The American-Canadian Tour is a nationally respected Late Model stock car series with a 12-race schedule that visits tracks throughout the northeastern United States and Canada.The season begins Sunday, April 20, at the 3/8-mile Lee USA Speedway on the New Hampshire seacoast. For more information on Saint J Auto and Saint J Subaru, visit www.stjauto.com. You can also stay up to date with Nick Sweet and the StJAuto.com Racing Team with full color photos and recaps of each event throughout the season.