Multi-champion Phil Scott Top ACT Earner

For Immediate Release ACT73-110102

Waterbury, VT - - Phil Scott's championship season, which included his first ACT Dodge Tour title and his third Thunder Road Late Model crown, earned the Montpelier, VT veteran more than $44,000.

Scott, ACT Dodge Tour runner-up Patrick Laperle and 2002 ACT Rookie of the Year Ryan Moore, ranked 1, 2, 3 in combined purse and point-fund earnings in the 16-race Late Model series. Scott did not win a tour event, but he led all competitors with nine top-5 finishes. His total tour earnings were $28,355.

photo: Leif Tillotson  Phil Scott won the ACT Dodge Tour championship and Late Model titles at Thunder Road and Airborne Raceway

Laperle, 26, from St Denis, Quebec, won the tour opener at Star Speedway and the Country Pools & Spas 100 at White Mountain Motorsports Park. He was second in points to Scott at the halfway mark. After slipping to fourth in August, he regained the runner-up spot after finishing second to Dave Pembroke in the New England Dodge Dealers Milk Bowl at Thunder Road. Laperle's 2002 ACT Dodge Tour winnings were $20, 725.

Moore, 19, of Scarborough, Me, was a force over the final third of the season. He won a 100-lap event at White Mountain in August, placed fourth in Thunder Road's Labor Day Classic and won a Milk Bowl segment before taking the New England Dodge Dealers Fall Foliage 200. Moore was ninth overall in the ACT Dodge Tour standings and earned over $16,000.

Under ACT's 2002 tire rule, tire bills averaged $7, 500 for the full tour schedule. ACT's crate engine program, optional in 2002 and soon to be mandated for 2003, supplied new motors for approximately $6,000. Expenses for freshened motors were typically $2,000.