American Canadian Tour founder and president Tom Curley died on Friday from complications related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
He was 73-years-old and considered one of the most successful promoters of short track racing in the Northeast. Curley’s daughter, Cait Lynch, confirmed his passing in a Facebook post on Friday afternoon.
Born on May 10, 1943, Curley started his career in racing as a driver, competing in that capacity from 1964 and 1969. He founded and ran the NASCAR Busch North series for Late Model sportsman cars from 1979 to 1985 and founded the ACT in 1986. He was also a co-owner of the Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont, a track he operated with veteran motorsports broadcaster Ken Squier.
Curley was a pioneer in cost management and spearheaded the spec motor program still used by the ACT today. He also paved the way for a universal rules package for numerous tracks in the Northeast — a model that other regions followed years later.
He was named North American Promoter of the Year by Racing Promotion Monthly in 2004 and was the Northeast promoter of the year three other times. He was inducted into the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2009 and honored by the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 with the David Haskins Memorial Award.
