LOUDON — Ray Parent of Tiverton, R.I., drove to his first ever American Canadian Tour win in the 50-lap Bond Auto Parts ACT Invitational Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Parent started 20th in a 42-car field, took the lead for the first time on lap 20, and retook it for keeps from Hudson's Joey Polewarczyk Jr. on lap 36.

Patrick Laperle of St. Denis, Quebec, caught Polewarczyk in turn four on the final lap to claim second and produce an all-Ford top three. ACT point leader Wayne Helliwell of Dover finished fourth, one spot ahead of Ricky Rolfe.

Once Parent regained the lead after yielding for one circuit to Polewarczyk, who had journeyed from 33rd on the grid, he built a six car-length lead and held it.

“This is our biggest race of the year,” Parent said. “We put a lot of effort into it. This is my second full year on the Tour and we had some catching up to do. I grew up racing at Seekonk and learned to go wheel to wheel there. I never thought it would be anything but that here. Joey raced me very clean.”

The race had four cautions. Parent was seventh on the first restart on lap 12. By the second restart he was fifth alongside Eddie MacDonald, a two-time winner of the event. On the final restart on lap 27, what looked to be a front row shootout between Parent and MacDonald never happened as MacDonald had problems as the green came out. Soon he was limping into the pits and Polewarcyzk, Rolfe and Laperle were Parent's prime challengers.

In the early going, front row occupants Jamie Aube and rookie Jimmy Hebert raced for the lead a few feet apart. There were five lead changes among four drivers — Hebert, Rolfe, Parent and Polewarczyk.

The second half of the top 10 went to Tom Carey Jr. of New Salem, Mass, eight-time ACT champion Brian Hoar, rookie Ben Lynch of Derry, Ontario driver Dan McHattie and Bryan Mercer of Port Hope, Ont. Quinny Welch of Lancaster started 11th and finished 17th.

“I didn't think we'd be able to challenge for the win after starting 33rd,” Polewarczyk said. “We kept at it and I thought I had a shot, but the car was tight at the end and I couldn't drive off the corners to stay with Ray.”

Many of the ACT Invitational teams will compete next Sunday at the 50th Milk Bowl at Thunder Road in Barre, Vt.