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Featured Other Series

  • Jason Hathaway battles way to Hudco Electric Supply 300 win

    Jason Hathaway battles way to Hudco Electric Supply 300 win

    Jason Hathaway would battle his way back to the front late in the race at Barrie Speedway to pass D.J. Kennington on lap 284 to win the Hudco Electric Supply 300. Hathaway had to survive a green-white-checkered finish to pick up his second victory of the season ahead of Kennington and J.R. Fitzpatrick.

    “We had a really good race,” the driver of the No. 3 Snap-On Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge commented. “We led a bunch of laps. We had the best car and we won the race and that’s what we came here for.”

    The caution flew with 30 laps to go for debris in turn one, it set up a final shootout to the checkered. The result was Hathaway, Fitzpatrick and Kennington all trading paint back and forth.

    “He hammered on me pretty good,” Hathaway commented of Fitzpatrick. “I looked up and went, ‘Who is that guy?’ and it was J.R. so I knew not to take too much from it. He hit me pretty good a couple of times. Kennington and I got into each other a couple of times off of two there; pretty tight to get off of there. It’s alright. That’s why we’re here. It’s Barrie short track racing – you get after it.”

    DSCF1310“I think none of us wanted to wreck each other,” Kennington commented. “It was just good hard racing. Jason came out on top; wish we would’ve. We’ll go get them at Kawartha.”

    D.J. Kennington finished second to extend his points lead from three points to five points over Scott Steckly heading to the season finale in two weeks at Kawartha Speedway.

    “In the big picture, we’re in good shape,” he commented. “The Castrol Edge team is vying for the championship here and hopefully we get it finished up at Kawartha.”

    There was one point in racing where Kennington made slight contact with a lap car, though no harm no foul as both continued.

    “These guys that you’re lapping are just having bad days and it’s up to you to get around them,” the driver of the No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge commented. “I’ve been on the other end where I’ve been the lap traffic. It’s tough. It just makes it tougher with Barrie being a small place.”

    J.R. Fitzpatrick finished third for his sixth top five of the season.

    “Overall, it was a good day I guess,” the driver of the No. 84 Equipment Express Chevrolet said. “Track changed quite a bit from practice to the race. I was kind of good in practice so just let it alone not knowing what to expect. Then when we went out for the race, we were decent but not exactly where we want to be. We’ll take third for the year we’ve had, but not where we’d like to be.”

    In speaking of the close racing at the end of the race, Fitzpatrick said that’s the way short track racing should be.

    “Three guys that have a lot of respect for each other,” he added. “Obviously we each want to win the race so we beat and banged, it was good hard racing and nobody got wrecked and put on a good show.”

    DSCF1072Helluva Good Pole Winner Scott Steckly finished fourth for his seventh top five of the season. Rookie Alex Guenette finished fifth.

    Martin Roy finished sixth followed by Ryley Seibert, Mark Dilley, Ron Beauchamp Jr. and Joey McColm.

    Last week’s race winner L.P. Dumoulin spent numerous laps behind the wall getting the rear end changed out of his Dodge after it went south. As a result, Dumoulin slips to fourth in points, 35 points behind Kennington.

    Last year’s race winner Pete Shepherd was done on lap 41 after the ring gear went on his Dodge. Shepherd was looking for his third win of the season in his third start of the season.

    NCATS Barrie 9/8/13 Results

    Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Status
    1 6 3 Jason Hathaway Snap-On Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge 303 48 5 Running
    2 3 17 D.J. Kennington Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge 303 43 1 Running
    3 7 84 J.R. Fitzpatrick Equipment Express Chevrolet 303 42 1 Running
    4 1 22 Scott Steckly Canadian Tire Dodge 303 41 1 Running
    5 11 39 Alex Guenette * Motos Illimitees/DLGL/Polaris Dodge 303 39 Running
    6 10 90 Martin Roy Batteries Expert/Gamache/Veloce Dodge 303 38 Running
    7 17 09 Ryley Seibert * Lake Excavating/EMCO Waterworks Dodge 303 37 Running
    8 9 02 Mark Dilley Gaunt Collision/Leland/BDI Ford 303 36 Running
    9 5 60 Ron Beauchamp, Jr. Mopar/Exide/Pennzoil Dodge 303 36 1 Running
    10 13 50 Joey McColm Canada’s Best Store Fixtures/Espar Dodge 302 34 Running
    11 18 29 Ray Courtemanche Jr. La Cite De Mirabel Inc. Dodge 297 33 Running
    12 14 28 Dave Connelly Schneider’s/Metro Dodge 297 32 Running
    13 16 21 Jason White Bowers & Wilkins/Castrol Dodge 297 32 1 Running
    14 19 98 Howie Scannell Jr. OMVIC./K&B Auto Service Dodge 288 30 Running
    15 4 56 Larry Jackson OMVIC/Touchwood Cabinets Dodge 236 29 Mechanical
    16 8 47 L.P. Dumoulin WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge 220 29 1 Running
    17 15 5 Noel Dowler Emco, Rheem, Praxair Dodge 182 27 Electrical
    18 12 97 Hugo Vannini VTI Motorsports Ford 121 26 Rear End
    19 2 7 Pete Shepherd III National Exhaust/Rama Smoke Shop Dodge 41 25 Ring Gear
  • Hudco Electric Supply 300 presented by G Oil postphoned till Sunday; Steckly leads practice

    Hudco Electric Supply 300 presented by G Oil postphoned till Sunday; Steckly leads practice

    A persistant on and off light mist from mid-afternoon till the night time forced the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series to postpone tonight’s Hudco Electric Supply 200 at Barrie Speedway to Sunday afternoon.

    Due to only being able to get practice in, the Canadian Tire Series will have their time trials at 11:30am on Sunday morning at Barrie Speedway. The green flag is then schedule for 1:30pm in the afternoon. With a sunnier forecast, Sunday looks like a much better day for racing.

    Even with the showers, the Canadian Tire Series cars did get on track for their practice session and it was two-time series champion Scott Steckly pacing the field with a lap of 14.121 seconds. Steckly currently sits second in points, three points behind D.J. Kennington Steckly finished ninth last year at Barrie Speedway after being involved in the late race incident. He has also won a pair of races at Barrie Speedway in the past, winning both events in 2008. He has five top fives in eight starts as he looks for his third series championship.

    Last week’s race winner L.P. Dumoulin was second fastest, 0.031 seconds off of Steckly’s quick time. Dumoulin has made two career starts at Barrie Speedway, finishing 13th in 2011 and 11th last year. Dumoulin currently sits third in points and could bring himself right into championship picture if Kennington and Steckly have problems this weekend.

    Rookie Alex Guenette was third fastest, 0.045 seconds off of the quick time. The Quebec native makes his first career start at Barrie Speedway. He has run 10 races this year, scoring one top five and four top 10s.

    Last year’s race winner Pete Shepherd III was fourth quickest as he looks to repeats last year’s success. Shepherd has made a pair of NCAT starts this year – Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Oval and Delaware Speedway – winning both of them.

    Jason Hathaway rounded out the top five as he looks to gain points, currently sitting 17 points back of Kennington. Hathaway finished eight last year and has five top 10s in eight starts on the 0.333 mile tri-oval, including a second in 2011.

    J.R. Fitzpatrick was sixth quickest, followed by points leader Kennington, Mark Dilley, Ron Beauchamp Jr. and Hugo Vannini. Vannini had a small spin in turn three during practice, but kept his machine off the wall.

     

    NCATS Barrie 9/7/13 Practice

    Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
    1 22 Scott Steckly Canadian Tire 14.121 84.895 59 78
    2 47 L.P. Dumoulin WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare 14.152 84.709 70 73 0.031
    3 39 Alex Guenette * Kawasaki/Motos Illimitees, DLGL 14.166 84.625 84 98 0.045
    4 7 Pete Shepherd III National Exhaust/Rama Smoke Shop 14.174 84.577 39 51 0.053
    5 3 Jason Hathaway Snap on Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink 14.176 84.565 44 60 0.055
    6 84 J.R. Fitzpatrick Equipment Express 14.211 84.357 34 53 0.090
    7 17 D.J. Kennington Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors 14.258 84.079 55 57 0.137
    8 2 Mark Dilley Gaunt Collision/Leland/BDI 14.297 83.850 67 67 0.176
    9 60 Ron Beauchamp, Jr. Mopar/Exide/Pennzoil 14.344 83.575 55 61 0.223
    10 97 Hugo Vannini VTI Motorsports 14.406 83.215 24 60 0.285
    11 90 Martin Roy Batteries Expert/Veloce 14.413 83.175 57 58 0.292
    12 21 Jason White Bowers & Wilkins/Castrol 14.448 82.973 37 42 0.327
    13 5 Noel Dowler EMCO/Praxair/Safety Kleen 14.527 82.522 36 49 0.406
    14 9 Ryley Seibert * Lake Excavating/Emco 14.527 82.522 73 89 0.406
    15 28 Dave Connelly Schneider’s/Metro 14.613 82.037 40 43 0.492
    16 56 Larry Jackson OMVIV/Touchwood Cabinets 14.629 81.947 47 52 0.508
    17 50 Joey McColm Canada’s Best Store Fixtures/Espar 14.762 81.209 5 6 0.641
    18 29 Ray Courtemanche Jr. La Cite De Mirabel Inc. 14.781 81.104 67 69 0.660
    19 98 Howie Scannell Jr. OMVIC/Trailers by Jim Bray 14.821 80.885 26 30 0.700

    * Denotes rookie of the year contender

  • NCAT Preview: Fans are in for fireworks at Barrie Speedway this weekend

    NCAT Preview: Fans are in for fireworks at Barrie Speedway this weekend

    This weekend, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series heads to the tight confine of the 3/8 mile oval known as Barrie Speedway.

    Looking back at the events through the years, you could see that excitement is always there for the fans. Look at last year’s event. It got postponed from the Saturday night till the Sunday afternoon due to weather, but there was still late race excitement there.

    On a late race restart with seven laps to go, Scott Steckly and Steve Mathews ran side-by-side for a whole lap, before Mathews would send Steckly for a spin in turn four. Dave Connolly would make contact with Steckly after the fact, causing heavy front end damage to Steckly’s dodge. As a result, Mathews would take control of the lead while Steckly would restart at the back of the field for the green-white-checkered.

    On the green-white-checkered restart that followed, it’d be Mathews side-by-side with Fitzpatrick for the lead. Coming out of turn four, contact beween Fitzpatrick and Mathews would send Mathews up the track, causing contact with the outside wall. Meanwhile, Shepherd would make the move three-wide, slipping past both of them for the lead.

    Shepherd would take control of the final lap and take the victory while Mathews spun Fitzpatrick in turn four. Andrew Ranger and Noel Dowler would both get by Mathews and Fitzpatrick to finish second and third.

    That right there explains why fans get excited for the race at Barrie Speedway every year, and that is not an isolated incident either. Each year provides for some angry drivers after the race with opinions to be heard simply due to everybody being close together around the entire oval.

    Though beyond just that, the championship battle will be another thing for fans to watch closely this weekend. Coming into the weekend, D.J. Kennington leads Scott Steckly only by three points. Both drivers have had success at Barrie Speedway in the past so it’ll be an interesting battle to watch.

    Kennington didn’t do well last year as he had fuel pump issues take him out of the running, resulting in a 21st place finish. However, he has three Barrie Speedway victories to his credit, including one in 2010. The two-time series champion also has seven top 10 finishes in eight starts on the oval.

    In comparison, Steckly finished ninth last year after being involved in the late race incident. He has also won a pair of races at Barrie Speedway in the past, winning both events in 2008. He has five top fives in eight starts as he looks for his third series championship.

    If Kennington and Steckly run into problems at Barrie, look for L.P. Dumoulin and Jason Hathaway to jump on the opportunity. The pair of them sit third and fourth in the points, respectively, as the top four in points are only separated by 17 points.

    Last week’s race winner Dumoulin has made two career starts at Barrie Speedway, finishing 13th in 2011 and 11th last year.

    In comparison, Hathaway finished eight last year and has five top 10s in eight starts on the 0.333 mile tri-oval, including a second in 2011.

    Beyond watching those four closely, there’s also a good size list of drivers that you should keep your eye on, as far as race winning contenders.

    J.R. Fitzpatrick has run strong at Barrie Speedway in the past, posting five top 10s in seven starts including a fifth in 2010. He finished sixth last year after leading a race-high 113 laps.

    2011 race winner Mark Dilley has five top 10s in eight starts at Barrie Speedway and was running upfront last year when transmission problems took him out of the race.

    Last year’s winner Pete Shepherd will be in the field. The young star has won three of his last four series starts, including two events this year.

    Steve Mathews ran up front last year till he was involved in the last race incident and will be looking to rebound after a poor finish at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

    No matter who your pick is the for the race, you know it will be exciting so make sure to attend Barrie Speedway this weekend to take in the excitement.

  • Corey Lajoie Looks to Extend his Joy of Winning

    Corey Lajoie Looks to Extend his Joy of Winning

    Corey Lajoie will be tackling the ARCA race at Iowa Speedway with one goal in mind, to extend his winning streak to three. In fact, the 21 year old up-and-coming racer has almost achieved perfection, winning both of the ARCA races that he has entered, with the goal of making it a three-peat.

    “To win in my only two starts this season is so exciting,” Lajoie said. “Having a taste of victory makes me even more excited to try to get that Medallion Financial Ford back in Victory Lane in Iowa.”

    “I just want to be the first one across the finish line,” Lajoie continued. “In the other two races, everything worked in our favor and we’re hoping the same will hold true.”

    “We’ve had two really good cars and we’ve been in position to capitalize on them when stuff happened to other people,” Lajoie said. “Hopefully this week, we can run out front and hopefully have nothing go wrong with the car.”

    Lajoie has scored wins at two very different tracks, Chicagoland and Pocono, prior to his attempt to extend his joy of winning to Iowa.

    “At Chicagoland, it was my first time on a mile and half,” Lajoie said. “That’s a learning experience in itself.”

    “I was getting faster on every lap of the track and by the end of the race, we were the fastest car,” Lajoie continued. “Some tried to stretch and make it on fuel and didn’t make it.”

    “So we were the first one getting the checkered, which worked out really good.”

    “Pocono, man that track is tough,” Lajoie said. “They call it the ‘Tricky Triangle’ and it definitely lives up to its nickname because that place is really technical.”

    “We picked up four seconds from when we first started practicing until race time just from me getting used to the track.”

    Lajoie has been at the Iowa Speedway, where he will compete next, before in the NASCAR K&N Series. He has one win, two top-fives and three top-15 finishes in his four starts at the track.

    “I really like Iowa,” Lajoie said. “We won there last fall in the K&N Series.”

    “I grew up racing on short tracks, and Iowa is a perfect combination of short track and superspeedway,” Lajoie continued. “You carry a lot of speed there, so I’m thankful I will have a Roush Yates engine under the hood.”

    “I think we will have a really good shot at the win this weekend,” Lajoie said. “At least I know where the parking lot is when I get there because I didn’t even know that for the last two races.”

    Unlike some of the other racers against which Lajoie has competed, he and his team have just one car that they modify depending on the type of race track on which they are competing.

    “Iowa is a seven-eighths track, so we had to make a bunch of changes on our car with brake packages and suspension packages to accommodate for that,” Lajoie said. “You’re not as worried about aero at these short tracks.”

    “You’re more worried about down force and trying to get the car turning because the bigger tracks you rely a whole lot on aero,” Lajoie continued. “We’ve been lucky enough to have a good enough and neutral enough car that doesn’t favor one side or another.”

    “The biggest thing you have to worry about is keeping the tires on it,” Lajoie said. “The ARCA cars have the most horsepower so they fight a lot more issues.”

    “I know there will be some guys with some throw down short track cars there but hopefully we can make up for it in the seat,” Lajoie continued. ““We’re going to be worrying about putting the pedal to the ground and keeping the nose clean to get to Victory Lane.”

    While Lajoie has a relationship with Richard Petty Motorsports and hopes to race for them full-time next year in the Nationwide Series dependent on sponsorship, he also relies on a little help from his family, including dad Randy Lajoie, and his friends when it comes time to get to the race track.

    “Petty doesn’t have their hands in very much for this ARCA deal,” Lajoie said. “They help with the motors and pit crew and all that but the people at the shop is just me and one buddy and a couple others who pitch in and help hands every now and again.”

    “Dad is out there for the Boone Nationals, the dirt modifieds, so he’s only about an hour and a half away,” Lajoie continued. “He’s going to cruise over race day and come hang out with us.”

    “I compare our team to being like a pickup basketball team playing against Syracuse, North Carolina and Duke,” Lajoie said. “And we’ve been beating them every time.”

    “Our pick up team ain’t doing too bad.”

    Lajoie admits that he does not get quite the seat time of some of his other competitors, however, he tries to make the most of every opportunity that he has. And he also tries to keep himself in race shape by getting to the gym and racing in other series of the sport.

    “I just really have been working out and doing cross fit the last couple weeks which has been kicking my butt,” Lajoie said. “You work muscles in the car that you don’t even know you have.”

    “I wish I could get more laps because everybody I’m racing has way more laps than I do,” Lajoie continued. “So, I have to make the most out of every opportunity.”

    “Sometimes I race a late model every now and then and run at Rockingham but I really don’t have any other options like a Kyle Larson that runs ten times a week,” Lajoie said. “I’m just in the shop, grinding it out and trying to get my car faster.”

    Lajoie has already loaded up the car and will send it on its way to Iowa, while he and his team will fly out on Friday morning.

    So, is the young driver ready to get to Iowa and attempt a third win on just his third start in the ARCA Series?

    “I’m looking forward to that,” Lajoie said. “That’s going to be awesome if I get to Victory Lane for my third win in my third start but then I’m going to go back to the shop and get ready for win number four.”

    “I just want to go racing because all this work and late nights and early mornings are for the birds until you get out there in Victory Lane,” Lajoie continued. “And then it’s all worth it.”

  • Jason White looks to finish off NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season well

    Jason White looks to finish off NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season well

    This past weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsports, Jason White started off the weekend looking for speed, though got better as the weekend went on. He qualified in the 26th position and said as the race went on, the car got better and he came home with a 17th place finish.

    “Car really came around today,” he said after the Clarington 200. “We started off really tight but it came around real good and near the end, we were only about half a second off the leaders. We were just waiting for a green-white-checkered, which I guess NASCAR decided we didn’t need so pretty disappointed in that. All in all, car got better throughout the weekend and we gained 10 positions so we’re pretty happy with that.”

    NASCAR decided against a green flag finish when the caution flew with nine laps to go because the Canadian Tire Series cars were at their allotted time limit in NASCAR’s attempt to keep the Camping World Truck Series event on schedule.

    The race, though, mirrors White’s season so far as he has had some good finishes including a fifth at St. Eustache, while having some not so good finishes. So far this year, White has finished in the top 15 in each race except this past weekend and currently sits eighth in points.

    (C)Ashley McCubbin

    “It’s been up and down,” the driver of the No. 21 A&W/Bowers & Wilkins/Thermal Technology Dodge said. “We’ve been getting better and we’re just trying to keep the car on track. when we do, we run pretty well so we’ll finish off the last two races and see if we can get up to seventh or sixth in points.”

    Heading into the final two races of the year at Barrie Speedway and Kawartha Speedway, White is only 38 points out of sixth and two points out of 12th.

    “We have to finish both top 10 both times to have a good points finish so we’ll just have to see where it goes,” he commented. “Barrie should be interesting and Kawartha is the last race of the year so we’ll see what happens then.”

    White hasn’t had the best of luck at Barrie Speedway the past five years, failing to finish three of the five races and having a best finish of 13th in 2010.  Meanwhile at Kawartha Speedway, White has two top 10s in six starts. If the British Columbia native can stay out of trouble both races, though, look for him to be in contention for a solid finish.

  • L.P. Dumoulin wins Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 at CTMP

    L.P. Dumoulin wins Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 at CTMP

    L.P. Dumoulin led the second half of the Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park to pick up his second victory of the season. Dumoulin went with the strategy of pitting early and worked his way to the lead on lap 31 around Marc-Antoine Camirand. From then on, Dumoulin held on and took home the victory.

    “We had a good strategy by pitting early for tires and fuel, and after that we just gained positions after everyone else was pitting,” Dumoulin said. “I was trying really hard to keep a good pace and not overdriving my car so that for the last 10 laps I could be really hard on it.

    “I didn’t know the race was going to go red [flag] and that they were going to give the checkered flag. I was just ready to go and finish the race.”

    The race was scheduled for 51 laps, though was cut to 42 laps as a result of it not being completed in its allotted time slot. The final caution flew at lap 42 when Ron Beauchamp Jr. and Ray Courtemanche Jr. got sideways, with Steve Mathews driving straight into Courtemache’s car up in turn eight.

    Martin Roy would play his strategy right and stay out of the accidents to finish second for his best career NASCAR Canadian Tire Series finish.

    Andrew Ranger, running a car for D.J. Kennington, finished third to mark his fifth top 10 in six career starts at CTMP.

    “My car was really, really good and I was very happy because it was my first weekend with D.J. Kennington,” Ranger said. “At the end I was trying to push really hard, at the same time trying to save my tires, but the last caution came out and we were not able to finish the race.”

    Ranger’s car owner D.J. Kennington finished fourth to take over the points lead, now sitting three points ahead of Scott Steckly heading to the final two races of the season. Steckly finished 11th.

    J.R. Fitzpatrick rounded out the top five, followed by Camirad, Gary Klutt, pole sitter Jeff Lapcevich, Howie Scannell Jr. and Robin Buck.

    Four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers ran the NCAT race in preparation for their own event. Jeb Burton was the highest finishing of the four, finishing 12th with Chad Hackenbracht behind him in 13th. James Buescher pulled behind the wall after 34 laps due to a broken rear-end while Ty Dillon pulled behind the wall after 32 laps due to over-heating from earlier contact in the race.

    Jason Hathaway, who came into the event third in points, was on pit road for a couple laps due to mechanical issues under  the hood, which resulted in a 25th place finish. Hathaway falls to fourth in points, now 27 points behind Kennington for the lead and six points behind Dumoulin for third.

    The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is in action once again next weekend at Barrie Speedway on Saturday night.

  • Jeff Lapcevich scores first career NASCAR Canadian Tire Series pole at CTMP

    Jeff Lapcevich scores first career NASCAR Canadian Tire Series pole at CTMP

    43-year-old Jeff Lapcevich would lay down the quickest lap (1:24.1 seconds) at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park to win the pole for the Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. It marks the first career pole for the veteran in his 52nd career start.

    “This is great,” Lapcevich commented after his pole winning lap. Lapcevich is running the No. 76 on his Tim Hortons Dodge this season rather than the No. 23  in honor of his father, who passed away during the off-season.

    Lapcevich has made five starts this season, with his best finish being second back in May at CTMP. In seven starts on the road course, he has yet to win a race, though has six top 10 finishes.

    “We’ll go see what we got,” Lapcevich added. “We’ll just set a good pace and I know it’s good on the long runs so if I can stay cool behind the wheel, we should be in good shape.”

    Road course guru Andrew Ranger qualified second, only 0.043 seconds behind Lapcevich, after being one of the late entries for the race. Ranger had called his old car owner Dave Jacombs to run, yet Jacombs already had drivers in both of his cars. Ranger then got talking with defending series champion D.J. Kennington and Kennington prepared a car for Ranger to run this weekend.

    Ranger has made two NCATs starts this year, finishing first at Circuit ICAR and second at Trois Rivieres. In five starts at CTMP, he has two wins with his worst finish being a sixth.

    L.P. Dumoulin was third quickest after leading the first practice session this weekend with a lap of one minute and 24.2 seconds. The driver of the No. 47 WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge won the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park race in May and currently sits fourth in points.

    “We’ve been fast all day,” Dumoulin commented. “In qualifications, someone had a problem in turn one with an axle and I think it got a little slippery. We have a good position for the long race. We’ll just run strong and see how it works out tomorrow.”

    Three-time CTMP winner J.R. Fitzpatrick was fourth quickest as he looks to turn his season around following some bad luck.

    Jason Hathaway, who won the last race ran by the Canadian Tire Series at Antogonish, was fifth quickest as he looks to carry the momentum. He currently sits third in points, 10 points behind points leader Scott Steckly.

    Steckly was sixth quickest as he looks for his first win on the Bowmanville, Ontario road course.

    “Obviously we like to be closer to the front but there was some oil dry on the track and we focus more on the race set-up rather than qualifying,” he commented afterwards.

    Steckly, who finished third at CTMP in May, currently holds a four point lead over D.J. Kennington. He has won three races so far this year.

    “We’re going to every race looking for the win and whatever happens, happens,” Steckly added.

    Gary Klutt was seventh quickest, followed by Martin Roy, Peter Klutt and Kerry Micks. Kennington qualified in the 12th position.

    Pos No. Name Sponsor Time Speed In Lap Laps Diff
    1 76 Jeff Lapcevich Tim Hortons 01:24.1 105.277 3 3
    2 28 Andrew Ranger La Cite de Mirabel Inc/Plancher2000.ca 01:24.1 105.223 2 4 0.043
    3 47 L.P. Dumoulin WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare 01:24.2 105.144 3 4 0.106
    4 84 J.R. Fitzpatrick Equipment Express 01:24.4 104.924 3 3 0.283
    5 3 Jason Hathaway Snap on Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink 01:24.4 104.901 3 4 0.301
    6 22 Scott Steckly Canadian Tire 01:24.5 104.745 2 3 0.427
    7 59 Gary Klutt * K-Line/Legendary Motor Car Co. 01:24.5 104.714 3 4 0.452
    8 90 Martin Roy Batteries Expert/Veloce 01:24.7 104.562 2 4 0.575
    9 42 Peter Klutt Legendary Motorcar 01:24.8 104.435 2 4 0.678
    10 02 Kerry Micks BDI/Leland/PartSource 01:24.8 104.369 2 4 0.731
    11 88 Marc-Antoine Camirand * Burger Barn 01:24.8 104.342 3 5 0.753
    12 17 D.J. Kennington Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors 01:25.0 104.094 2 7 0.955
    13 27 Chad Hackenbracht Jacombs Racing 01:25.1 104.025 4 5 1.012
    14 7 Jeb Burton State Water Heaters 01:25.1 104.005 4 4 1.028
    15 4 Ty Dillon Fitzpatrick Motorsports 01:25.2 103.920 1 3 1.098
    16 39 Alex Guenette * Kawasaki/Motos Illimitees, DLGL 01:25.2 103.914 3 4 1.103
    17 24 James Buescher 22 Racing 01:25.3 103.834 4 4 1.168
    18 60 Ron Beauchamp, Jr. Mopar/Exide/Pennzoil 01:25.5 103.534 3 7 1.415
    19 66 Robin Buck Quaker State 01:25.5 103.502 2 4 1.442
    20 04 J.F. Dumoulin Bellemare, Manac 01:26.0 102.928 5 5 1.919
    21 56 Howie Scannell Jr. K&B Auto/Trailers by Jim Bray 01:26.0 102.880 3 4 1.959
    22 50 Joey McColm TSC Stores/Canada’s Best Store Fixtures 01:26.1 102.819 4 4 2.010
    23 5 Noel Dowler Emco, Rheem, Praxair 01:26.3 102.609 4 7 2.186
    24 15 Steve Mathews Bill Mathews Motors 01:26.3 102.588 3 7 2.204
    25 19 Brad Graham Holmar Plumbing 01:26.4 102.494 2 2 2.283
    26 21 Jason White Bowers & Wilkins/Thermal Technolgy 01:26.5 102.298 4 4 2.448
    27 97 Hugo Vannini VTI Motorsports 01:26.8 101.938 4 7 2.754
    28 81 Larry Jackson Touchwood Cabinets/B&B Decals 01:26.9 101.878 3 3 2.805
    29 69 Trevor Seibert Lake Excavating/EMCO Waterworks 01:27.1 101.654 2 6 2.997
    30 09 Ryley Seibert * Lake Excavating/Emco/Marshall’s 01:28.5 100.010 2 3 4.428
    31 9 Curtis Fielding * Fielding Estate Winery 01:28.6 99.966 2 3 4.467
    32 14 James Van Domselaar Steel-Craft Door Products 01:29.0 99.513 2 3 4.870
    33 29 Ray Courtemanche Jr. La Cite De Mirabel Inc. 01:29.1 99.303 3 3 5.058
    34 98 Matthew Scannell * Trailers by Jim Bray 01:29.4 99.059 3 3 5.278
    35 67 Dave Thorndyke Lube Source/Thorson EVT 01:29.6 98.768 3 6 5.541
    36 99 Paul Jean * BFI Canada/Transport Humar 01:38.3 90.076 1 1 14.190

    *Rookie of the Year contender

  • Scott Steckly leads final practice for Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 at CTMP

    Scott Steckly leads final practice for Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 at CTMP

    Two-time series champion and current points leader Scott Steckly led the final practice for the Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. He topped the charts with a lap of one minute and 23.271 seconds.

    Steckly, who finished third at CTMP in May, currently holds a four point lead over D.J. Kennington. That marked his highest career finish at CTMP as he has yet to score a win on the Bowmanville, Ontario road course. Steckly has won four races so far this season.

    L.P. Dumoulin, who led the first practice, was second quickest on the charts with a lap of one minute and 23.658 seconds. The driver of the No. 47 WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge won the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park race in May and currently sits fourth in points.

    Jeff Lapcevich was third quickest behind the wheel of his No. 23 Tim Hortons Dodge. Lapcevich has made five starts this season, with his best finish being second back in May at CTMP. In seven starts on the road course, he has yet to win a race, though has six top 10 finishes.

    J.R. Fitzpatrick was fourth quickest on the charts and will be a favourite come Sunday as he has won three times at CTMP.

    Andrew Ranger rounded out the top five, 0.911 seconds behind Steckly. Ranger has made two NCATs starts this year, finishing first at Circuit ICAR and second at Trois Rivieres. In five starts at CTMP, he has two wins with his worst finish being a sixth.

    Martin Roy was sixth, followed by Jason Hathaway, Peter Klutt and D.J. Kennington.

    Defending Camping World Truck Series Champion James Busecher was 10th quickest and is running the NCAT race to get more experience before Sunday’s truck race. He will be joined in the race by truck regulars Chad Hackenbracht, Ty Dillon and Jeb Burton, who were 13th, 14th and 17th respectively.

    Qualifying will take place at 4pm EST with the race scheduled for Sunday morning at 11am EST.

  • L.P. Dumoulin quickest in Printy’s presents the Clarington 200 first practice

    L.P. Dumoulin quickest in Printy’s presents the Clarington 200 first practice

    In the first practice for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, L.P. Dumoulin topped the speed charts with a lap of one minute and 24.2 seconds.

    The driver of the No. 47 WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge won the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park race in May and currently sits fourth in points.

    Points leader Scott Steckly was second quickest, 0.083 seconds off of Dumoulin, in his No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge as he looks for his fourth win of the season. Steckly, who finished third at CTMP in May, currently holds a four point lead over D.J. Kennington.

    Rookie Alex Guenette was third quickest on the speed charts, 0.373 seconds off of Dumoulin’s quick time. Guenette is looking for his first NCATs win this weekend. The Quebec native didn’t fair well at CTMP in the spring as he finished 26th, though had a second place finish at St. Eustache about a month ago.

    Fellow Quebec native and series past champion Andrew Ranger was fourth quickest, 0.459 seconds off of Dumoulin. Ranger has made two NCATs starts this year, finishing first at Circuit ICAR and second at Trois Rivieres. In five starts at CTMP, he has two wins with his worst finish being a sixth.

    J.R. Fitzpatrick rounded out the top five as he looks to turn his season around after blowing the motor the last time the NCATs were out in Antoganish. Fitzpatrick has been great at CTMP in the past, winning in his three of his seven starts.

    D.J. Kennington was sixth quickest, followed by Gary Klutt, Jason Hathaway, Peter Klutt and Jeff Lapcevich.

    Four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regulars are running the NCATs race this weekend for extra experience. Ty Dillon was the highest of them in practice, laying down the 15th quickest lap. Chad Hackenbracht was 21st, followed by James Buescher in 22nd and Jeb Burton in 23rd.

    The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will have one more practice this afternoon before they qualify.

     

  • Dillon, Buescher, Burton and Hackenbracht to run Canadian Tire Series race at CTMP

    Dillon, Buescher, Burton and Hackenbracht to run Canadian Tire Series race at CTMP

    With this being the first race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWT) at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP), some drivers are trying to get the upper-hand and get some extra laps on the track versus their competition. NASCAR has arranged four practice sessions in total before the race for the truck regulars, but there’s a four-some that are looking for more.

    Ty Dillon, James Buescher, Jeb Burton and Chad Hackenbract are all entered in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park this weekend. The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series practices and qualifies alongside truck practice and qualifying on Saturday. Then on the Sunday, the NCAT race is run prior to the NCWT race.

    Beyond getting some laps, though, these drivers will be looking for the win as they will be running in top-tier series equipment.

    For Ty Dillon, he will be running the No. 4 for Fitzpatrick Motorsports for the second time this season. Dillon ran the car earlier this year in May and came home with a solid seventh place finish. Dillon is one of the drivers that enters the weekend with some road course experience due to the ARCA Re/Max Series experience.

    Fitzpatrick Motorsports currently houses the No. 84 Equipment Express Chevrolet for J.R. Fitzpatrick and Fitzpatrick is the all-time leader in race wins on the road course with three.

    James Buescher will be driving the No. 24 Dodge for 22 Racing as a teammate to Scott Steckly in his Canadian Tire Series debut. When Buescher’s Turner-Scott Motorsports teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. laid down the base line test laps for NASCAR to share information with the teams, Buescher was there to view the track and watch his teammate.

    Steckly (No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge) is the current points leader, leading D.J. Kennington by four points following Antoginish. Steckly has never won at CTMP, though had a career-best of third last year and has four top-fives in seven starts on the road course.

    Chad Hackenbracht will be driving the No. 27 Jacombs Motorsports car as a teammate to series rookie Alex Gunette. Hackenbracht will be making his first career Canadian Tire Series start this weekend in anticipation for his third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start. Like Dillon, Hackenbracht has some road course experience virtue of his time spent in ARCA.

    Speaking of Gunette, he will be driving the No. 39 Motos Illimitées/DLGL Dodge as he looks to break the tie for first between himself and Ryley Seibert in the rookie standings. Gunette had a career best second place finish in his last series start at St. Eustache, Quebec. He didn’t fair too well in May at CTMP as he finished 27th.

    Lastly, Jeb Burton will be driving the No. 7 State Water Heaters Dodge as he looks to make his first carer Canadian Tire Series start as well. Burton has stuck to ovals for his career so this will mark the first time the son of Ward Burton has found himself on a road course. However, he has proven to be quick at adapting to new situations in his rookie season with a win, three top fives and seven top 10s in 13 starts this year.

    The No. 7 State Water Heaters Dodge is normally piloted by Pete Shepherd. Shepherd has run a limited schedule the past five years due to lack of funding to run the full schedule. However, Shepherd has been really successful. In the two races that Shepherd has run this year at Delaware and CTMP’s oval, Shepherd won both of them. No pressure for Burton, right?

    Looking at the caliber of rides that these four drivers are running, it will be interesting to see how much the added track time helps them, as well as whether one of them can beat one of the series regulars for the win. With Fitzpatrick, Steckly and Gunette in the field (as mentioned above), plus series regulars that include D.J. Kennington, Andrew Ranger, Kerry Micks and Jeff Lapcevich, you can promise that it will be exciting.