In September 2006, NASCAR announced the purchase of Canada’s premier stock car series - CASCAR. They also revealed a long-term sponsorship agreement with the Canadian Tire Corporation. The series’ first event took place in 2007 at Cayuga Speedway. The first season included many of the teams that had previously participated in the CASCAR series.

The 2015 championship opened at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as it had done since 2012. The schedule looked much as it had in 2014 – the exception was the introduction of Sunset Speedway following the closure of Barrie Speedway. The opening round was followed by Autodrome Chaudiere, Sunset, Circuit ICAR, Edmonton International Raceway, Auto Clear Motor Speedway, Autodrome Saint-Eustache, Circuit Trois-Rivieres, Riverside International Speedway and the second visit to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park before ending the season at Kawartha Speedway.

The series cars are constructed to specifications and rules common to most stock car series. The chassis is a steel tube frame covered with a fiberglass body that is required to weigh no less than 3000-lbs. Body styles are from manufacturers such as Dodge (Avenger, Challenger and Charger), Ford (Fusion) and Chevrolet (Monte Carlo and Impala). Engine type and displacement are related to the make and model of the vehicle. The carbureted eight-cylinder motors produce approximately 600-horsepower.

For the fourth season in a row, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Championship opened at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. This was also the series ninety-ninth race. There was a total of twenty-six starters – eleven of which were rookies. The Clarington 200 would be 51-laps (200-kilometers) around the 2.459-mile, ten-turn road course.

Corner one and the start of the opening round of the 2015 NASCAR Canadian Tire series. Pole-sitter Gary Klutt in the Legendary Motorcar Chevrolet Monte Carlo takes the lead. Front row starter, Andrew Ranger in the Mopar Dodge Challenger, is about to drop a position as the third fastest qualifier, Scott Steckly tucks in behind Klutt.
Pole-sitter and rookie, Gary Klutt driving the Legendary Motorcar Chevrolet Monte Carlo had to be content with a solid third place finish opening round. That was until late the race leaders, Scott Steckly and Andrew Ranger, made contact on the front straight during the final lap. Rookie, Klutt took advantage of the incident to score his first series victory.
Also benefitting from the Scott Steckly and Andrew Ranger contact was Jean-Francois Dumoulin. Dumoulin started mid-pack in the thirteenth starting spot. By the halfway point of the race, he had improved his position and was running in the top five. On the last lap, he was fifth but the accident between Steckly and Ranger allowed him to capture the final spot on the podium.
Two-time series champion, D.J. Kennington was gridded in the seventh starting position. The driver of the No. 17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge Challenger was the only competitor to have finished in the top-10 at all ten NASCAR events held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Not about to let this record come to an end, Kennington finished fourth.
Pier-Luc Ouellette, a two-time Rotax DD2 Max Challenge World Karting champion made his Canadian NASCAR debut at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Ouellette was filling in for regular driver Alex Tagliani who was preparing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. He was the quickest in practice but qualified ninth. Ouellette ran a consistent race and finished eighth.
Qualifying fourth quickest was, 2014 Champion Louis-Philippe Dumoulin. Dumoulin was driving the No. 47 WeatherTech sponsored Dodge Challenger. During the race, he ran in the top-five until lap-38 when he spun after having contact with another car. Dumoulin worked his way from eighth to sixth at the checkered flag.
Series veteran, Jeff Lapcevich started sixth. Lapcevich drove the No. 76 Tim Hortons Dodge Challenger and had the distinction of finishing second in three of the last four NASCAR races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. At the checkered flag, he added to that statistic – making it four-second places in last five starts.
The incident between Scott Steckly and Andrew Ranger started on the final lap in the second last corner. Ranger was quicker than Steckly and saw his opportunity to get by in turn nine. While making the pass, Ranger made contact which moved Steckly out of the way. With Steckly sideways and attempting to regain control of his Dodge, Ranger slipped past.
The incident was not over. Steckly was able to gain control of his car and drove hard into the final turn. Accelerating out of the corner, he hit Ranger’s Dodge on the passenger’s side causing both cars to leave the racing surface. As the result of this contact, they were passed by several competitors. The two cars returned to the track and Steckly finished fifth, while Ranger was ninth.
Scott Steckly started from the third position in the Canadian Tire Dodge Challenger. Steckly moved into first place for the final time on lap-36 when he passed Matthew Scannell. As the race was coming to its conclusion, second place, Andrew Ranger was closing the gap on the leader. There was contact between the two competitors in the final two turns. After running off the track, Steckly finished fifth.
In qualifying, Andrew Ranger recorded the second fastest time in the Mopar-sponsored Dodge Challenger. With the race in the final stages, the second place Ranger was catching the leader, Scott Steckly. In the second last turn on the final lap, he saw an opportunity to pass Steckly. The two drivers made contact twice with the final hit allowing other competitors to pass the pair. Ranger finished in ninth place.
Quebec rookie, Kevin Lacroix started in the fifth grid position. Lacroix drove the No. 74 Uni-Select/Pieces D'Auto Lacroix Dodge Challenger. Unfortunately, his season did not get off to a very good start. Lacroix and Pier-Luc Ouellette made contact and spun in turn ten on lap-3. Shortly after the incident, he was the first retirement of the race.

FINISHSTARTDRIVERSSPONSOR / CARLAPSRETIREMENTS
11Gary KluttCTL Corp/Legendary Motorcar / Chevrolet51-
26Jeff LapcevichTim Hortons / Dodge51-
313J.F. DumoulinBernier Crepeau Chrysler/Bellemare / Dodge51-
47D.J. KenningtonCastrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors / Dodge51-
53Scott StecklyCanadian Tire / Dodge51-
64L.P. DumoulinWeatherTech Canada/Bellemare / Dodge51-
710Jason HathawayFast Eddie/Choko/HGC / Chevrolet51-
89Pier-Luc OuelletteEpiPen/CGI/CanTorque / Chevrolet51-
92Andrew RangerMopar/Pennzoil / Dodge51-
1016Kevin PoitrasTSC Stores / Ford51-
1115Ryan KluttLegendary Motorcar / Chevrolet51-
1211Matthew ScannellOMVIC/IGPC Ethanol/Stratafax / Dodge51-
1318Simon Dion-ViensBestbuy Pièces d'auto/Zone Garage / Dodge51-
148Kerry MicksJohnsonville/Leland/BDI / Ford51-
1519Dave CoursolLa Cite de Mirabel/Blackshape / Dodge51-
1625Erica Thiering#RaceCarByAva/CBRT / Ford51-
1717Cayden LapcevichTim Hortons / Dodge51-
1820Joey McColmPartSource/Toronto Maple Leafs / Ford50-
1923David ThorndykeLubeSource/Thorsons EVT / Chevrolet50-
2021Ray Courtemanche Jr.La Cite de Mirabel/Blackshape / Dodge50-
2122Kevin O'ConnellGemini Southern / Chevrolet49-
2214Trevor SeibertLake Excavating/Area 27 / Chevrolet41-
2312Marc-Antoine CamirandGrafoid/Braille Battery / Chevrolet36-
2424Larry JacksonOMVIC/IGPC Ethanol/B&B Decals / Dodge32Clutch
2526Anthony SimoneInnovative Plumbing & Mechanical / Dodge24Oil Leak
265Kevin LacroixUni-Select/Pieces D'Auto Lacroix / Dodge4Accident

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