2019 marks the thirteenth season for the Canadian NASCAR championship. Pinty’s Delicious Foods continues to be the series title sponsor.

There were a couple of newsworthy stories for 2019. One of them was the addition of live streaming. TSN and TSN Direct subscribers will be able to watch six NASCAR Pinty’s Series races live on tsn.ca and the TSN App. In other news, the 2017 champion, Alex Labbe would return to the series after a year of competing in the NASCAR XFINITY championship. Labbe would team up with Dave Jacombs who guided him to his 2017 title. Also, coming back was perennial front runner, Jason Hathaway in the Ed Hakonson Chevrolet raced last year by Cole Powell. And finally, on the driver front, Mark Dilley will return to full-time competition for the first time since 2011. Lastly, the cars would be fitted with General Tires replacing Goodyears, which were the spec supplier since the series inception in 2007.

The series schedule mirrored that of 2018. For the ninth straight year, the title chase kicked-off on the Victoria Day Weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Following Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the series would travel to the ovals at Jukasa Motor Speedway and Autodrome Chaudiere. July would be a busy month with teams competing on the temporary street course at Toronto’s Exhibition Place. They would also be making their annual western Canada trip with a doubleheader at Wyant Group Raceway in Saskatchewan and Alberta’s Edmonton International Raceway. Returning to the east, drivers would be racing at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Riverside International Raceway in Nova Scotia, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Autodrome St. Eustache. For the second consecutive year, the penultimate round would be held south of the border at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The championship would end in September at Jukasa Motor Speedway. In all, the racers would visit ten different tracks in five provinces and one state.

The cars competing in the championship are constructed to specifications and rules common to most stock car series. The chassis is a steel tube frame design covered with a fiberglass body and is required to weigh no less than 3000-lbs. Body styles are from manufacturers such as Dodge (Challenger and Charger), Ford (Fusion) and Chevrolet (Camaro and Impala SS). Engine type and displacement are dictated by the make and model of the vehicle. The carbureted eight-cylinder motors produce approximately 550-horsepower. Depending on the gearing, these cars are estimated to have a top speed of 160-mph.

Since 2007, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) has hosted more NASCAR Pinty’s races than any other track. Round ten of 2019 season, the Total Quartz 200, would be fifty-one laps (201.8 kilometers) around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course. An incident between J.F. Laberge and Kevin Poitras extended the race to fifty-three-laps. And, when the contest ended, there was a tie at the top of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series standings. Andrew Ranger and Kevin Lacroix each head to St. Eustache with 421-points.

Leading the field of twenty-five NASCAR Pinty’s Series competitors (the largest grid of the season) into corner one at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is the pole- sitter, Kevin Lacroix. Behind Lacroix is the other front row starter, Alex Tagliani driving the No. 18 Chevrolet Camaro. Trailing Tagliani are the third and fourth qualifiers, Marc-Antoine Camirand in a Chevrolet Camaro and the points leader, Andrew Ranger driving a Dodge.
Kevin Lacroix entered round nine second in the title chase. With his only victory this year coming at CTMP, he had to be optimistic about his chances for another win. The driver of the No. 74 Bumper to Bumper sponsored Dodge was quickest in qualifying. Lacroix led the first twenty-laps, but an unscheduled pit-stop dropped him down the race order. He fought back and an aggressive on Alex Tagliani gave him the victory.
Topping the timesheets in the practice session was Marc-Antoine Camirand. Camirand did not improve on his time in qualifying and started the fifty-one-lap contest from third on the grid. During the race, he turned in a solid performance and maintained contact with the leaders. Camirand was in third place entering the final lap but inherited the runner-up spot when Kevin Lacroix and Alex Tagliani made contact in turn-ten.
The point’s leader, Andrew Ranger driving the Mopar sponsored Dodge was looking for some redemption at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In the previous round, at Riverside International Speedway, he started at the rear of the field and finished seventh. Ranger was gridded in the fourth position and was in contention until lap-35 when he suffered a flat right rear tire. Ranger fought back for a ninth-place finish.
One of the other beneficiaries of the contact between Kevin Lacroix and Alex Tagliani was J.F. Dumoulin. Driving the No. 04 Dodge with backing from Spectra Premium and Groupe Bellemere, Dumoulin had one of his best outings in a long time at Trois-Rivieres. In his hometown, he captured the last position on the podium. As luck would have it, the veteran earned another third-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
American, Julia Landauer made her series debut in 2018 with CBRT. This season, Landauer joined DJK Racing - running a limited schedule. In her first race of the year, she ran as high as third before tangling with another car. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Landauer qualified eighteenth but mid-race she had contact with Chandler Smith. The crew was able to fix the damaged Dodge and Landauer finished tenth.
The No. 18 Rona/Epipen sponsored Chevrolet Camaro is piloted by former open-wheel racer, Alex Tagliani. Thus far it had been an ‘up and down’ season for the Quebec driver. In the first race of 2019, he tangled with his teammate, Marc-Antoine Camirand, but scored a victory in Toronto. At CTMP, Tagliani was leading the final lap but an aggressive move in the last corner by Kevin Lacroix dropped him to a fourth-place finish.
The reigning series champion, L.P. Dumoulin entered the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park race third in the standings – just seventeen-points behind the leader, Andrew Ranger. However, it would not be a good weekend for the driver of the WeatherTech sponsored Dodge. Midway through the practice session, the gearbox failed. With repairs completed, Dumoulin started seventh but a slow puncture resulted in a thirteenth-place finish.
The NASCAR Pinty’s Series podium for round ten at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. On the left is the runner-up, Marc-Antoine Camirand. And, on the right side of the rostrum making his second podium visit of the year is the third-place finisher, J.F. Dumoulin. Between these two is the winner, Kevin Lacroix. The victory moved Lacroix into a tie at the top of the standings with Andrew Ranger.

FINISHSTARTDRIVERSPONSOR / CARLAPSRETIREMENTS
11Kevin LacroixBumper to Bumper/Total / Chevrolet53-
23Marc-Antoine CamirandGM Paille / Chevrolet53-
310J.F. DumoulinSpectra Premium / Dodge53-
42Alex TaglianiEpiPen/Rona / Chevrolet53-
56Anthony SimoneSilverline Tools / Dodge53-
614Jason HathawayKubota Canada / Chevrolet53-
79D.J. KenningtonCastrol Edge / Dodge Challenger53-
815Simon Dion-ViensRousseau Metal / Ford Fusion53-
94Andrew RangerMopar/Pennzoil / Dodge Challenger53-
1018Julia LandauerTechForce Foundation / Dodge53-
115Gary KluttTrailcon Leasing / Dodge53-
1216Donald TheetgeCircuit Acura / Chevrolet53-
137L.P. DumoulinWeatherTech Canada / Dodge53-
1424Raymond GuayRinox / Dodge53-
1523Jocelyn FecteauFarnham Ale & Lager / Dodge52-
1619Larry JacksonSunspace / Dodge51-
1720J.F. LabergeDagobert / Dodge50-
1817Kevin PoitrasPost Plastics / Chevrolet47Accident
1925David ThorndykeThorsons EVT / Chevrolet Camaro46-
2012Malcolm StrachanRCLUB/RC Trailers / Chevrolet42Drive Line
2122T.J. RinomatoHOLR Magazine / Ford Fusion36Accident
228Alex LabbeSilver Wax / Ford Fusion28Engine
2311Chandler Smith828 Logicstics / Chevrolet22Electrical
2421Mark DilleyLeLand / Ford Fusion11Suspension
2513Ryan KluttLegendary Motorcar / Chevrolet2Transmission

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