2007 Trois-Rivieres - NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

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. This signaled a new era for professional stock car racing in Canada.

The series debuted in late May at Cayuga Speedway. The opening round was followed by races at Mosport International Raceway and Barrie Speedway. The teams then traveled west competing at Sun Valley Speedway in British Columbia and the Edmonton City Center Airport. In August, the series made its first visit to Quebec with an event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Round seven was another weekend at Mosport but this time it was on the oval which was followed by Circuit Trois Rivieres, Quebec. The championship returned to Cayuga and Barrie in early September. The penultimate round was at Riverside Speedway in Nova Scotia with the finale being held at Kawartha Speedway. There was a total of twelve race weekends in five different provinces.

The first season included many of the teams that had previously participated in the CASCAR series and some new faces. The switch to NASCAR also meant changes to event procedures, technical inspections and the cars.

The series cars are a constructed using a steel tube frame design covered with a fiberglass body and are required to weigh no less than 3000-lbs with the driver. Eligible body styles are the 2005-2007 Dodge (Avenger and Charger), Ford (Fusion and Taurus), Pontiac (Grand Prix) and Chevrolet (Monte Carlo SS). Engine displacement which can range from 350-360-cu.in. is dictated by the make and model of the vehicle. The carbureted eight-cylinder motors produce approximately 550-horsepower at 6,500-rpm and depending on gearing can achieve a speed of 160-mph.

Round eight of the 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, took place on the eleven-turn 1.530-mile Circuit de Trois-Rivieres in the 39th running of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.

Twenty-eight NASCAR Canadian Tire Series drivers take the green flag in round eight of the 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. On the left and making a great start from third on the grid is Alex Tagliani. In the center, is the pole-winning Chevrolet Monte Carlo of J.R. Fitzpatrick. And, on the right side is the Ford Fusion of the point’s leader, Andrew Ranger who qualified on the outside of the front row.

Two weeks earlier, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Kerry Micks scored his first victory of the season with a last lap pass on Andrew Ranger – ‘history would repeat itself.’ Micks was the fourth fastest qualifier driving the No. 02 Ford Taurus but moved into the lead on the first lap. He led for the next thirty-seven circuits before being passed by Andrew Ranger. On the last lap, Micks succeeded in passing Ranger for the win.

Andrew Ranger scored a victory in round two on the Mosport road course. Despite only one win, Ranger led the championship point’s battle which could be attributed to consistently finishing in the top-10. Looking to redeem himself after a runner-up finish at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Ranger qualified second and led a total of eight laps but on the final circuit, he was passed by Kerry Micks – finishing second by 0.012-seconds.

British Columbia driver, Trevor Seibert was only participating in the road course events. Entered in the Lake Excavating sponsored Ford Fusion, Seibert’s best result to date was a tenth place finish at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve - after starting eleventh. At the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres, he qualified eighth. During the contest, Seibert drove a clean race and moved up the race order. By the conclusion of the event, he was third.

J.R. Fitzpatrick scored his first pole of the season in round six at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve which was followed by another at the Mosport oval. Fitzpatrick did it again at Trois-Rivieres driving the No. 84 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Highlights of his season included victories at Vernon and Edmonton but this would not be the case at Trois-Rivieres. On lap-18, Fitzpatrick tangled with Scott Steckly and Robin Buck – he finished sixth.

Pierre Bourque was another driver limiting his appearances to just the road courses. To date, Bourque had raced at Mosport, Edmonton and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where he had his best finish – twelfth. He drove the No. 29 Dodge Charger and was gridded twenty-third for the start of the forty-one-lap contest. During the event, Bourque made the greatest progress and improved by sixteen-positions to finish seventh.

In the season’s qualifying sessions, Scott Steckly was often in the top-five. Unfortunately, Steckly’s starting results rarely matched his finishing position. To date, his best performance was a runner-up finish in round four at Sun Valley Speedway. Steckly was gridded fifth at Trois-Rivieres but on lap-18, he fell out of contention after contact with J.R. Fitzpatrick and Robin Buck. He recovered and was fifth at the checker.

Open-wheel veteran, Alex Tagliani was making his second start of the season. His first was a Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where he started fourth but had issues with the brakes. At Trois-Rivieres, Tagliani qualified third quickest driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo with backing from Wal-Mart. During the race, he moved into second place. Unfortunately, Tagliani hit a concrete wall on lap-34 and retired with suspension damage.

The top-three finishers for round eight of the 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres. In the center is stock car veteran, Kerry Micks who scored his second victory of the season – his first was at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. To Micks’ right is the championship point’s leader and runner-up, Andrew Ranger. Completing the podium is the third-place finisher, Trevor Seibert.

FINISH	START	DRIVERS	SPONSOR / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	4	Kerry Micks	Beyond Digital / Ford Taurus	41	-
2	2	Andrew Ranger	WAL-MART/Tide / Ford Fusion	41	-
3	8	Trevor Seibert	Lake Excavating / Ford Fusion	41	-
4	9	Jeff Lapcevich	Tim Hortons / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	41	-
5	15	Jim Lapcevich	Tim Hortons / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	41	-
6	1	J.R. Fitzpatrick	Milwaukee Tools / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	41	-
7	23	Pierre Bourque	Driving.ca / Dodge Charger	41	-
8	5	Scott Steckly	Erb Transport / Dodge Charger	41	-
9	16	Jason Hathaway	Snap-on Tools / Dodge Avenger	41	-
10	17	J.F. Dumoulin	Bellemare / Pontiac Grand Prix	41	-
11	25	Brad Graham	Full Throttle/Challenger / Dodge Charger	41	-
12	11	D.J. Kennington	Castrol / Dodge Charger	41	-
13	18	Derek Lynch	Canadian Shield / Dodge Charger	41	-
14	7	Don Thomson, Jr.	Home Hardware / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	41	-
15	12	Peter Gibbons	Canadian Tire / Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS	41	-
16	22	John Gaunt	Centennial Chrysler / Dodge Avenger	41	-
17	24	Doug Brown	Haldex/NAPA / Dodge Charger	41	-
18	21	Ron Van Es	Van Es Motorsports / Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS	41	-
19	10	Mark Dilley	Leland Industries / Dodge Avenger	41	-
20	26	Dave Connelly	Samsung / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	41	-
21	14	Dave Whitlock	Dickies/Hamilton Tiger Cats / Dodge Charger	41	-
22	28	David Thorndyke	Thorsons / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	41	-
23	3	Alex Tagliani	Gain / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	36	Suspension
24	27	Andre Coursol	Carquest Canada / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	34	Engine
25	6	Robin Buck	Ron's Burner Service / Ford Fusion	27	Suspension
26	20	Kent Nuhn	Nuhn's Auto Recyclers / Pontiac Grand Prix	21	Drive Shaft
27	19	Peter Klutt	Legendary Motors / Pontiac Grand Prix	19	Clutch
28	13	Ron Beauchamp, Jr.	Mopar/Mobil 1 / Dodge Avenger	10	Suspension

Copyright Notice:

All content (photographs and text) appearing on this website are the exclusive property of © www.zoompics.com and are protected under International copyright laws. The subject matter on this website may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated.