2012 Barrie - NASCAR

In 2012, the Canadian NASCAR series was in its sixth season. With Canadian Tire as the primary sponsor, NASCAR had developed a successful format that attracted competitors and fans.

There were some changes to the 2012 schedule – mainly the order of the race weekends early in the season. The title chase started on the Victoria Day Weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). There would be an additional event held at this facility – a race on the oval track in June. The championship would end in late September at Kawartha Speedway. A significant change saw the high-profile event at Toronto’s Exhibition place dropped from the calendar. It was replaced with a temporary circuit in Edmonton. In total, there was twelve race weekends and the series would visit twelve different tracks in six provinces.

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 (Avenger, Challenger and Charger), Ford (Fusion) and Chevrolet (Monte Carlo and Impala SS). Engine type and displacement are dictated by the make and model of the vehicle. The carbureted eight-cylinder motors produce approximately 650-horsepower. Depending on the gearing, these cars are estimated to have a top speed of 160-mph.

Round ten was held at Barrie Speedway a 0.333-mile oval track located in Ontario. Drivers would compete for 300-laps in a race sponsored by Wahta Springs.

The event at Barrie was originally scheduled for Saturday, September 8th but heavy rain caused it to be postponed until the following day. Twenty-two competitors line-up on the grid for Sunday afternoon’s event. On the pole is the No. 15 Ford Fusion driven by Steve Mathews. Sharing the front row with Mathews is Ron Beauchamp, Jr. in the Mopar/Exide/Mobil 1 sponsored Dodge Challenger.

Steve Mathews was the fastest qualifier for the Wahta Springs 300. This was Mathews’ second career NASCAR Canadian Tire Series pole-position, he earned his first a Kawartha in 2011. He led the first three laps before being passed by Scott Steckly. Always in contention, Mathews made contact with race leader, Steckly on lap-294. The incident dropped the pair down the order with Mathews finishing fourth.

Despite a mid-race issue with the jack, Peter Shepherd III was in third place as the contest came to a conclusion. When race leaders J.R. Fitzpatrick and Steve Mathews tangled, Shepherd moved the No. 7 National Exhaust Dodge Challenger to the top spot and held on for the win. This was his third NASCAR Canadian Tire Series career victory. Shepherd’s previous wins were at Kawartha in 2010 and Saskatoon in 2011.

Quebec driver, Andrew Ranger was gridded mid-pack for the start of the Wahta Springs 300. The driver of the GC Motorsports Dodge Challenger never led a lap but ran with the leaders most of the day. The incident at the green-white-checker between J.R Fitzpatrick and Steve Mathews promoted Ranger to second. He maintained the position to the checkered flag and finished 0.729-seconds behind the winner, Peter Shepherd III.

Another beneficiary of the late-race incident between J.R. Fitzpatrick and Steve Mathews was Noel Dowler. Dowler started sixteenth in the EMCO-Kohler/Rheem Dodge Challenger and was able to avoid much of the contact that his fellow competitors experienced. The incident between Mathews and Fitzpatrick elevated him to a third-place finish – this was Dowler’s best result to date.

In Sunday morning’s practice session, Scott Stecky was second quickest just 0.051-seconds behind J.R. Fitzpatrick. The driver of the No. 22 Canadian Tire sponsored Dodge Challenger recorded the third-fastest time in qualifying. Steckly was in the lead with six laps to go when contact with Steve Mathews caused him spin. Last year’s champion dropped down the race order and finished ninth.

FINISH	START	DRIVERS	SPONSOR / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	8	Pete Shepherd III	National Exhaust Dodge	307	-
2	11	Andrew Ranger	Dodge/GC Motorsports Dodge	307	-
3	16	Noel Dowler	EMCO-Kohler/Rheem Dodge	307	-
4	1	Steve Mathews	Bill Mathews Motors Ford	307	-
5	20	Dexter Stacey	WJS Motorsports Dodge	307	-
6	4	J.R. Fitzpatrick	Equipment Express Chevrolet	307	-
7	2	Ron Beauchamp, Jr.	Mopar/Exide/Mobil 1 Dodge	307	-
8	7	Jason Hathaway	Snap-On Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge	307	-
9	3	Scott Steckly	Canadian Tire Dodge	306	-
10	18	Larry Jackson	RC Trailers Dodge	305	-
11	13	L.P. Dumoulin	WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare / Dodge	303	-
12	9	Jeff Lapcevich	Tim Hortons Dodge	301	-
13	12	Joey McColm	Espar Dodge	300	-
14	17	Dave Connelly	Schneider's/Metro Dodge	299	-
15	22	Mike Scholz	Jiffy Car Wash/Watchfinder.ca Chevrolet	298	-
16	15	Isabelle Tremblay	Frank Lyman Design Dodge	298	-
17	14	Jason White	Bowers & Wilkins Dodge	297	-
18	10	Martin Roy	Veloce/Battery Expert Dodge	286	-
19	21	Ray Courtemanche Jr.	Porto Cabral/Const. Danam Bonzai Dodge	285	-
20	5	Mark Dilley	Leland/BDI/PartSource Ford	282	Transmission
21	6	D.J. Kennington	Castrol Super Clean Dodge	280	-
22	19	Hugo Vannini	VTI Motorsports Ford	132	Accident