Bowmanville, ON, May 23, 2022 – Both Paillé Course//Racing drivers Marc-Antoine Camirand and Andrew Ranger showed great speed, as the NASCAR Pinty’s series was on the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park road course. After they set the pace, running first and second early in the race, Camirand suffered a punctured tire that derailed the race strategy, while Ranger’s car had mechanical failure that forced him to retire.
Marc-Antoine Camirand showed great speed throughout the weekend. Third in practice, he knew that his GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n°96 Camaro could be even better on the long run. Qualifying was cancelled after heavy rain and thunderstorms hit the track, and the starting grid was set according to practice times. On Sunday’s race, Camirand took the lead right at the first lap and showed that his brand new road course car, built by Camirand Performance, could be as dominant as the oval car he ran the week before.
Unfortunately, his GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n°96 Camaro was hit by a lapped car and the collision punctured his left rear tire. Camirand lost a lap during this forced pit stop but managed to stay on track and get back on the lead lap after 31 laps in the race.
“We were the fastest on track at that time. I was back on the lead lap, but from that moment, we were hoping for a caution so I could pit for fuel. If a caution would have happened at that time, I’m sure that we had a shot for the win,” explained Camirand.
But the yellow flag never came. His GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n°96 Camaro ran out of fuel with six laps to go. He came back on track after refueling and scored a 14th place finish.
“Again this week, we were the fastest car on track today, scoring the best lap time of the race. I think that this is going to pay off soon,” stated the driver from Saint-Léonard-d’Aston.
His Paillé Course//Racing teammate Andrew Ranger also experienced hard luck and was forced to retired early in the race. Ninth on the starting grid, he made his way to the front of the field race and ran second behind this teammate for a few laps.
“My GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n°27 Camaro was very fast. I was running second, and I’m sure it would have been a great car for the end of the race,” told Ranger, whose car is prepared by Wight Motorsports.
Almost halfway in the race, the oil pan shattered on the pavement in turn five and forced him to retire. “It’s a shame that my oil pan broke, because we definitely had a podium car today. I’m primed to return on track for the next race in Quebec”, he concluded.
Team Paillé Course//Racing, Marc-Antoine Camirand and Andrew Ranger will be back on track on June 11th, as the NASCAR Pinty’s series resumes at Autodrome Chaudière, in Vallée-Jonction, QC.