@NASCARPintys Archives - Page 2 of 10

Posted by admin on Jul 11 ^th 2023 in NASCAR Pinty's Series

Thomas Nepveu Takes On the Streets of Toronto

Oka (Quebec), July 11, 2023 – Thomas Nepveu will be back racing in the streets of downtown Toronto this upcoming Friday for NASCAR Pinty’s Tiffany Gate Grand Prix. The event, located at Exhibition Place, will run in support of the INDYCAR championship, with thousands of spectators in attendance.

The Oka-native will be commandeering the #24 Evirum | Home Hardware Nepveu car once again. It will be a very different driving experience this time around, as he previously competed at the street track in single-seaters.

The narrow track is notoriously challenging, with rough surfaces, tight corners, and a high speed straightaway giving drivers a wide variety of obstacles and elements to contend with. Fortunately, Nepveu is already coming into the event with prior experience, having raced on the same track one year prior in the USF2000 series, where he stood on the podium in front of a home crowd.

“I’m really happy to be returning to downtown Toronto,” said Thomas. “I’ve had the opportunity to familiarize myself with this track. I had a strong race here last year and took home a second-place finish. It will be an interesting challenge to see how it feels to drive around here in a completely different type of car.”

He went on to add that “it’s a difficult track to master, so every lap counts when trying to get confidence and extract the most you can out of the car. I’ll be giving it my maximum effort in the practice session to reinforce my knowledge and adapt to the handling of the stock car. From there, it’s all about making sure I have a strong qualifying session to put us in the best position ahead of the race on Friday afternoon.”

The green flag for the Tiffany Gate Grand Prix of Toronto will be waved at 5:10pm ET on Friday, July 14th. The race will be broadcast live on the TSN+ app.

Posted by admin on Jun 27 ^th 2023 in NASCAR Pinty's Series

Well Fought Podium for Marc-Antoine Camirand in Newfoundland

Avondale, NL, June 27, 2023 – Paillé Course//Racing scored a fourth consecutive top five, while Marc-Antoine Camirand scored a well-fought podium finish after an eventful race, as the NASCAR Pinty’s series was at Eastbound International Speedway, in Avondale, Newfoundland. Andrew Ranger suffered a series of incidents and had mechanical issues throughout the race and scored a 17^th-place finish.

Camirand had a fast car all day. He scored the fastest lap in practice, and carried this speed through qualifying, posting the second-quickest time. Camirand was in a good position to have strong start in the 250-lap race, but things became more complicated at the initial start.

“The leader was having a really slow start, and I beat him at the start/finish line, which we can’t do on the initial start. I had a drive-through penalty,” stated Camirand.

Starting from the tail of the field, he managed to climb back to the front. He was back in the top 10 after 50 laps, and was battling for second place just before the halfway break.

During the second half of the race, slowed by numerous yellow flags, he dropped a few positions, but quickly came back to battle with the leaders. “At a restart with about 10 laps to go, I was in a good position, starting inside, and I thought that I had the car to get the win. Unfortunately, just as I was working to pass him, there was another yellow and I had to restart on the outside,” said the driver of the GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n°96 Camaro.

Camirand fought hard during that last restart, and he crossed the finish line in a very close battle for second. He was scored on third place, 0,003 second behind second place.

Andrew Ranger also had an eventful race, but didn’t have the outcome he was looking for. Fast in practice and qualifying, Ranger started fourth and battled with the front pack at the beginning of the race. But quickly, his car became harder and harder to maneuver, and he lost some track positions.

After a restart, he spun his car after running on some fluid left of the track by a competitor, and was hit during this incident. “After this contact, I felt a very strong vibration in the driveshaft. I had to come back to pits,” told Ranger.

He went back on track, but he had lost over 90 laps during the repair. “It’s a shame, because our car was fast at the beginning of the day, and I really thought we could come back strong after bad luck at the beginning of the season. We are going to come back strong to Toronto, where we finished on the podium last year with the GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n°27 Camaro,” Ranger concluded.

Paillé Course//Racing will be back in action with Marc-Antoine Camirand and Andrew Ranger, as the NASCAR Pinty’s series heads to the Toronto Indy, on July 14^th.

Posted by admin on Jun 13 ^th 2023 in Miscellaneous News

Brilliant Victory for Camirand at Autodrome Chaudière

Vallée-Jonction, QC, June 12, 2023 – Marc-Antoine Camirand claimed his first victory this season with Paillé Course//Racing, as the NASCAR Pinty’s series was at Autodrome Chaudière, in Vallée-Jonction, QC. Camirand got the top spot after a late-race restart, while Andrew Ranger, Alex Guenette and Sam Fellows, who also raced with Paillé Course//Racing colors, had a more difficult race and finished respectively 20^th (DNF), 10^th and 11^th.

Camirand had an eventful day at Autodrome Chaudière. Early in practice, his Camirand Performance team noticed an oil leak on his brand new oval car, and then chose to switch to the back-up car after practice.

Camirand was the first to qualify, and scored the 11^th quickest time. Without absolutely no practice lap with this backup car, Camirand knew he would have his hands full to climb to the top of the field during the 300-lap race.

During the first half, he made the best he could to gain a few track positions, but felt his car was understeering. “We made some adjustments at the break, and when we got back on track, I knew I could battle to climb the field,” said Camirand.

With a little more than 100 laps to go, the second spot and tried to battle with the leader. Camirand lost some time after being caught behind two lapped cars, but fortunately, a yellow flag with 10 laps to go closed the gap with the leader.

At the restart, Camirand was able to stay inside the leader and took the lead with five laps to go.

“This has been an eventful day, and my team worked very hard to have this back-up car ready for the race and make some adjustments at the break. We are so happy to win in front of our family, friends and fans here in Quebec, and we’re hoping to carry this momentum to Newfoundland where we won our first race last year,” concluded Camirand.

The other Paillé Course//Racing drivers had a more difficult race. Andrew Ranger had a good qualifying, starting second at the wheel of his GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n° 27 Camaro. He was running in the top-10 for the first half of the race, but unfortunately, Ranger was forced to retire after the break due to a mechanical failure to the rear end.Alex Guenette also experienced a disappointing end of race after being competitive all day. His GM Paillé/ASSA ABLOY n°3 Camaro was third in practice and fourth in qualifying. Guenette ran in the leading pack during the first half of the 300-lap race, but after the break, he felt his car was understeering. Guenette was then hit from behind and spun, so he had to start back from the rear of the field. He tried to make the best of the rest of the race, earning a 10^th-place finish.

Finally, Sam Fellows also experienced a strong start at the wheel of his AER Manufacturing/GM Paillé n°87 Camaro, gaining many track positions in the first half of the race. After a penalty sent him at the back of the field after the break, he experienced some trouble and was caught in an incident that severed the nose of his car. He finally scored an 11^th-place finish.

Paillé Course//Racing will be back on track with Marc-Antoine Camirand and Andrew Ranger on June 24^th, as the NASCAR Pinty’s series makes the trip to Newfoundland, at Eastboud International Speedway, in Avondale, NL.

Posted by admin on Jun 13 ^th 2023 in NASCAR Pinty's Series

Unrewarded Efforts for Thomas Nepveu at Autodrome Chaudière

Vallée-Jonction (Québec), June 12, 2023 – It was a homecoming affair for Thomas Nepveu last Saturday, as the young driver made his on-track return in Quebec.

Nepveu was behind the wheel of the #24 Evirum | Home Hardware Nepveu car for the Bud Light 300, a 300-lap event. A large crowd of fans gathered in Vallée-Jonction to cheer on the NASCAR Pinty’s drivers, who were about to make their first appearance of the season on Quebec soil.

The race was filled with obstacles for Thomas, including a run-in with a competitor that resulted in some contact between the two, which sent him spinning around as a result. A secondary spin at the halfway mark further slowed his ascent. In spite of this, Nepveu drove a great race, and took advantage of the opportunity to gain experience on every lap.

“It was a good event,” said Thomas. “We overcame a few pitfalls, for example I got hit twice by competitors, which sent me spinning. On the other hand, I had some good on-track battles, followed by a solid recovery driver to get back on the lead lap.”

He went on to explain that “unfortunately my brakes let go with 8 laps remaining, so I went straight in the first corner, which forced me to retire. I’m very disappointed not to have finished the race, but very pleased with the improvements we’ve made on the car.”

He confirmed that “we had a much more competitive car than we did at Sunset Speedway, which allowed me to concentrate on my driving and gain more experience on oval circuits.”

Posted by admin on Jun 11 ^th 2023 in NASCAR Pinty's Series

Top 4 for Kevin Lacroix at Autodrome Chaudière

Vallée-Jonction (QC), June 11, 2023 – The Autodrome Chaudière in Vallée-Jonction was the host of an action-packed race last Saturday. Kevin Lacroix finished just shy of the podium in 4th place during the 300-lap Bud Light 300.

Lacroix was behind the wheel of the #74 NAPA Synthetic Motor Oil | Valvoline car on Saturday evening, in front of a full house. He finished the morning practice session in 8th position, then went on to set the 6th fastest time in qualifying a little later in the day.

Lacroix started the race from the third row and he wasted no time in moving up the field, battling with the competitors around him. By the halfway mark, he was in the leading pack, and was giving it his all to try to take the win.

“Our car was very fast, probably one of the fastest on the track,” said Kevin Lacroix. “It is quite challenging to overtake at Autodrome Chaudière. I was stuck running two cars wide for the whole race, which made it difficult for me to make progress and move up the field quickly.”

He went on to say that “I was hanging around in 4th place a lot, and when I got back up to 3rd, I didn’t have much time to catch up to the first two cars before the cautions. This scenario played out a few times. As for the restarts, I was starting from the inside line, but the outside line was a bit faster. Therefore I was almost guaranteed to lose a position on each restart.”

“We had a final restart with 4 laps to go. I was running in 3rd but lost my position at that point, but that’s life. I’m satisfied with the event, it went very well overall.”

Kevin Lacroix leaves Vallée-Jonction with valuable points in the bank, enabling him to maintain 3rd place in the overall standings with 122 points, 17 points behind the leader.

The next NASCAR Pinty’s event will be at Eastbound International Speedway in Newfoundland on June 24.