NASCAR Pinty’s Series News & Notes: Fan-Favourite Western Canada Drivers Return to Series
NASCAR Pinty's Series News & Notes:
Fan-Favourite Western Canada Drivers Return to Series
As the NASCAR Pinty's Series makes its return out west to race at Edmonton International Raceway and Sutherland Automotive Raceway, the field is typically joined by several drivers from the western provinces.
Over the NASCAR Pinty's Series' 17 years, 37 drivers from Western Canada have joined the field: eight from BC, 21 from Alberta, six from Saskatchewan, and two from Manitoba.
The only driver from a western province to win a race in the series was Brett Taylor in 2019 at Jukasa Motor Speedway while the driver with the most start in the series is Jason White from B.C. (108).
On the entry list for this year, Jamie Krzysik is the only Alberta driver making a start. He has competed in 16 events over seven seasons, with his best finish of fourth coming at his home track, Edmonton, back in 2016.
Between 2012 and 2014, Krzysik competed in nine ARCA Menards Series West races, finishing second at Colorado National Speedway in 2013.
Shantel Kalika, the first female driver to make a start in 2023, made her series debut back in 2018. Since then, she has run 13 races over four seasons with her best finish of eleventh coming at Sunset Speedway in 2021. She later matched that finish last year in race two at Sutherland.
A newer face to the series, Matthew Shirley made his debut last year in the Leland Industries Twin 125s at Sutherland Automotive Speedway. Shirley finished 11th and 14th in the No. 28 Dodge for DJK Racing.
A Look Back at Last Season
The 2022 trip out west featured three different winners visiting victory lane.
Marc-Antoine Camirand captured his second win of the season at Edmonton International Raceway, holding off Kevin Lacroix in a NASCAR Overtime finish. The race, which featured 14 lead changes and eight cautions, was just a taste of what the twin races at Sutherland Automotive Speedway in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
The first Twin 125 was decided by a two-lap shootout for the win with D.J. Kennington edging out Andrew Ranger. The battle became the sixth closest finish in series history with Ranger crossing the line just 0.079 seconds behind Kennington.
The second Twin 125 was won by Alex Tagliani with Ranger finishing second once again.
Ones to Watch - Edmonton & Saskatoon
- L.P. Dumoulin: L.P. Dumoulin and the No. 47 WeatherTech / Bellemare Dodge have historically been very strong at Edmonton International Raceway. Dumoulin has never finished worse than fifth, with one win, three runner-up finishes, and four podiums. At Sutherland, he has also been very successful with two wins, seven top-fives, and ten top-tens.
- Marc-Antoine Camirand: The reigning winner at Edmonton, Marc-Antoine Camirand will look to make up some ground out west. In his collective 11 starts at Edmonton and Sutherland, he has only finished outside the top ten once. Overall, he has one win, six top-fives, and ten top-tens, between the two tracks.
- Alex Tagliani: The driver of the No. 18 Chevrolet has led the most laps at Edmonton (487). He won at the track in 2016 and has three top-fives and five top-tens. Last year at Sutherland, he claimed his first win at the track for a total of four top-fives and nine top-tens.
- Kevin Lacroix: While Kevin Lacroix has never won out west, he is always a dark horse in Alberta and Saskatchewan. At Edmonton, he's led 392 laps, with two poles, two top-fives, and four top-tens in only five starts. In Saskatoon, he's led 131 laps, has two poles, three top-fives, and eight top-tens in nine starts.
- Andrew Ranger: Arguably one of the most dominant drivers out west, Andrew Ranger is the only driver with two wins at Edmonton. He totals 301 laps with three top-fives and five top-tens there. At Sutherland, he claimed his sole win at the track in 2019, has led 384 laps, and has amassed seven top-fives and 12 top-tens, Including a double podium finish last year.
- D.J. Kennington: Despite never seeing victory lane in Edmonton, D.J. Kennington has never finished outside the top ten at the Alberta track. However, Saskatoon is where the No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge shines. A reigning race winner at Sutherland, Kennington has a total of three wins, 11 top-fives, 14 top-tens, and three pole awards. He's led 454 laps there, second to Scott Steckly with 473.
- Treyten Lapcevich: You can't leave out the current points leader who has won two of the three ovals this year alone. While Lapcevich struggled during his first trip out west last year, he still managed to pick up the first pole award in Saskatoon, eventually finishing fourth in that race. However, race two at Sutherland gave him trouble as he finished 17th, three laps down. In Edmonton, his day ended early after he was caught up in a late race accident, delegating him to a 17th-place finish.
Race BAYER 300
Date / Start Time Saturday, July 22, 2023 / 7:30 p.m. MST/ 9:30 p.m. EST
Track / Location Edmonton International Raceway (Wetaskiwin, AB)
TV TSN: Sun. July 30 @ 1:00 p.m. ET / RDS2: Sun. August 13 @ 11:00 a.m. ET
Live Stream Canada: TSN+
USA: FloRacing
Fans can stay connected to the NASCAR Pinty's Series – and all things NASCAR in Canada – at www.nascar.ca, on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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