NASCAR Pinty’s Series Breathes New Life into Jukasa Motor Speedway
NASCAR Pinty's Series Breathes New Life into Jukasa Motor Speedway
For more than 50 years, Jukasa Motor Speedway has hosted the biggest names in stock car racing.
Formerly known as Cayuga Speedway, the 5/8-mile track in Hamilton, Ontario has been conquered by the best in the business including a NASCAR Hall of Famer (Dale Earnhardt) and a number of Canadian Motorsports Hall of Famers (including Pinty's Series champions Scott Steckly and D.J. Kennington).
When the track closed in 2008, it left a void in the Pinty's Series schedule. The track sat abandoned until 2016, when seven million dollars of renovations were done to the "Crown Jewel."
After three races in its return to Pinty's Series racing, it's clear she's ready to take back her former glory.
2017 Pinty's Fall Brawl: The return to the to the facility saw multiple storylines play out as points leader Alex Labbe had a suspension failure early taking him out of the race and possibly allowing challenger Kevin Lacroix back in the title hunt.
Meanwhile, Donald Theetge was in a league of his own before Cayden Lapcevich entered the picture, giving Theetge the chrome horn in the final corner to secure the win.
Labbe had a big enough points gap to Lacroix to secure the championship.
2018 Rankin 200: With the swiftly growing addition of a second race at the facility, the Rankin 200 proved to be a spectacle. Kevin Lacroix had fallen short so many times on the ovals. Riverside, Edmonton, Saint-Eustache all saw prominent runs by the No.74 foiled. This time Lacroix got the job done.
Fending off Powell, Theetge and a hard charging Andrew Ranger, Lacroix was finally able to hold on for the win.
2018 Pinty's Fall Brawl: Hands down the most exciting race of the track's short time back on the calendar. The race saw a hectic title battle between LP Dumoulin and Alex Tagliani, who were separated by a mere five points coming in.
After starting from the back, Dumoulin ran a clean race and clinched his second career championship.
Meanwhile, the race was all D.J. Kennington. He led a race-high 93 laps and snapped a five-year winless drought. Kennington enters this weekend's race with a head of steam, fighting for his third championship.
NEWS & NOTES
Saturday's APC 200 will feature two female drivers for the first time in the series since the 2014 race at Edmonton.
NASCAR Next program alum Julia Landauer will make her highly anticipated debut with DJK Racing in the No. 28 Monster Energy Drink Dodge. The New York City native will make her first start at Jukasa.
Joining Landauer in the field is Prince Albert, Saskatchewan native Shantel Kalika. She will make her debut at Jukasa, as well as on the Ontario racing scene. Kalika made three starts last season during the western tour and added both Jukasa events to her schedule with a future goal of running a full season and competing for Rookie of the Year honors.
Road Course Ringers Sub Out for Short Track Specialists
A few short track specialists will make the drive this weekend at Jukasa. Peter Shepherd III will kick off his three race calendar with Jacombs Racing this week. He will be returning to his usual No.7 Ford after running the No.79 last season in honour of his dad.
Also looking for strong runs on the oval tracks this season will be Mark Dilley, D.J Kennington and Donald Theetge. All of Mark Dilley's wins have come on short tracks and Dilley looks to use his Micks Motorsports power to return to victory lane. Theetge was one corner away from the win at Jukasa in 2017, and followed that runner-up finish with another in the 2018 season finale. He is back to his familiar environment and looks to add another win to his resume.
Lacroix Looking to Make More History
Lacroix, the defending APC 200 winner, won the season opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last week. The Saint-Eustache, Quebec driver looks to become the first driver to sweep the first two events of the Pinty's Series season. The No.74 Bumper to Bumper Dodge team looks to turn 2019 into their season and take it by the horns.
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