2019-10-01

Championnat Pinty’s pour Andrew Ranger

Il a été presque impossible de séparer Andrew Ranger et Kevin Lacroix tout au long de la saison 2019. 

 

Les deux pilotes ont échangé les points pour le titre depuis l'ouverture de la saison et sont arrivés en finale de la saison à Jukasa Motor Speedway comme les deux seuls pilotes en lice pour le championnat. 

 

La tendance s'est poursuivie alors que Ranger a battu Lacroix d'une position pour remporter son troisième championnat NASCAR Pinty's Series.

 

Ranger, qui a remporté le premier championnat Pinty's Series en 2007 à 20 ans, a suivi deux ans plus tard avec un deuxième championnat. Il est le leader de tous les temps de la série avec 28 victoires et recherche un 4e titre depuis 10 ans.

 

Après quatre victoires et une saison 2019 presque parfaite, Ranger n'as eu besoin que d'une quatrième place pour enfin revenir au sommet du sport.

 

"C'est un rêve et je suis si heureuse pour mon équipage," dit Ranger. "Tout le monde ici travaille si dur et c'est fantastique de gagner notre troisième championnat. Je savais que nous étions très rapides, que nous devions finir devant lui, et nous l'avons fait et avons gagné le championnat."

 

Malgré le plus grand nombre de tours en tête, Kevin Lacroix n'a pas réussi à décrocher son premier titre de champion, une fois de plus.

 

Lacroix a dominé la première moitié de la course. Mais après la pause à mi-chemin, il a commencé à s'estomper.

 

La paire de pilotes de l'équipe Orange de l'EHR, Brett Taylor et Jason Hathaway se sont battus pendant le dernier quart de la course, offrant aux fans l'une des batailles les plus intenses de la saison. Dans le dernier tour, dans le dernier virage, Taylor a doublé Hathaway et remporté la course, sa première victoire en carrière dans la série Pinty's.

 

 

Hathaway a fini deuxième, à un peu plus d'un dixième de seconde derrière Taylor. Donald Theetge a terminé troisième à son dernier départ en tant que pilote à temps plein.

 

Ranger et Lacroix complètent le top cinq.  Pete Shepherd III a terminé sixième après avoir dû prendre le départ à l'arrière, avec Alex Guénette, qui remplaçait Alex Tagliani en rentrant en septième place.

 

D.J. Kennington, Mathieu Kingsbury et LP Dumoulin complèteront le top dix.

 

Le « Pinty's Fall Brawl sera diffusé sur TSN le dimanche 6 octobre à 12 h 30 et sur RDS2 le dimanche 20 octobre à 12 h 30.

 


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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 1.10.19 0 comments

Andrew Ranger Claims Third NASCAR Pinty’s Series Championship

It's been near impossible to separate Andrew Ranger and Kevin Lacroix throughout the 2019 season. 

 

The two drivers have traded the points lead since the season opened at CTMP in May, and entered the season finale at Jukasa Motor Speedway as the only two drivers in contention for the championship. 

 

It was only fitting the trend continued as Ranger edged Lacroix by one position to earn his third NASCAR Pinty's Series championship.

 

It was a celebration ten years in the making.

 

Ranger, who won the inaugural Pinty's Series championship in 2007 at the ripe age of 20, followed that two years later with a second championship. He's remained a dominant driver – he is the series all-time leader in wins with 28 – but has repeatedly suffered heartbreak chasing his third title.

 

Following four wins and a nearly perfect 2019 season, a fourth-place finish was all Ranger needed to finally return to the pinnacle of the sport.

 

"It's a dream and I'm so happy for my crew," Ranger said. "Everybody here works so hard and it's fantastic to win our third championship. I knew that we were really fast, we knew we had to finish in front of him, and we did just that and won the championship."

 

Despite leading the most laps, Kevin Lacroix would once again fall short of his maiden championship. He finished the season with two wins, but the bad luck struck again.

 

Lacroix started the race on the provisional pole after qualifying was rained out, and dominated the first half of the race, locking up bonus points for the most laps led. But following the halfway break, he began to fade.

 

"We had a fast car today," Lacroix said. "We went for the win, so we tried an adjustment but it didn't work out. We are just very thankful for the great season that we had."

 

As Lacroix fell back, it was the pair of EHR Team Orange drivers who saw their cars jump to life. Brett Taylor and Jason Hathaway battled for the last quarter of the race, treating fans to one of the most high-intensity battles of the season. As the laps wore down, Taylor tried everything he could to get around his teammate: he did just that in the most dramatic way possible.

 

On the final lap, in the final corner, Taylor made his move. Putting the bumper to Hathaway, the Calgary, Alberta driver lead only one lap all evening: the most important one. Scoring his first career Pinty's Series win, Taylor would make history in the process.

 

"[Jason] gave me enough room on the bottom to race him clean," Taylor said. "I was super loose and every time I got to his door I had to back off cause I didn't want to blow a tire.

 

"In the end, all I had to do was give him a little bit of a bump," Taylor added.

 

With the victory, Taylor becomes the first Western Canadian driver to win in the Pinty's Series –158 of the first 159 races were won by drivers from Ontario and Quebec, with Donald Chisholm (Nova Scotia) the previous outlier.

 

Hathaway would come home second, just over a tenth of a second behind Taylor. Donald Theetge finished third in his final start as a full-time driver.

 

Ranger and Lacroix completed the top five.  Pete Shepherd III finished sixth after having to start at the rear, with Alex Guenette, who was subbing for Alex Tagliani coming home in seventh.

 

D.J Kennington, Mathieu Kingsbury and LP Dumoulin would complete the top ten.

 

The Pinty's Fall Brawl will air on TSN on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 12:30 p.m. and on RDS2 on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 12:30 p.m.

 

 



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Posted by Marc Patrick Roy at 1.10.19 0 comments

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