NASCAR Pinty’s Series News & Notes: Past History Favours Quebec Drivers in Edmonton
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NASCAR Pinty's Series News & Notes:
Past History Favours Quebec Drivers in Edmonton
Following five races in three provinces, things are starting to feel "normal" in the NASCAR Pinty's Series.
Last weekend's return to the streets of Toronto in front of thousands of fans was a reminder of how far things have come since the pandemic drastically altered the 2020 and '21 schedules. This weekend's trip out West brings the series one step closer to that "normal."
As was the case with Toronto, the Bayer 300 at Edmonton International Raceway is the first time the Pinty's Series has ventured West since 2019. One slight twist, however – Edmonton will kick off the Western Swing, followed by a Wednesday twin feature in Saskatoon. Saskatoon had opened the annual western trip each year from 2017-19.
A look at past performance at the .25-mile bullring might not point you to an obvious race winner, but it will point to a trend that is hard to ignore – 12 of 18 podium positions have been secured by Quebec drivers. Five of six Edmonton races have been won by Quebec drivers (Andrew Ranger – 2014, '19; Alex Tagliani – 2016; Alex Labbe – 2017; L.P. Dumoulin – 2018), the lone exception being Scott Steckly in 2015.
That's great news for Toronto winner, and series points standings leader, Kevin Lacroix (No. 74 Lacroix Tuning Dodge). Despite making his name as a road course ace, Lacroix has taken kindly to the relatively low banking at Edmonton.
"I think I'm faster on flat tracks," Lacroix said. "The corners are more similar to road course corners."
And with the points lead, the schedule flip-flop is working in his favor.
"I'm glad we're starting in Edmonton because we've always done well there," said Lacroix. "Our goal is to score as many points as possible to get to Saskatoon in a good position for the championship."
Lacroix has started on the E3 Spark Plugs Pole in three of his four races at Edmonton. And while he's still searching for his first win, he's led double digit laps in three races. He led the first 281 (of 300) laps before a late spin and restart dropped him behind eventual winner L.P. Dumoulin (No. 47 Weathertech Canada / Groupe Bellemare Dodge).
L.P. Dumoulin looking to follow Toronto podium with strong Western Swing
The thing about racing is that speed doesn't always equal results.
And despite the No. 47 Dodge of L.P. Dumoulin showing speed each week, a series of unfortunate incidents has left him eighth in the standings after five races. On top of that, even with two E3 Spark Plugs Poles and laps led in three races, the Grand Prix of Toronto was the first podium finish of 2022 for Dumoulin.
The Western Swing comes at a perfect opportunity for Dumoulin to keep the momentum going.
"When we go out West it seems like the whole team is focused on racing with no distractions," Dumoulin said. "It's a good time for us to redeem ourselves from the problems we had at the beginning of the season."
Edmonton is the perfect track to make a statement. In six races he has five podium finishes, including a win in 2018 and three runner-ups.
"It's a tough little track, you have to stay focused," Dumoulin said. "Every year we show up with a different setup and try to find something better every year. We always seem to end up in the top five; this year we want the win."
Race Bayer 300
Date / Start Time Saturday, July 23, 2022 / 9:30 p.m. ET
Track / Location Edmonton International Speedway
TV TSN: TBA / RDS2 TBA
Live Stream Canada: TSN.ca / TSN app
USA: FloRacing
Fans can stay connected to the NASCAR Pinty's Series – and all things NASCAR in Canada – at www.nascar.ca, on Twitter, Facebookand Instagram.
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