NASCAR Pinty’s Series News & Notes: St-Eustache
Lacroix Draws Closer To Labbe With Two Races Remaining
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — With Kevin Lacroix did everything he could to move closer to Alex Labbe as the Quebec drivers continue their battle for the 2017 NASCAR Pinty’s Series championship.
Lacroix tied Andrew Ranger’s series record with his third consecutive win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last week and was able to shave 10 points off of Labbe’s lead in the standings. Lacroix, who along with Labbe has won four Pinty’s Series races this season, sits 26 points behind in second place with two events remaining on the 2017 schedule.
The Lucas Oil 250 presented by Bumper to Bumper & Coors Light at Autodrome St-Eustache will be the penultimate race of the season and the ninth consecutive year the .4-mile oval has hosted Canada’s national stock car championship series.
Labbe has made three starts at Autodrome St-Eustache qualifying on the pole twice and adding one top-five finish to his resume, while Lacroix has made two starts at the track with his best finish of 11th last year.
Defending series champion Cayden Lapcevich still has a shot to become the first repeat champion in the 11-year history of the series, entering the race 48 points behind Labbe. But he’ll need to score a win and hope Labbe and Lacroix both experience some bad luck in Saturday’s race. The NASCAR Next driver is also the defending winner of this event.
Two-time series champion D.J. Kennington enters this race in fourth place, just one point behind Lapcevich.
Labbe was able to overcome motor and transmission issues during practice and qualifying last weekend at CTMP and rebounded to finish sixth, limiting Lacroix’s chance to gain more points.
RACE:
Lucas Oil 250
PLACE:
Autodrome St-Eustache (Quebec)
DATE:
Saturday, September 9
TIME:
8:30 p.m. ET
TELECAST:
TSN - Saturday, Sept. 16, 2 p.m. ET; RDS - Saturday, Oct. 7, 3 p.m. ET
TRACK LAYOUT:
.4-mile semi-banked asphalt oval
2016 POLESITTER:
Alex Labbe
2016 WINNER:
Cayden Lapcevich
EVENT SCHEDULE:
Practice 1:30-2:30 p.m., Qualifying 4:30 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 7:25 p.m.
TRACK CONTACT:
Buddy Ford, 450-569-3444, bford@autodrome.ca
EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG:
#LucasOil250
NASCAR CONTACT:
Jason Christley, (386) 310-6094, jchristley@nascar.com
RACE CENTRAL LIVE: EVENT SCHEDULE & ENTRY LIST
Fast Facts:
The Procedure: The maximum starting field is 22 cars, including provisionals. The first 19 cars will have secured starting positions through two-lap time trials while the remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 250 laps (100 miles), and is an impound race with four change tires allotted for the event.
The Race: The 2017 NASCAR Pinty’s Series schedule will return to Quebec for the final time this season with the Lucas Oil National 250 at Autodrome St-Eustache. The series has also visited Autodrome Chaudiere, Circuit ICAR and Trois-Rivieres in Quebec.
The Track: The Autodrome St-Eustache racing complex, located west of Montreal, consists of a .4-mile oval, a road course and a drag strip. There is also a karting track on the premises. The track was founded in 1965 as Fury Speedway de Fabreville, and the current configuration has played host to various types of racing since 1970. The track was purchased by Alan Labrosse prior to the 2008 race season.
Pole Winners: The first eight St-Eustache races have produced six different pole winners. Alex Labbe has the track qualifying record at 17.139 seconds (84.019 mph), set in 2014.
Race Winners: D.J. Kennington (2010), Andrew Ranger (2015) and Cayden Lapcevich (2016) are the only previous race winners at ASE scheduled to compete in the Lucas Oil 250 on Saturday.
Lucas Oil 250 Race Notes
Lacroix Still Looking for First Oval Win: St-Eustache native Kevin Lacroix returns to his home track still in contention for the championship and is also still looking for his first oval-track win. All four of his wins this season have come on road courses along with his four previous wins between 2015 & 2016.
Kennington Keeps Streak Alive: In addition to being a previous winner at ASE, Kennington is the only driver to start all eight previous NPS races at the Quebec track. He holds the record for most top-five finishes with five while Andrew Ranger has finished in the top-10 in all seven of his starts.
Martin Continues to Lead Rookie Race: Adam Martin is continuing his steady performance this season while competing for rookie of the year. The Ayr, Ontario driver leads Donald Theetge in the rookie standings 91-57 with just two races remaining. Martin is the only rookie contender to start all 11 races this season with four top-10 finishes.
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Update
Steven Cote, Jean-Francois Bouvrette Battle For Track Crown: Although Steve Cote enjoys a comfortable lead in the provincial standings over Jean Francois Bouvrette (581-270) thanks to 13 wins and 18 top-five finishes in 18 starts, the battle for the ASE track championship is much closer. Bouvrette, who won track titles in 2014 and 2016, trails Cote – winner of the ASE track crown in 2010 – by just 61 points.
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