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- Category: Oval Racing
August 25, 2023
The International Center of Advanced Racing or more commonly known as Circuit ICAR, is considered one of the most unique tracks on the NASCAR Pinty’s Schedule.
Located on the former Montréal–Mirabel International Airport, in Mirabel, Quebec, the track has appeared on the series’ schedule a total of nine times, separated by two stints, and three different configurations.
From 2011 to 2016, ICAR featured a 2.113-mile layout with 16 turns. Then a year later, the track was drastically shortened to a 0.684-mile map with only seven turns.
The track then disappeared from the series schedule for two years, but later returned in 2021, with a 0.994-mile, seven-turn layout.
Throughout the years and different configurations, two drivers have dominated on the airport tarmac - Andrew Ranger and Kevin Lacroix.
While the inaugural race in 2011 was won by Robin Buck, Ranger and Lacroix have established themselves as the ones to watch when the series visits the Mirabel, Quebec.
Both have four wins at the track, respectively. Ranger has competed in all nine races at ICAR, with all his wins coming on the 2.113-mile layout. Despite a 21st-place finish in the inaugural 2011 event, he has never finished worse than fifth at the track.
Lacroix on the other hand, has finished on the podium in all five of his starts, with four wins, and one third-place finish in 2016. The Saint-Eustache, Quebec native has therefore won on every ICAR configuration, with a win percentage of 80 and an average finish of 1.4.
Now, Circuit ICAR debuts a new configuration, where drivers will be challenged to a 2.295-kilometer (1.426-mile), 12-turn layout around the completely flat road course.
Largest Field at Circuit ICAR Since 2014
With 25 cars entered, this weekend’s race will feature the biggest field at Circuit ICAR since 2014 (29 cars).
Notable drivers joining the field include 2017 champion Alex Labbe driving the No. 36 Chevrolet, and three-time NASCAR Pinty’s winner Raphael Lessard driving the No. 12 Duroking Autosport/XPN Dodge for Mathieu Kingsbury.
Also joining the field are Justin Arseneau, Louis-Philippe Montour, Herby Drescher, Dave Coursol, Sam Fellows, and J.F. Laberge.
Jacques Guenette Sr. Makes Series Debut
One driver making their first career start this weekend at Circuit ICAR is Jacques Guenette Sr., grandfather to Alex Guenette, driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet.
Guenette Sr. has ten starts in the NASCAR Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series from 2001 to 2005, with four podium finishes in the GTS Class from 2001 to 2003.
NASCAR Pinty’s Series etc.
Alex Guenette will have a tight turn-around to get to Circuit ICAR on Saturday morning. Guenette is set to race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, August 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET in the No. 91 Evirum/BKFC Chevrolet for DGM Racing.
The Evirum 125 will air tape-delayed on TSN on Saturday, September 2 at 2:00 p.m. ET, and on RDS in Quebec on Saturday, September 23 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Race Evirum 125
Date / Start Time Saturday, August 26, 2023 / 5:30 p.m. ET.
Track / Location Circuit ICAR (Mirabel, QC)
TV TSN: Saturday, September 2 @ 2:00 p.m. ET.
RDS2: Saturday, September 23 @ 2:00 p.m. ET.
Live Stream Canada: TSN+
USA: FloRacing
Nouvelles et notes de la série NASCAR Pinty's - Le tracé du Circuit ICAR présente une nouvelle configuration
L'International Center of Advanced Racing, mieux connu sous le nom de Circuit ICAR, est considéré comme faisant partie des circuits uniques du programme NASCAR Pinty's.
Situé sur l'ancien aéroport international Montréal-Mirabel, à Mirabel, au Québec, le circuit a figuré au calendrier de la série NASCAR Pinty’s à neuf reprises, séparées en deux étapes, et en utilisant trois configurations différentes.
De 2011 à 2016, ICAR présentait un tracé de 3.40 km (2,113 miles) avec 16 virages. Un an plus tard, la piste a été considérablement réduite, à 1,10 km (0,684 mile), et avec seulement sept virages.
Le circuit a ensuite été retiré du calendrier de la série pendant deux ans, avant de revenir en 2021, avec un tracé de 1,599 km (0,994 mile) comprenant sept virages.
Au fil des années et des différentes configurations, deux pilotes ont dominé le tarmac - Andrew Ranger et Kevin Lacroix.
Bien que la course inaugurale de 2011 ait été remportée par Robin Buck, Andrew Ranger et Kevin Lacroix se sont imposés comme favoris lorsque la série visite le circuit de Mirabel, au Québec.
Ils ont tous deux remporté quatre victoires sur ce circuit. Andrew Ranger a participé aux neuf courses à ICAR et toutes ses victoires ont été remportées sur le tracé de 2,113 miles. Malgré une 21e place lors de l'événement inaugural de 2011, il n'a jamais terminé plus loin que la cinquième place par la suite.
Kevin Lacroix, quant à lui, est monté sur le podium lors de ses cinq départs, avec quatre victoires et une troisième place en 2016. Le natif de Saint-Eustache, au Québec, a donc gagné sur toutes les configurations du circuit ICAR, avec un pourcentage de victoire de 80 % et une moyenne de 1,4 à l’arrivée.
Aujourd'hui, ICAR inaugure une nouvelle configuration, où les pilotes devront relever le défi d'un tracé de 2,295 kilomètres (1,426 miles) et de 12 virages autour d'un circuit routier entièrement plat.
Le plus grand nombre d’inscrits au circuit ICAR depuis 2014
Avec un peloton de 25 voitures inscrites, la course de ce week-end présentera le plus grand peloton au circuit ICAR depuis 2014 (29 voitures). Parmi les pilotes qui se joindront aux réguliers de la série, mentionnons le champion 2017 Alex Labbé au volant de la Chevrolet no36, et celui qui a remporté trois courses en série NASCAR Pinty's, Raphaël Lessard, qui sera au volant de la Dodge no12 Duroking Autosport/XPN pour Mathieu Kingsbury.
Justin Arseneau, Louis-Philippe Montour, Herby Drescher, Dave Coursol, Sam Fellows et Jean-Frédéric Laberge se joindront également au peloton.
Jacques Guénette sénior fera ses débuts dans la série
Jacques Guénette sénior, grand-père d'Alex Guénette (pilote de la Chevrolet no3), prendra son premier départ en carrière en série NASCAR Pinty’s ce week-end au circuit ICAR.
Guénette sénior comptabilise dix départs en série NASCAR Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car de 2001 à 2005, dont quatre podiums en classe GTS de 2001 à 2003.
La série NASCAR Pinty’s etc.
Alex Guénette devront rapidement s’adapter au nouveau tracé du Circuit ICAR samedi matin, depuis qu’il participera à une ronde de la série NASCAR Xfinity au Daytona International Speedway la veille, le vendredi 25 août à 19 h 30 HAE.
La course « Evirum 125 » sera rediffusée sur TSN, le samedi 2 septembre à 14 h 00 HAE, et à RDS au Québec, le samedi 23 septembre à 14 h 00 HAE.
Course Evirum 125
Date / Départ Samedi 26 août / 17 h 30 HAE
Piste / Endroit Circuit ICAR (Mirabel, QC)
Télévision TSN : Samedi 2 septembre @ 14 h 00 HAE
RDS2 : Samedi 23 septembre @ 14 h 00 HAE
Diffusion en direct Canada : TSN+
États-Unis : FloRacing
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- Category: Oval Racing
August 23, 2023
Canadian driver Alex Guenette is set for his second NASCAR Xfinity Series start this Friday at the famed Daytona International Speedway. Ready to take on the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola, Guenette will pilot the #91 DGM Racing Team Chevrolet-powered entry with support from Evirum and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).
“I’m super excited to have a second opportunity of competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year,” expressed Alex Guenette. “Evirum has been a great partner for me in the Canadian NASCAR Pinty’s Series, and I’m very grateful to them for believing in me, along with their partner BKFC, and allowing me to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Daytona race. It’s going to be a big racing weekend for me, as I will also drive the #3 Evirum race car at the NASCAR Pinty’s Evirum 125 the next day in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada.”
“Alex raced with us in Chicago and achieved an excellent result finishing 15th in difficult conditions. He’s a very talented driver, so we were happy when he accepted our invitation to drive with us again. We’re looking forward to having Alex drive our #91 Chevrolet race car this Friday at Daytona International Speedway,” mentioned Mario Gosselin, Owner of the DGM Racing Team.
The partnership in Daytona is another way to open doors south of the border for Evirum, a leader in the field of environmental brokerage with a wide range of solutions in the management of residual material, and for BKFC to promote its growing combat sports championship among NASCAR fans.
Evirum, part of Allrem group of companies, serves commercial, industrial and institutional clients, as well as racing event promoters and race track operators, among others, supporting them with their expanded recycling efforts, environmental strategies and in reaching their sustainability goals. By using the NASCAR platform to create awareness and develop opportunities throughout the United States, Evirum is increasing their existing partnership program in Canada with the NASCAR Pinty's Series where they have branding on the #24 of rookie driver Thomas Nepveu and on the #3 race car of Alex Guenette. Evirum is also title sponsor of the NASCAR Pinty's Series Evirum 125 race presented at ICAR in Mirabel, Quebec on Saturday, August 26, 2023.
“Evirum is entering the US (United States) market, so when the opportunity to partner with Alex Guenette for the NASCAR Xfinity Daytona race was presented to us, it was in line with Evirum’s expansion strategy to extend our support to Alex beyond the Canadian NASCAR Pinty’s Series,” explained Julien Remillard, President of Evirum.
Continuing to push their brand to another level throughout North America, Evirum was a partner of the sustainability program of the past Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières 2023 (GP3R) which presented the NASCAR Pinty’s Series and is also the official residual materials manager for ICAR Complex where the NASCAR Pinty's Series Evirum 125 will be presented.
Evirum is involved in industries where there is a need and desire to become more eco-responsible while improving residual materials management efficiencies, such as NASCAR and race circuits around North America.
Said BKFC President and Founder David Feldman, “We’re very happy to work with Evirum on this tremendous NASCAR Xfinity event and their driver Alex Guenette at the Daytona International Speedway this Friday. There is a strong synergy between BKFC and NASCAR fans, both sports are all-action and very fast paced so it works for us to partner with co-sponsor Evirum on Alex Guenette’s NASCAR Xfinity DGM Racing Team Chevrolet car #91 for Daytona. We look forward to a very strong partnership with Evirum and cross-promoting at our events.”
BKFC Two-Division World Champion Lorenzo ‘The Jugguarnaut’ Hunt as well as BKFC Bombshells Kaitlyn and Alyssa will make a special guest appearance at the Daytona International Speedway to support driver Alex Guenette in his Evirum/BKFC race car.
About Evirum
Evirum, an Allrem’s company, with operation in North America, is a residual materials management broker with a wide range of services that allows for a customized new approach to sustainability and management of residual material, offering innovative solutions to minimize environmental impact and promote recycling. Committed to the preservation of the environment, Evirum strives to guide companies and individuals toward a higher standard in the areas of eco-responsibility and sustainability.
evirum.com/racing
evirum.com
About Allrem
Allrem is a Canadian private equity investment firm based in Montreal, Quebec, that focuses on strategic investments and partnerships in many industry sectors across Canada and the United States, such as real estate, waste management and environmental services solutions, sports and media entertainment, including multiple levels of sponsorship in the North American Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Series, the Canadian NASCAR Pinty’s Series, and investment in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), amongst others.
allrem.com
About BKFC
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), The World's Fastest Growing Combat Sports Promotion, is the first entity sanctioned to hold regulated bare-knuckle events in the United States since 1889. BKFC is based in Philadelphia, PA, and is headed by President and Founder David Feldman.
bkfc.com
About DGM Racing
Driven by pure passion and love for everything racing, DGM Racing is a family-owned and operated business headquartered in Lake Wales, FL. Since 1990, Mario Gosselin and his wife, Michelle, have worked tirelessly to elevate DGM Racing and grow the organization each year. What started as a local hobby on the weekends in Hialeah, Florida, has grown into a powerhouse organization fielding four NASCAR Xfinity Series cars. Going into the 2022 season, the team has more than 149 Top-20 race finishes and four Top-20 finishes in driver standings between 2020-2021.
dgmracing.com
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- Category: Oval Racing
August 6, 2023
Trois-Rivières, Quebec - The sting from last year’s Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières was still fresh on Marc-Antoine Camirand’s mind as he climbed into his No. 96 GM Paillé Chevrolet on Sunday.
In 2022, after leading a race-high 51 laps, Camirand saw his hopes for a Grand Prix de-Trois Rivières victory end abruptly after a late collision between L.P. Dumoulin and J.F. Dumoulin relegated him to third in the running order.
But this year, no issues hindered Camirand as he took the checkered flag in the Les 60 Tours Rousseau Metal. In his 10th start, Camirand finally earned the distinction of winning the NASCAR Pinty’s Series' most prestigious race.
“We worked so damn hard to win that one,” Camirand said. “This is one of our biggest wins. We came here Saturday morning, and the car was really fast. The pace was really good in the beginning [of the race] and we tried to manage things [after putting in a splash of fuel]. Once I got the lead, the car was really good, and we got that win for GM Paillé.”
Although Sunday was his first triumph at Trois-Rivières, Camirand has typically had speed in each endeavor at the technical circuit.
In only his second start at GP3R in 2014, Camirand qualified on the pole but ended his long day in the 20th position on the lead lap. Camirand would duplicate that feat in 2018, which saw him lead 37 laps and tally what was then his second top-five at Trois-Rivières.
With another GP3R pole under his belt, Camirand was in front of a first-lap crash that eliminated top contenders, Kevin Lacroix along with Camirand’s teammate and four-time Trois-Rivières winner, Andrew Ranger. The crash mixed up the strategy and forced Camirand to briefly vacate the top spot for fuel.
L.P. Dumoulin, who was involved in the same crash with Ranger and Lacroix, took advantage of his circumstances with an early fuel stop that put him in front of Camirand. Dumoulin fought valiantly to maintain control but ended up surrendering the lead to Camirand on a restart shortly after the halfway mark.
Dumoulin has visited Victory Lane in Trois-Rivières twice during his NASCAR Pinty’s Series career, his most recent trip occurring in 2019. Despite nursing a car with noticeable right-rear damage, Dumoulin overcame adversity for his second race in a row with a top-five finish, which helped ease some of the frustration he shared with Camirand from last year’s race.
“We didn’t want to pit early but we had to,” Dumoulin said. “I saw right underneath [Lacroix’s] car and right away, we had a flat tire. I thought it was worse than a flat tire, but fortunately, we waited until closer to [the restart] to put the full load of fuel in. It was too early to do that, and I had to save a lot of it. All in all, it was a challenging race.”
Camirand now shares the honor of being a champion of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières with Dumoulin, joining an elite list of competitors that includes Ranger, Lacroix, Alex Tagliani, D.J. Kennington, and many others.
Camirand did not need a victory at GP3R to cement himself as one of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series greatest competitors, as he is fresh off a stellar 2022 season that saw him claim his first championship.
Despite this, breaking through at GP3R was a cathartic moment for Camirand after having previously come up short in his nine previous outings at the venue. Now that he has a win in Trois-Rivières on his resume, Camirand is eager to add to his growing legacy in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series by pursuing a second title.
“It’s going to be hard to catch [Treyten] Lapcevich,” Camirand said. “We got some points here, but Ohsweken is the next race and Treyten is going to be fast there. If we can show up, try to do our best, and stay close to Treyten, then I think we can make a good push.”
Tagliani came home in third at the end of Sunday’s Les 60 Tours Rousseau Metal, with Gary Klutt and Kennington completing the top-five.
The rest of the top-ten finishers were Treyten Lapcevich, Brandon Watson, last year’s winner Alex Guenette, J.P. Bergeron, and Thomas Nepveu.
There will not be much rest for the NASCAR Pinty’s Series drivers following Sunday’s outing in Trois-Rivières. Up next is two consecutive nights of racing at the only dirt venue on the 2023 schedule, Ohsweken Speedway.
The Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières will air tape-delayed on TSN on Sunday, August 13 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
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August 21, 2023
Toronto, Ontario – The number 87 Fellows McGraw Racing (FMR) NASCAR Pinty’s Series team is ready to travel to Mirabel, Quebec this coming weekend for the Evirum 125 at Complexe ICAR. The race is set to go green on Saturday, August 26, at 5:30 PM.
The Montréal-based mattress company, Polysleep, will also return on the 87 car this weekend as a sponsor, having extended their support after the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières.
FMR driver Sam Fellows said, “we’re really happy to have Polysleep extend their sponsorship to ICAR. Even after our struggles at GP3R they have been super supportive … they want to see us succeed and having that encouragement means a lot to the team.”
At GP3R, the number 87 Chevrolet Camaro suffered from drivetrain and power-related issues the entire weekend. Lacking power, Fellows qualified 21st and only managed a disappointing 15th place finish in the race on Sunday.
“Mentally that was really tough,” Fellows said. “We had a nicely balanced car and I was expecting to roll into GP3R and build on my past success there … but nothing seemed to go our way.”
Fellows continued, “it’s really frustrating when you don’t have the car working right you just can’t compete, but I’m really proud of our team and their resilience. This crew is passionate and dedicated and it shows through in their hard work. I know we’re going to get the results soon to prove that.”
The driver of the AER Manufacturing / GM Paille machine has made two previous starts at ICAR in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series. Fellows finished 12th at the event in 2021 in his second-ever series start, and had an unfortunate DNF in 2022 after a suspension failure early in the race.
“Last year was weird because practice and qualifying got rained out so we started at the back on owners points. We were coming through the field nicely when the car broke … but I think the track races pretty well and our crew chief Mike Knott knows what we need from the car.”
The NASCAR Pinty’s Series will apparently use a new circuit configuration at ICAR this year. The length of the layout has been extended from the usual 1.8 km “roval” to a slightly longer 2.2 km “road course.”
Watch the Evirum 125 live on TSN + or on the FloRacing App. The event will also be tape-delay broadcasted by TSN and RDS the following weekend.
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August 5, 2023
For Canadian fans, information included in the release of IMSA’s schedule for 2024, there was a bit of bad news as we discovered the premiere GTP class will not be appearing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July. While the Weathertech Sportscar Championship will still be here, the race will feature the LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD classes. The IMSA undercard should also include the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Being as disappointed as the rest of the Canadian fans, editors at RaceCanada reached out to IMSA and received this explanation: “A key factor in setting our schedules each year is to respect our teams' and manufacturers' operating budgets. With the addition of the 100-minute Detroit event and the expansion of the Indianapolis event to six hours, it was necessary to remove the GTP class from the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2024. We anticipate substantially expanded fields for the LMP2 and GTD PRO class and at least as many GTD cars if not more, and expect another highly entertaining event at CTMP next year.”
While this might not be the answer some of you would like, from the point of view of both teams and manufacturers, the simple addition of another six-hour endurance event adds incredible costs to operating budgets (something this writer is closely familiar with) especially when you start the year with the Rolex 24 followed by the Sebring 12 – a full season’s racing in just six weeks. Add a second 6-hour event in addition to The Glen, the expansion of Indianapolis to a 6 Hour race, plus the season-ending 10 hours of Petit Le Mans and somewhere along the line, a decision must be made when the GTP teams are running budgets exponentially larger than other classes.
There is of course, the simple economics of coming to race in Canada which has certainly affected the decisions of other major series and promoters - NASCAR Trucks, Trans-Am and SRO GT World come to mind and races in Canada have disappeared off the schedule completely. To their credit, IMSA is still supporting the market and it can be pointed out just with the news this week from AWA Racing, that GT car counts will be increasing and will give us more Canadian content to cheer on. Of course we anticipate – and hope for, increased car counts in LMP2 as well. With LMP3 losing it's place in the WeatherTech Series, at least two teams have already announced a move to the LMP2 class for 2024, as well the LMP2 class has been eliminated from the World Endurance Championship for 2024, meaning IMSA will be the only top class of racing for any of the teams unable or unwilling to make the move to Hypercar.
IMSA also noted that this announcement was for the 2024 season only, and no decisions have been made for the schedule for 2025 and beyond.
Of course on a purely selfish note – considering that 2025 is a long way off, that the GTP teams decide after Detroit, that they really long for a return to a proper road course just east of Toronto.
In the meantime, thank you to IMSA for their quick reply to our enquiries, and we do look forward to seeing them next July.