Hathaway Will Try and Tie Series Record at Chaudière

Daytona Beach, Florida – The NASCAR Pinty’s Series will return to Autodrome Chaudière for the third consecutive year and Jason Hathaway will try to make history at the competitive oval in Vallee-Jonction, Quebec.

Hathaway has won both previous races at Chaudière, and a third win would tie him with Andrew Ranger for the most consecutive wins at one track in series history. Ranger accomplished the feat at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres (2008-10) and Circuit ICAR (2012-14).

Hathaway dominated in the inaugural race at the Chaudière in 2014, leading 177 laps. Last year he led the final 30 laps and held off pole-sitter Alex Labbe at his home track to score the victory.

Quebec native Andrew Ranger enters this week’s race as the points leader after winning the season-opener at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

RACE: CRS Express 300
PLACE: Autodrome Chaudière, Vallee-Jonction, Que.
DATE: Saturday, June 11
TIME: 8 p.m. ET
TELECAST: TSN 4-5 – June 19 at 1 p.m. ET; RDS2 – July 1 at 10:30 p.m.
TRACK LAYOUT: .25-mile asphalt oval
2015 POLESITTER: Alex Labbe
2015 RACE WINNER: Jason Hathaway
EVENT SCHEDULE: Practice 12:30-1 p.m., Final Practice 1:20-1:50 p.m., Qualifying 4:15 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 6:45 p.m.
TRACK TWITTER: @AutChaudiere
EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG: #CRSExpress300

Fast Facts:

The Race: The CRS Express 300 will be the second of 12 events on the NASCAR Pinty’s schedule, and the first of four trips to the province of Quebec.

The Procedure: The maximum starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 21 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 300 laps (75 miles) and will have a five-minute midway break at or near the conclusion of Lap 150. This is an impound race with two change tires allowed.

The Track: Autodrome Chaudière held its inaugural Pinty’s Series event in 2014. The quarter-mile, high-banked oval opened in 1992 with a dirt racing surface and was paved for the first time in 2005.

Chaudière 300 Notes:

Homecoming for Labbe: Alex Labbe won the pole for this event last season and led 109 laps. He’s from Victoriaville, Quebec, making Autodrome Chaudière his home track.

Ontario Drivers Perform Well at Quebec Ovals: There have been nine oval races in the province of Quebec in Canadian Tire Series history, and eight of the nine have been won by an Ontario driver. Hathaway has won both previous races at Autodrome Chaudière. There have been seven events at Autodrome St-Eustache with Ontario natives Steckly (4), Kennington and Dave Whitlock picking up the first six wins at the track. Last season Quebec native Andrew Ranger broke through and ending the streak at St-Eustache.

Tagliani Returns to Action: Alex Tagliani, fresh off his start in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, will be making his first NASCAR Pinty’s Series start of the season. Tagliani finished fifth in this race last year.

Theetge Set to Drive For Steckly: Donald Theetge will make his third career start in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series this Saturday at Autodrome Chaudière. Theetge also joined his brother Benoit and competed in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Challenge at Daytona International Speedway in 2010 finishing third. He’ll drive a car owned by four-time NPS champion Scott Steckly. Steckly led a race-high 154 laps last year before being sidelines with mechanical issues.

Youth Movement: Teenager Cayden Lapcevich made a start last year in this event and finished 17th after being involved in a crash. He returns this year along with fellow rookies Bryan Cathcart, Patrick Dussaault and Brett Taylor. Josh Collins will make his first career start Saturday.