By: NASCAR Pinty's Series
July 21 2016

Several Drivers Still Looking For First Win of Season

Daytona Beach, Florida – As the 2016 season for the NASCAR Pinty’s Series nears the midway point Andrew Ranger has proven he is a contender for the championship.

The Roxton Pond, Quebec, native enters Saturday’s Alberta Has New Energy 300 with a 13-point advantage over rookie Cayden Lapcevich and Kevin Lacroix now third.

Ranger won the inaugural event at Edmonton International Raceway in 2014 after holding off L.P. Dumoulin and Jason Hathaway in a race that was extended to 316 laps due to a late caution.

The two-time series champion finished second to Alex Tagliani in the most recent series event at Toronto Exhibition Place last Saturday. Both enter Edmonton as the only drivers this season to record multiple wins, with each driver bringing home two victories.

While Ranger and Tagliani have collected four of the five trophies this season, they’re several drivers still looking for their first win of the season.

L.P. Dumoulin, Gary Klutt and Jason Hathaway are three drivers who visited Victory Lane last year who are still looking for their first checkered flag of the season.

Judging on past performance, Dumoulin is the favorite to come out on top after finishing second in the last two events at EIR, while Hathaway has finished third the last two years.

RACE: Alberta Has New Energy 300
PLACE: Edmonton International Raceway, Wetaskiwin, Alta.
DATE: Saturday, July 23
TIME: 7:30 p.m. MT
TELECAST: TSN – July 31, Noon ET; RDS – Aug. 27, 2 p.m. ET
TRACK LAYOUT: .25-mile asphalt oval
2015 WINNER: Scott Steckly
2015 POLESITTER: Scott Steckly
EVENT SCHEDULE: Practice 12:15-12:45 p.m., Final Practice 1-1:45 p.m., Qualifying 4:05 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 6:05 p.m.
TRACK TWITTER: @EIRNASCAR
EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG: #AlbertaHasNewEnergy300

Fast Facts

The Race: The NASCAR Pinty’s Series is set to visit Edmonton International Raceway for the third consecutive year. The Alberta Has New Energy 300 will be the sixth of 12 events on the 2016 season schedule.

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.

The Track: Edmonton is the second facility to play host to the NASCAR Pinty’s Series in the province of Alberta along with Edmonton City Centre Airport (2007-12). The track was first paved in 1994 and received a new coat of asphalt and other improvements just prior to the 2014 event. Edmonton, under the ownership of Ron and Loretta Thiering for nearly 20 years, has been a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series member since 2005.

The Winners: Andrew Ranger won the inaugural event in 2014 and Scott Steckly dominated every lap last year en route to the win.

The Polesitters: Alex Tagliani holds the record in pole qualifying at Edmonton with a fast lap of 12.514 seconds (71.919 mph) in 2014. Scott Steckly won the pole last season.

Alberta Has New Energy 300 Notes

West-based Competitors To Make Appearances: The Alberta Has New Energy 300 will be the first NASCAR Pinty’s Series appearance of the season for Sherwood Park, Alberta, natives Noel Dowler, Kelly Admiraal and Ian Admiraal. Saskatchewan’s Jason Hankewich (Kindersley) is also slated to make his first start of the year. Dowler, who will be making his 50th career start this Saturday, finished 10th in this race last season.

Rookie of the Year Battle Tightens: Grimsby, Ontario’s, Cayden Lapcevich has led the Josten’s Rookie of the Year standings all season long. However Saint-Eustache, Quebec, native Kevin Lacroix is catching up. Lapcevich has scored a pair of runner-up finishes this season to help him sit atop the rookie standings, while Lacroix’s back-to-back third-place showings have enable him to close the gap.

Tough Luck Continues for Kennington: D.J. Kennington shares a record with Jason Hathaway as the only two drivers to have started every NASCAR Pinty's Series (114) race since its inception in 2007. He suffered just his eighth DNF (did not finish) of his career last Saturday in Toronto and first since late last season. Kennington has 19 series wins with his last coming in 2013.

Klutt Ready to Roll: After finishing sixth for his best finish of the season at Toronto, the NASCAR Next driver from Halton Hills, Ontario, looks to build on that momentum heading into Edmonton. Klutt, who picked up his lone win last year at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, finished 10th at Edmonton International Raceway in 2015.

NASCAR Hometracks: Thiering Leads In Local and Provincial Standings: Erica Thiering continues to lead the NASCAR Super Stocks standing at Edmonton International Raceway with a 45 point lead over Lee Werner (255-210). The local division is also the Division I representative in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and Thiering enjoys a 38-point lead over Taylor Krause (105-67) in the Alberta state/province standings with five wins in six starts this season.