New year, new name, same action-packed stock car racing.

 

The rebranded NASCAR Canada Series kicked it season off at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

 

This year will see no title defense, as last years’ champion Treyten Lapcevich has headed south of the border, joining the CARS Tour full time for 2024.

 

This leaves the trophy ripe for the taking and there are many hungry drivers in the field.

 

The 2023 runner up Marc-Antoine Camirand looks to make that one position improvement this year and bring home his second title, while the likes of Alex Tagliani and Kevin Lacroix look to bring home their first championships. 

 

Saturday’s practice session set a template as to what may be seen in qualifying later on in the day.

 

It ran mostly stoppage free meaning teams and drivers were able to get a lot of laps in.

 

As the session progressed, it was clear that there was one that was going to be the benchmark for the weekend.

 

Lacroix topped the timesheet, a full seven tenths of a second ahead of Andrew Ranger in second and the only driver to break the one minute, 21 second threshold. Camirand, L.P. Dumoulin and Gary Klutt rounding out the top five.

 

Qualifying got underway Saturday evening and all eyes were on the Mirabel, QC native, seeing if he could convert his pace from practice into a pole position.

 

But there was someone else that had other plans.

 

Despite a great time from Lacroix, it was Klutt that snatched the pole by three hundredths of a second. Camirand managed a lap good enough for third, with Ranger and Dumoulin closing out the top five spots.

 

The ASSA ABLOY Accentra 200 got underway with the Halton Hills, ON native holding the lead after turn 1.

 

Things did not stay green for long as a caution came out one lap later for debris on the front straight.

 

Racing resumed on lap four, with Klutt holding off Lacroix until the 35 year-old was able to make his way into the lead two circuits later.

 

This is where his pace showed as he started to pull away, creating a sizable gap back to second place.

 

Then, we started to see the first signs of strategies coming into effect with Klutt coming to the pits at the end of lap 11.

 

But we would not get to see it fully play out as a caution on lap 14 for Matthew Scannell coming to a stop on track.

 

This saw crew chiefs scribble out previous plans and start to formulate new ones.

 

A big group, led by Lacroix Camirand and Ranger, headed down pit road under yellow, while others like Klutt and Dumoulin stayed out.

 

Racing got back under way and there was another card played in the strategy game.

 

Even after stopping under caution, Lacroix was back down pit road immediately afterwards on lap 19.

 

Around the same time that this was happening, Scannell was stopped on track yet again, bringing out the full course yellow.

 

This saw, once more, a splitting of strategies, as some came in and others stayed out.

 

When the green flag fell going onto lap 24, it was Peter Klutt ahead of Sam Fellows out of turn one and these two would hold the front for a while.

 

The likes of Camirand and Lacroix were charging though and by lap 33, the former was making a pass for the lead, with the latter taking it for himself soon after.

 

It seemed at this point a victory was on the cards for him, but it wasn’t meant to be.

 

Just 11 laps from the end, Lacroix ground to a halt outside of turn one, his transmission seemingly letting him down, and taking away a golden opportunity to start the season with a win.

 

When racing resumed, it became a three-car fight for the win between Camirand, Gary Klutt, and Dumoulin, one that required overtime to settle as the number 24 of Thomas Nepveu came to stop, suffering from electrical issues.

 

This shootout would go down to the final turn.

 

In the end, the St. Leonard d’Aston, QC native would hang on for the win, kicking off his 2024 season with a bang.

 

It was Camirand’s ninth consecutive podium at a road or street course, and the victory has him as the early championship leader heading into round two.

 

Klutt takes home a hard earned second and got close heading into turn 10 but just wasn’t close enough.

 

When asked about a potential bump and run if he was closer, it seems it wasn’t a thought for him.

 

“I don’t wanna tear stuff up and smash into guys,” Klutt said in the post-race interview. “If its tight and you can legitimately go for a pass, that’s one thing, but just driving into the rear of someone…that’s not racing.”

 

Dumoulin rounded out the podium positions and had a strong performance, though may feel aggrieved that the green-white-checkered cost him a spot.

 

A great race for Sam Fellows, who gets his best ever finish in the NASCAR Canada Series coming home in fourth. Alex Labbe closes out the top five.

 

Drive of the day definitely goes to Andrew Ranger, who, after falling back during the middle part of the race, rallies back for a top 10, finishing in eighth place.

 

The series heads east to Autodrome Chaudière for round two of the season on June 1.