Bowmanville, Ontario - NASCAR Canada, presented by Pinty’s and Evirum, competed in their final road course event of the season at the famed Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) over Labour Day weekend for the WeatherTech 200. Kevin Lacroix claimed victory in front of thousands of fans, marking his 8th win at CTMP and 4th this season. 

 

Twenty-eight drivers took part in the race on the 3.9-kilometre circuit. The Bowmanville venue is always host to action-packed races, and the WeatherTech 200 was no exception. 

 

Marc-Antoine Camirand set the fastest lap in Practice, commanding his Armed Forces-themed No. 96 GM Paillé Chevrolet. However, it was Kevin Lacroix who secured the E3 Spark Plugs Pole Award late Saturday afternoon. The driver of the No. 74 Adaptive One Calipers/NAPA Racing Dodge also set a new track record with a time of 1:21.809. Qualifying was halted early due to an incident involving Darry Timmers. Unfortunately, the driver of the No. 98 Curb Records/4S Electrical/WrapForce Ford was unable to participate in the WeatherTech 200 the following day.

 

On Sunday afternoon, the drivers took the green flag for the WeatherTech 200 under the shinning sun. Kevin Lacroix started alongside Gary Klutt in the No. 59 Bothwell-Accurate/Hofmann Plastics Dodge, with Andrew Ranger in the No. 27 GM Paillé Chevrolet and Camirand on the second row.

 

Lacroix held the lead on Lap 1, with Klutt and Ranger close behind as Camirand slipped down the order. A major incident involving Dexter Stacey's No. 66 ReCap/K-Fibre Optic/Bully's Truck Chevrolet and Jason Hathaway's No. 3 Weiser/Leland Industries Chevrolet led to a red flag. 

 

Lacroix retained the lead on the restart despite pressure from Klutt and Ranger. A backmarker played a significant role in shuffling the order, allowing Camirand to claim 2nd place while Klutt dropped to 4th. Then, it wasn’t long before Camirand took the lead from Lacroix.

 

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin’s race ended in disappointment as he retired his No. 47 WeatherTech Canada/OmniFab Dodge after only 14 laps. Before the race, Dumoulin had expressed his desire to receive the winner’s trophy from the WeatherTech Canada team, who were present on-site.

 

During the pit stop sequence, several drivers in the Top 10 elected to come down pit road three times. Marc-Antoine Camirand lost no time coming in for fuel but didn’t return for new tires. He earned the Freshstone Midway Leader Award.

 

After the halfway mark, Alex Tagliani became a strong contender for the win, running in second place for several laps aboard his No. 80 St-Hubert/BFL/ArobasPersonnel/Chevrolet 440 machine. However, he came under pressure from Sam Fellows in the No. 87 AER/Polysleep/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, who claimed second place on Lap 34. Matthew Scannell, who started from 11th, was running strong in 4th place with his No. 99 Nitro54/Mainstreet Logistics/Mi-Box Dodge, while Kyle Steckly rounded out the Top 5.

 

Camirand comfortably led the race in the closing stage of the race, but the battle behind him intensified. 

 

Kyle Steckly passed Tagliani for 3rd place, and Scannell joined the fray, relegating Tagliani to 5th. Trouble struck for Fellows, who stopped his No. 87 Chevrolet in Corner 2 just as Gary Klutt hit the tire barrier in an unrelated incident. This brought out a full course yellow and a red flag for barrier repairs with 7 laps remaining.

 

The restart set the stage for a thrilling finish. Kyle Steckly made a bid for the lead, but Camirand held firm. Meanwhile, Lacroix clawed his way back up the order, moving from 7th to 3rd place as mechanical issues caused Scannell to drop the order. In true NASCAR Canada fashion, Lacroix attacked Camirand on the last lap, overtaking him in Corner 5 to take the victory. Camirand finished second, with Kyle Steckly rounding off the podium.

 

“We started from pole position, but it didn’t feel like it as we were on a different strategy than everyone else,” explained Kevin Lacroix. “We took on tires early in the race, and since there was no caution, we found ourselves mid-pack with only 10 laps to go. However, a caution came out near the end, and just like in a typical NASCAR finish, we had to pass seven cars in four laps. I rushed through traffic and came out with the win. I’m super happy for the team.”

 

Camirand shared, “It was a really good race. We had a solid strategy without taking any tires. We pitted for fuel about 15 laps in, and the car was perfect. Then the worst thing happened: a caution with 8 laps to go. I knew that the No. 74 had taken four tires, so he was much quicker than us. But we finished ahead of the No. 27, and we’re in a good position for the championship.”

 

Kyle Steckly, who was back on track for a one-off event, commented on his podium finish, “The 22 Racing Team brought me a great car. We had a lot of fun out there. The strategy worked well until that caution came out. We were right up there in second really quickly, but I think in the short run, we just weren’t quite as good. Lacroix came hard on four tires and raced aggressively, as expected. That’s how these races play out. We’ll take third place and keep digging.”

 

NASCAR Canada now heads to Delaware Speedway in Ontario on September 8th for the penultimate round of the 2024 season.