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.

Toronto, Ontario – Fellows McGraw Racing (FMR) will be heading to the Grand Prix of Trois-Riviéres (GP3R) this week to take part in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series Les 60 Tours Rousseau Metal - at the historic street circuit.

FMR was created earlier this season with the help of long-time supporter AER Manufacturing and support from GM Paillé. The team made their debut at the Bud-Light 300 at the Autodrome-Chaudiere with the number 87 Chevrolet Camaro. Fellows finished 11th in the team debut, after taking a pit-road penalty that sent the team to the back to start the second half of the race. The team then debuted their road-course car at the Tiffany Gate Grand Prix of Toronto. After running near the top-10, Fellows was forced to pit for damage after making contact with a lapped car; finishing a disappointing 16th place.

“Toronto was pretty frustrating, but there were definitely some positive takeaways,” Sam Fellows said. “Mike Knott and the crew and the folks at McColl Racing Enterprises prepared a really good car for us, and without really much tuning done we were running in a decent spot.”

Since the Toronto race the FMR team, with crew chief Mike Knott, have continued to tune on the car and honed their GP3R setup through testing. Fellows’ best ever NASCAR Pinty’s result came at GP3R in 2022, where he finished in sixth place after running most of the race inside the top-five.

“GP3R was our best ever race and we learned a lot last year about setup for the track and having Mike Knott with us now on the 87 car I hope we’ll be able to build on that momentum,” Fellows said.

The number 87 AER Manufacturing / GM Paillé Chevrolet Camaro will also be supported by Canadian mattress company Polysleep, who are based in Montréal.

“We’re excited to have Polysleep back with us this year for GP3R,” Fellows said. “Having a sponsor that is so proudly Canadian, and making waves in such a competitive industry is inspiring.”

“It’s really important for FMR to have great Canadian partners like Polysleep … so we’re going to give it our all for them this weekend.”

The FMR road course car will once again sport the same livery as it was shown on the Streets of Toronto. The car is an homage and throwback to previous Ron Fellows liveries that featured a solid blue colour with AER Manufacturing sponsorship. Ron Fellows competed specifically in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Jr. Motorsports (JRM) in similar liveries.

Ron Fellows will once again spot for son Sam, while also driving for the third straight year in the Chevrolet Urban Challenge dirt-modified event at GP3R.

The NASCAR Pinty’s event at GP3R will go green on Sunday, August 6th, around 2:30 PM local time. Fans can tune in live to the event on the TSN + app or on RDS in Quebec. A tape-delay broadcast version of the event will also be shown the following week on TSN.

For competitors in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, a victory in Sunday’s Les 60 Tours Rousseau Metal at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières would mean everything.

The event, which typically draws one of the strongest fields every season, takes place on the streets of Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

The 11-turn, 1.53-mile course that carves through the Terrain de l'Exposition and the Porte Duplessis presents unique challenges for drivers and teams, making it perhaps the most sought-after victory in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series.

Since the series began racing at Trois-Rivières in 2007, eight drivers have been fortunate enough to earn trips to Victory Lane at the event.

The most recent of those is Alex Guenette, who led only the final six laps last year to earn what remains his only NASCAR Pinty’s Series victory to date. His 10th-place starting position is the deepest a winner has ever started at Trois-Rivières.

The driver who can look back on the 2022 edition of Trois-Rivières with regret is defending NASCAR Pinty’s Series champion Marc-Antoine Camirand. He led a race-high 51 laps but contact while battling for the race lead with J.F. Dumoulin allowed Guenette to slip through and secure the lead, and subsequently, the win.

A win for Camirand would mark his first at the circuit he considers his home track. It’s also the place where he got his first experience racing in the series in 2013.

In addition to defending race winner Guenette, five other previous Trois-Rivières winners will also be in action this Sunday.

They include Andrew Ranger, who has a record four victories at Trois-Rivières. Ranger, who has started all 15 previous events at the track, won three-consecutive races at GP3R from 2008 to 2010 and added a fourth victory in 2012.

Stunningly, from 2007 to 2017, his worst finish at Trois-Rivières was second.

Next on the list is Alex Tagliani, who has won three times at GP3R. He claimed back-to-back triumphs in 2017 and 2018 and added a third triumph in 2021. He already has a victory on a street circuit this year in Toronto, making him a likely favorite this weekend.

L.P. Dumoulin is a two-time Trois-Rivières victor, having claimed victories in 2014 and 2019. Hailing from Trois-Rivières makes him an obvious choice and a fan favorite this weekend.

Kevin Lacroix is also a two-time Trois-Rivières winner. His victories came in his first two visits to the facility in 2015 and 2016. He was fast in 2022, claiming the pole before an engine failure relegated him a 19th-place finish.

Lastly, D.J. Kennington will be in search of his second Trois-Rivières triumph this weekend. The two-time Pinty’s Series champion claimed his lone Trois-Rivières victory in 2013 and finished second one year ago.

Other previous winners at Trois-Rivières who are not entered Sunday are Kerry Micks (2007) and Robin Buck (2011).

Big Field Expected For Trois-Rivières

It’s been since 2014 that a race in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series has featured more than 30 entries.

That’s going to change this weekend as 30 drivers have filed entries to compete at Trois-Rivières.

The solid turnout can be attributed to the prestige that comes with racing – and winning at - Trois-Rivières. With more than 50 years of racing history, the event is widely considered the most historic race on the NASCAR Pinty’s Series schedule.

The event at Trois-Rivières has traditionally drawn strong fields, with the inaugural event at the track featuring 28 entries. At least 25 cars have competed in the Pinty’s Series events at Trois-Rivières on 10 occasions.

Among those 10 occasions are four events that featured at least 30 entries. Those events took place consecutively from 2011 to 2014 and were won by Robin Buck (2011), Andrew Ranger (2012), D.J. Kennington (2013), and L.P. Dumoulin (2014).

The record for entries at Trois-Rivières is 33, which was set in 2011 and tied in 2014.

Lessard, Labbe Return To Pinty’s Series Competition

A pair of drivers who have enjoyed a bit of success in the United States are returning to the NASCAR Pinty’s Series this weekend.

Raphael Lessard and Alex Labbe are returning to their stock car, racing roots with the series at GP3R and both have their sights set on a trip to Victory Lane.

Lessard is best known for his time racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he scored a victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports at Talladega Superspeedway in 2020. He also claimed a championship with the popular CARS Tour in 2016.

While Lessard has not made an official start in the series this season, he did fill in for Dexter Stacey at the halfway break at Autodrome Chaudiere, bringing the No. 92 ReCap Chevrolet home in third.

He’ll be at the wheel of Mathieu Kingsbury’s No. 12 Dodge this weekend.

Labbe, the 2017 NASCAR Pinty’s Series champion, is set to make his second start of the season and first at Trois-Rivières since 2019. Labbe has been a familiar face in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2018, where he has one top-five (fourth at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in 2020) and 13 top-10 finishes.

This weekend Labbe will drive the No. 36 Chevrolet owned by Teresa Dupuis.

NASCAR Pinty’s Series Etc.

Trois-Rivières always brings out the road course ringers and this year is no exception. Gary Klutt, J.F. Dumoulin, Herby Drescher, Louis-Philippe Montour, and Jocelyn Fecteau are among the road course experts scheduled to compete.

Sam Fellows, son of veteran Canadian road course racer Ron Fellows, is slated to make his third start of the season at Trois-Rivières. He finished sixth at GP3R in 2022 and made his series debut at the track in 2021.

Dave Coursol, who last raced in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series in 2015, is returning for Sunday’s race at Trois-Rivières. His career-best finish came in 2015 at GP3R when he finished 12th.

Darryl Timmers will be back in the No. 98 Chevrolet for Bray Autosports, for his second career start. He made his debut on the Streets of Toronto earlier this year and finished 14th.

Fans in Quebec who are unable to attend Sunday’s race but want to see it live are in luck. The event will be broadcast live on RDS2 at 2 p.m. ET.

Race Les 60 Tours Rousseau Metal Pres. By Groupe Olivier & Prolon Controls
Date / Start Time Sunday, August 6, 2023 / 2:18 p.m. ET
Track / Location Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (Trois-Rivières, QC)
TV TSN: Sun. August 13 @ 12:30 p.m. ET / RDS2: LIVE BROADCAST – Sunday August 6 @ 2:00 p.m. ET
Live Stream Canada: TSN+
USA: FloRacing




Nouvelles et notes de la série NASCAR Pinty's - Tous les regards se tournent vers le Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières

Pour les concurrents de la série NASCAR Pinty's, la victoire de la course de dimanche « Les 60 Tours Rousseau Métal » au Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, demeure d'une importance capitale.

L'événement, qui attire généralement l'un des plus forts contingents d’inscrits de la saison, se déroule dans les rues de Trois-Rivières, au Québec.

Le parcours de 11 virages sur 2,46 km (1,53 miles) traverse le Terrain de l'Exposition et la Porte Duplessis tout en présentant des défis uniques pour les pilotes et les équipes, ce qui en fait probablement la victoire la plus recherchée de la série NASCAR Pinty's.

Depuis que la série court à Trois-Rivières (2007), huit pilotes y ont remporté au moins une victoire.

Le plus récent d'entre eux est Alex Guénette, qui n'a mené que les six derniers tours l'an dernier, pour rafler sa seule victoire dans la série NASCAR Pinty's. Qualifié 10e, aucun autre pilote n’avait pris le départ aussi loin sur la grille, dans l’histoire de la série à Trois-Rivières.

Le pilote qui peut regretter le résultat de l'édition 2022 de Trois-Rivières est le champion en titre de la série NASCAR Pinty's, Marc-Antoine Camirand. Il a mené un total de 51 tours, mais un contact avec Jean-François Dumoulin, alors qu'ils se disputaient la première position, a permis à Guénette de se faufiler et de s'emparer de la tête et, par la suite, de la victoire.

Une victoire de Camirand en série Pinty's marquerait sa première sur ce circuit qu'il considère comme sa piste d'attache. C'est aussi l'endroit où il a acquis sa première expérience de course dans la série en 2013.

Outre Guénette, champion en titre de cette course, cinq autres anciens vainqueurs de l’épreuve à Trois-Rivières seront aussi en action ce dimanche.

Il s'agit notamment d'Andrew Ranger, qui a remporté quatre victoires au GP3R. Il a pris le départ de l’ensemble des 15 courses précédentes sur le circuit, a remporté trois courses consécutives au GP3R de 2008 à 2010 et a ajouté une quatrième victoire en 2012.

Fait étonnant, de 2007 à 2017, son moins bon résultat à Trois-Rivières a été une deuxième place.

Le suivant sur cette liste est Alex Tagliani, qui a gagné le GP3R à trois reprises. Il a remporté deux victoires consécutives en 2017 et 2018, puis une troisième en 2021. Il a déjà remporté une victoire sur un circuit urbain cette année à Toronto, ce qui en fait un favori potentiel ce week-end.

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin est un double vainqueur de Trois-Rivières, en 2014 et en 2019. Originaire de Trois-Rivières, il est un choix évident et un favori des partisans ce week-end, d’autant plus qu’il signe ses 25 ans de participation au GP3R cette année.

Kevin Lacroix est également un double vainqueur de Trois-Rivières. Ses victoires sont survenues lors de ses deux premières participations, en 2015 et 2016. Il a été rapide en 2022, décrochant la pole position avant qu'une panne de moteur ne le relègue à la 19e place au final.

Enfin, D.J. Kennington sera à la poursuite de son deuxième triomphe à Trois-Rivières ce week-end. Le double champion de la série Pinty's a remporté sa seule victoire à Trois-Rivières en 2013 et a terminé deuxième il y a un an.

Les autres vainqueurs précédents à Trois-Rivières, qui ne sont pas inscrits dimanche, sont Kerry Micks (2007) et Robin Buck (2011).

Plusieurs inscrits pour le GP3R

Depuis 2014, la série NASCAR Pinty's n'a pas compté plus de 30 inscriptions pour une course. Cela changera ce week-end puisque 30 pilotes se sont inscrits à l’épreuve de Trois-Rivières.

Cette forte participation peut être attribuable au prestige qui accompagne les courses - et les victoires - à Trois-Rivières. Avec plus de 50 ans d'histoire, l'événement est reconnu comme la course la plus emblématique du calendrier de la NASCAR Pinty's.

Le week-end à Trois-Rivières a toujours attiré un grand nombre de participants, l'épreuve inaugurale ayant réuni 28 voitures. À 10 reprises, au moins 25 voitures ont participé aux épreuves de la série Pinty's à Trois-Rivières.

Parmi ces 10 occasions, quatre événements ont attiré au moins 30 voitures. Ces épreuves ont eu lieu successivement de 2011 à 2014 et ont été remportées par Robin Buck (2011), Andrew Ranger (2012), D.J. Kennington (2013) et Louis-Philippe Dumoulin (2014).

Le record d'inscriptions est de 33, établi en 2011 et égalé en 2014.

Lessard et Labbé de retour en série Pinty's

Deux pilotes qui ont connu du succès aux États-Unis renouent avec la série NASCAR Pinty's ce week-end.

Raphaël Lessard et Alex Labbé reviennent à leurs racines dans la course Pinty's du week-end et tous deux ont pour objectif de gagner.

Raphaël Lessard est surtout connu pour avoir couru dans la série des camionnette NASCAR Craftsman, où il a remporté une victoire au volant d'une camionnette de l'équipe Kyle Busch Motorsports au Talladega Superspeedway en 2020. Il a également remporté un championnat dans la populaire série CARS Tour en 2016.

Bien que Lessard n'ait pas pris de départ officiel dans la série Pinty's cette saison, il a remplacé Dexter Stacey à la mi-course à l'Autodrome Chaudière, ramenant la Chevrolet no 92 ReCap à la troisième place.

Il sera au volant de la Dodge no 12 de Mathieu Kingsbury ce week-end.

Alex Labbé, champion de la série NASCAR Pinty's en 2017, en sera à son deuxième départ de la saison et à son premier à Trois-Rivières depuis 2019. Labbé est un pilote familier de la série NASCAR Xfinity depuis 2018, où il a obtenu un top-5 (quatrième sur le ROVAL de Charlotte Motor Speedway en 2020) et 13 top-10.

Ce week-end, Labbé pilotera la Chevrolet no 36 appartenant à Teresa Dupuis.

Série NASCAR Pinty’s, Etc.

Trois-Rivières attire toujours des pilotes chevronnés sur circuit routier ou urbain, et cette année ne fait pas exception à la règle. Gary Klutt, Jean-François Dumoulin, Herby Drescher, Louis-Philippe Montour et Jocelyn Fecteau sont parmi les spécialistes des circuits routiers qui participeront à la course.

Sam Fellows, fils du vétéran canadien de la course sur circuit routier, Ron Fellows, devrait prendre son troisième départ de la saison à Trois-Rivières. Il a terminé sixième au GP3R en 2022 et a fait ses débuts dans la série en 2021.

Dave Coursol, dont la dernière course en NASCAR Pinty's Series remonte à 2015, est de retour ce week-end à Trois-Rivières. Son meilleur résultat au GP3R a été obtenu lors de cette course de 2015, alors qu'il avait terminé la course 12e.

Darryl Timmers sera de retour dans la Chevrolet no 98 de Bray Autosports, pour son deuxième départ en carrière. Il a fait ses débuts dans les rues de Toronto plus tôt cette année et a terminé 14e.

Les amateurs du Québec qui ne peuvent pas assister à la course de dimanche peuvent la regarder en direct sur RDS2 dès 14 h (HAE).

Course Les 60 tours rousseau métal présenter par groupe Olivier et prolon contrôle
Date / Départ Dimanche 6 août / 14 h 18 HAE
Piste / Endroit Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (Trois-Rivières, QC)
Télévision TSN : Dimanche 13 août @ 12 h 30 HAE / RDS2 : regarder en direct - Dimanche 6 août @ 14 h 00 HAE
Diffusion en direct Canada : TSN+
États-Unis : FloRacing

Alex Tagliani led 30 of the 35-lap race to win the Tiffany Gate Grand Prix of Toronto and his first of the 2023 season.

Starting on the pole, the No.18 St. Hubert/NTN/Qwick Wick/Genatec Chevrolet’s victory was not without contest. The No. 74 NAPA Auto Parts/Valvoline Dodge of Kevin Lacroix and the No. 27 GM Paillé of Andrew Ranger, both gave Tagliani a run for his money.

Ranger was the only other driver to lead a lap during the race, taking the lead away from Tagliani for five laps around the 1.786-mile street course.

It wasn’t until the final lap that Lacroix had his chance to run away with the win, finally getting to Tagliani’s door coming off of the Lakeshore straightaway.

But in the end, he was no match for the No. 18 Chevrolet who sailed away with his third win on the Streets of Toronto.

“It was a really good race for us, big credit to the team,” said Tagliani. “Lots of people put effort into this, these days in NASCAR it's so competitive that even if you are good on a road course, if you don't have the car, you can be seventh, it's still a good seventh because it's such a good field and strong field.”

The field only saw two cautions, which both came within the first 15 laps of the race. Dexter Stacey in the No. 92 ReCap/Bully's Truck Stop Chevrolet brought out the first caution when a failed transmission ended his day early.

On the following restart, Rookie of the Year contender, Thomas Nepveu, who was running in and around the top-five, had a problem and was unable to get up to speed which led to fellow Rookie, Kyle Steckly making contact with him.

Unlike Stacey, Nepveu was able to continue after making repairs, however, he finished the race two laps down in 18th.

Coming home in third was the No. 96 GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada Chevrolet of Marc-Antoine Camirand, who started the race in 18th after an issue in practice caused him to miss qualifying.

L.P Dumoulin and Ranger rounded out the top five, with points leader Treyten Lapcevich, J.P. Bergeron, Alex Guenette, D.J. Kennington, and Matthew Scannell rounding out the top-ten.

NASCAR Pinty's drivers will now head out west for three races across two provinces. First stop - Edmonton International Raceway on July 22nd, 2023, for the BAYER 300

The Tiffany Gate Grand Prix of Toronto will air tape-delayed on TSN on Sunday, July 23, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. ET and on RDS Sunday, July 30, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. ET.