Following an epic weekend of racing south of the border, with the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history and a first-time winner in Formula One, the (kind of) warmer weather means that it’s now Canada’s turn to start seeing epic battles on home soil. A trio of short track touring series will open their seasons this weekend at a pair of local venues.
The start of the Canadian racing season also marks the start of new content at InsideTrackNews.com, where we’ll look ahead to upcoming Canadian racing events and check in on Canadians abroad in a weekly preview column.
Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series
Race season is here and the highly anticipated kick-off to the 2024 season for the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series will take place Saturday, May 11, at River Glade, NB’s Petty International Raceway.
This will be the first race of the Easy-Kleen Pressure Systems era. Announced last November, the New Brunswick based company has entered a partnership with the series.
Can-Am TQ Midgets
The Can-Am TQ Midgets will open their season on Saturday at Flamboro Speedway. The 2024 schedule features 16 races at six tracks across Ontario, including Full Throttle Motor Speedway on June 1, which is a new addition to the schedule. The season will conclude on September 21 at Flamboro. Daniel Hawn won last year’s championship on the strength of four wins and 11 top-five finishes in 12 races.
Ontario Legend Car Series
Formerly known as the Canadian Legend Car Series, the newly-branded Ontario Legend Car Series will begin its 2024 season under the new ownership of Robin Jongen. The schedule features 15 races at five tracks, will Full Throttle and Flamboro as new additions, joining Peterborough, Sunset and Sauble speedways. The first race will take place on Saturday at Sunset.
There will also be more overlap with the Great Lakes Legends Series (GLLS), as the two legend car tours will race together on July 13 at Sunset, July 20 at Full Throttle, August 3-4 at Sauble, October 5 at Flamboro and October 12-13 in the Autumn Colours Classic at Peterborough. Parker Traves won last year’s championship on the strength of six victories, including a win in a combined event with the GLLS at Sauble.
Ontario Pro Challenge
Continuing the trend of series expanding their schedules, the Ontario Pro Challenge will add a third track to their agenda, racing at Sauble Speedway on July 8. Their nine-weekend/18-race schedule kicks off Saturday at Flamboro, which will be home to most events. A pair of race days will be held at Full Throttle, on June 8 and July 20. Multi-time champion Tim Norris took back the series’ top prize from son Mike last year, while daughter Emma recorder her first series wins; other competitors will be looking to end the Norris family dominance, including Travis Majuery, who won the finale last season.
International Events
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
There will be several Canadians to watch as IMSA visits a newly-repaved WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in California. Parker Thompson will return to Vasser Sullivan’s No. 12 entry, with co-driver Frankie Montecalvo, following a win with Ben Barnicoat in the GTD class at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Roman De Angelis and co-driver Spencer Pumpelly will pilot a Heart of Racing Team entry in the GTD class. This will be De Angelis’ sixth time racing at Laguna Seca, where he won in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA in 2019 before four appearances in IMSA.
Here’s a full list of Canadians entered into the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race this weekend (all in the GTD class):
Parker Thompson (co-driver Frankie Montecalvo), Orey Fidani (Matthew Bell), Roman De Angelis (Spencer Pumpelly), Mikael Grenier (Mike Skeen), Kyle Marcelli (Danny Formal), Misha Goikhberg (Loris Spinelli).
News & Notes
- The next GT World Challenge America race will take place May 17-19 at Circuit of the Americas. Canadian Samantha Tan and co-driver Neil Verhagen recorded a win and a third-place in the Pro-Am class last weekend at Sebring.
- Mac Clark will continue his USF Pro 2000 season with a trio of races, alongside the IndyCar Series, on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Friday and Saturday.
- Stewart Friesen continues his full-time NASCAR Truck Series campaign on Friday night at Darlington Raceway.
- Last year’s NASCAR Canada Series champion Treyten Lapcevich continues his CARS Late Model season next Wednesday at North Wilkesboro Speedway. He’s currently tied for fourth in points, through five races.
