TROIS-RIVIERES, QC- Following a head-turning performance in his GP3R debut last year, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series rising star Gary Klutt is ready to return to the challenging street circuit in search of his second win of the 2015 season.
The second-generation star drove from 17th to 6th before suffering rear-end failure in the 2014 edition of the JuliaWine.com Le 50 Tours. This Sunday, the Milton, ON-based driver will look for redemption against some of the top road racing talent in the country.
“Looking back on 2014, I think Trois-Rivieres is the most fun we had all season long,” explains Klutt flashing his trademark smile. “The event is just incredible from start to finish – and the course is an absolute blast to race on. This is a race we’ve been looking forward to all year. We want a big performance this weekend”
“We had a fantastic car here last season,” continues Klutt. “There’s no doubt in my mind that we had enough for a top-5 finish had we not broke late in the race. It was a disappointment – but we learned a ton. And everything we picked up here last season is going to go into our package this weekend to make us even better”
Klutt has been solid in road course competition this season, tallying his first career series win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in May before following up with an 8th place finish at Circuit ICAR in early July.
“It’s hard not to be happy with our road course program this year,” says Klutt. “However, no matter how well we perform, we’re right back in the shop on Monday trying to get faster. There’s always room for improvement and, as hard as we’ve been working on these cars, I think we have enough to run at the front on Sunday”
“There is so little room for error at Trois-Rivieres,” notes the championship contender. “You have to be on your game every turn of every lap. Because, if you’re not, you can get left behind in a hurry. It takes a lot of focus to have success here”
After leading the series points standings for much of the early season, a pair of races wrought with mechanical difficulties at Edmonton and Saskatoon dealt a blow to Klutt’s championship hopes. Now, fresh off of a 7th place finish in last Saturday’s event at Autodrome St-Eustache, Klutt hopes that a strong outing in Sunday’s race will help propel his No. 59 back into championship contention.
“There’s no denying that this is a huge weekend as far as the championship battle is concerned,” says Klutt. “We gave up a little bit during the western swing, but I was happy with how we recovered at St-Eustache. This race is going to give us the perfect opportunity to reassert ourselves at the top of the points standings. A strong run on Sunday could make a world of difference for the rest of our season, and we’ll certainly have that in the back of our minds all weekend.”
Fans can stay up to date with Gary all day long by following him on Twitter @GaryKlutt, Facebook and Instagram.
Gary Klutt’s 2015 season is fueled by CTL Corp, Legendary Motorcar, Securcor Financial Group, Titan Productions, Harmony Management, Newhouse Rusin and Passtime.
About CTL: CTL has grown from modest beginnings – one dealer, one loan and a dream in 2010 to be the best run auto finance company in Canada; evolving into Canada’s third largest non-bank auto lender serving consumers in the non-traditional credit markets. For more information on CTL please write to info@ctlcorp.ca.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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