NASCAR Canada races in Edmonton, the Miata Canada Cup returns at CTMP, the Ontario Sportsman Series visits Peterborough, the ECI Pro Stock Tour heads to PEI, and much more; here’s what you need to know about this weekend in racing.
NASCAR Canada Series
The NASCAR Canada Series completes the second half of its Western Swing at Edmonton International Raceway on Saturday night. Marc-Antoine Camirand enters on a hot streak, winning the last two races of the season and the last two races at Edmonton, where he combined to lead 529 of 604 laps. Camirand’s fellow GM Paillé-sponsored driver, Andrew Ranger, has podium finishes in the last two races this season and is on a series-leading eight-race top-10 streak. Camirand leads Ranger by seven points in the standings.
Ranger’s Innovation Auto Sport teammate Kevin Lacroix finished runner-up at Saskatoon and trails by 16 points. L.P. Dumoulin is fourth, 28 points back, with a quietly consistent season, where he has five top-fives but just one podium. Dumoulin has six podiums and a 2.8 average finish in eight races at Edmonton, but only has one win and 18 laps led at the track.
Regional Road Racing
The BARC Canadian Touring Trophy Races take place on Saturday and Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). The CASC-OR Miata Canada Cup, Formula Libre, Formula Prototype Challenge, Pirelli Grand Touring Sprints and Pirelli Super Touring Sprints will all be in action, along with the VARAC Vintage Historic and Classic/Modern Classic categories. All groups will have three races, except for the Formula Prototype Challenge, which will have two.
The Miata Canada Cup will see its second-ever race weekend, following an early June debut at Shannonville. The popular Mazda Miata spec series saw 24 cars on the grid in that opening weekend. Emzone Radical Cup Canada driver Owen Clarke and Formula Woman driver Nora Jordan both race in the series; they spoke with Inside Track about the new class:
We also wrote about the Miata Canada Cup last month, with quotes from CASC-OR Race Director Pat Cyr; click here for the article.
The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship will have three races at CTMP this weekend; Connor Clubine enters with a perfect nine-for-nine start to the season. For VARAC drivers not competing at CTMP, the Vintage Historic and Classic/Modern Classic categories, along with Formula Classic, will also be in action at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant.
Canadian Series News & Notes
There will be several more Canadian series to watch this weekend:
- The Ontario Sportsman Series will visit Peterborough Speedway on Saturday night. Derek McCullough took the victory in the last race, at Delaware Speedway, making it four different winners in the last four races. Defending champion Cory McAllister has two wins, two runner-ups and a third-place finish so far this season, giving him a 51-point lead in the standings over Brendan Patrick.
Jason Metcalfe is off to a hot start in the Outlaw Midgets. COURTESY:
Ashley McCubbinThe Outlaw Midgets will also race at Peterborough Speedway on Saturday night. Jason Metcalfe enters the event on a roll, with three wins in five races to start the season. Metcalfe leads the standings by 30 points over Russ Couture and Kevin Spiesz, who are tied for second.
- The Great Lakes Legends Series (GLL) will compete at Grand Bend Speedway on Saturday night. The GLL held combined events with the Ontario Legend Car Series (OLCS) in its last two stops, with OLCS regular Mitch Wright winning both races. Grand Bend will be a GLL standalone event, with Austin Arnel entering as the only series regular with a win so far this season, through four races.
- The Can-Am TQ Midgets will return to action at Grand Bend Speedway on Saturday night. The series is coming off of two straight off weekends, following six straight weeks of scheduled racing. Jeff Blackburn won the most recent event to join Darren McLennan and James Stanley as multi-time winners this season. Defending champion Daniel Hawn has one win this year and leads the standings by 18 points over Blackburn.
Defending champion TJ Marshall has a slim lead in the CVM standings. CREDIT: Derek Smith/racepulse.com The Canadian Vintage Modifieds will race at Flamboro Speedway on Saturday night. Ricky Willigar and TJ Marshall each recorded a victory the last time out. Willigar has a series-leading four wins so far this season, followed by Marshall and Rodney Rutherford, who have three wins each. The trio is in a close points battle, with defending champion Marshall leading Willigar by a single point, followed by Rutherford, eight points back.
- The ECI Pro Stock Tour will visit PEI’s Oyster Bed Speedway on Saturday night. The series held its prestigious IWK 250 at Riverside International Speedway last weekend, where three-time reigning champion Craig Slaunwhite claimed his second straight IWK 250 victory in his first start of the season. Jarrett Butcher leads the standings by 20 points over Austin MacDonald.
- The Alberta Extreme Sprints will return for the first time in more than a month, competing at Rad Torque Raceway on Friday and Saturday. Brody Anderson and Paxton Fleming recorded wins the last time out, in Swift Current. Anderson and Ross Mathewson are tied atop the standings, leading Decklyn Fleming by 25 points.
International Series News & Notes
There will also be a few international series to watch for:
- Formula One will race at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday morning for the Belgian Grand Prix. Following continued dominance by Max Verstappen to start the season, there have now been four different winners in the last four races, dating back to Max’s last win. Canadian Lance Stroll is currently 10th in the standings; Stroll has three top-10s in seven starts at Spa-Francorchamps.
- FR Americas will visit New Jersey Motorsports Park this weekend, with three races between Saturday and Sunday. Canadians Patrick Woods-Toth and Nicole Havrda are currently second and fourth, respectively, in the standings.
- The CARS Late Model Tour will compete at Hickory Motor Speedway, in Hickory, NC, on Saturday. Canadian Treyten Lapcevich finished 11th in the last race, at Caraway Speedway; Lapcevich is currently fifth in the standings, 31 points back.
