Formula One returns to Canadian soil, the APC Series contests its second race of the year, Alex Labbé returns to NASCAR Xfinity Series action, and Jarrett Butcher looks for the ECI Pro Stock Tour three-peat; that and more in this week’s preview.
Formula One Canadian Grand Prix
Formula One makes its return to Montreal this weekend for the annual Canadian Grand Prix. Dutchman Max Verstappen enters as the driver to beat; the three-time defending world champion has five wins in eight races this season and is the winner of the last two Canadian GPs. However, he’s won just one of the last three races, with Lando Norris picking up his maiden F1 victory in Miami and hometown driver Charles Leclerc winning in Monaco.
Prior to the pandemic, Lewis Hamilton was the dominant driver in Montreal, winning seven of 12 races between 2007 and 2019. Overall, Red Bull and Mercedes have combined to win 11 of the last 12 Canadian GPs, with the exception being 2018, when Sebastian Vettel picked up the victory with Ferrari. Practice and qualifying will take place between Friday and Saturday, before the race at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Porsche Carrera Cup and Ferrari Challenge will each hold two races as support series this weekend.
The F1 Canadian GP will air on TSN 1/4/5 and CTV. InsideTrackNews.com will provide coverage throughout the weekend, with writer Jeff Pappone on site. To read Pappone’s preview articles, check out the links below:
Formula One: Time Not On The Side Of Verstappen And Red Bull
Formula One: Rivals Hope To Keep Vertsappen On His Toes In Montreal
APC United Late Model Series
The APC Series will return to action on Saturday night, with 100 laps at Flamboro Speedway scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. local time. The Spectra Premium 100 will mark the start of a busy stretch for the series, with four races in six weekends. Junior Farrelly won the season opener at Sunset Speedway on the Victoria Day weekend, which was his first career series victory, in his 45th start. Dale Shaw, Blair Wickett, Taylor Holdaway and Jo Lawrence completed the top-five, with defending champion Kyle Steckly in sixth.
ECI Pro Stock Tour
The East Coast International Pro Stock Tour will hold its third race in as many weekends on Saturday at Petty International Raceway, where Jarrett Butcher will look to make it three straight wins to begin the season. The Mr. Lube + Tires 150 is scheduled for 4 p.m. local time and will be the series’ only stop at the track, located near Moncton, NB.
Butcher, from Porter’s Lake, NS, won the season opener at Speedway 660, before claiming the victory in last weekend’s rain rescheduled event at Scotia Speedworld. He currently leads the standings by 13 points over Mike Rodgers, who’s the only other driver to finish top-five in each of the first two races; rookie Gage Gilby rounds out the top-three in points.
Canadian Series News & Notes
Here’s a preview of more Canadian series in action this weekend:
Tim Norris swept the opening Ontario Pro Challenge features. CREDIT: Peter Anderson The Ontario Pro Challenge will race at Full Throttle Motor Speedway on Saturday. Following a rainout on opening weekend, defending champion Tim Norris swept a pair of features at Flamboro Speedway on May 25th. Bryan Stevanus finished on the podium in both races to take the early runner-up position in points, followed by Mike O’Connell and Mike Norris.
- The Can-Am TQ Midgets will race at Flamboro Speedway on Saturday. Jeff Blackburn finished on the podium in each of the first two races, with a win at Sunset and a third-place finish at Full Throttle, giving him an early points lead. Defending champion Daniel Hawn returned to victory lane last weekend at Full Throttle, with James Stanley finishing runner-up.
- The Pacific Forest Rally will take place Friday and Saturday in Merritt, BC; the event will be part of the Canadian Rally Championship (CRC), Western Canadian Rally Championship and North American Rally Cup. Jerome Mailloux and Philippe Poirier took the victory in last weekend’s Rocky Mountain Rally, while Marc-André Brisebois and Marie-France Desmarais Trépanier took over the CRC points lead.
- The Canadian Superbike Championship will hold its second event of the season this weekend at Grand Bend Motorplex. Two-time defending champion Ben Young won the opening two races at Shannonville in the feature Superbike class.
- The Maritime League of Legends Tour rolls into Petty International Raceway for round two on Saturday. Josh Langille won last weekend’s opener at Speedway 660, ahead of Tanton Wooldridge and Ayden Christensen.
- The Alberta Extreme Sprints will compete at Rad Torque Raceway on Friday and Saturday. Brody Anderson and Johnny Wiersma each recorded a victory the last time out in a non-points Can/Am event.
International Series News & Notes
Here are some international events to watch for this weekend:
- The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Sonoma Raceway on Saturday. St. Albert, QC’s Alex Labbé will make his second start of the season, piloting the No. 07 Chevy for SS-GreenLight Racing. Labbé finished 26th at Circuit of the Americas in late March, where he drove for Emerling-Gase Motorsports. He finished 25th in his only other Sonoma start last year. The 2017 NASCAR Canada Series champion has a best finish of fourth in the Xfinity Series and currently runs part-time in the Canada Series.
- The NASCAR Cup Series will race at Sonoma on Sunday afternoon.
- The IndyCar Series will race at Road America on Sunday afternoon.
- The USF Pro 2000 will join IndyCar at Road America, with three races this weekend. Canadian Mac Clark is currently 12th in points, through nine races. He finished sixth in the last race, at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
- USF 2000 will hold two races at Road America this weekend. Canadian Anthony Martella will make his series debut with Exclusive Autosport; he currently runs full-time for the team in USF Juniors, where he’s 16th in points, through five races.
- Twelve Canadians will suit up for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Jesse Webb (Mission, BC), Thomas Collingwood (St. John’s, NL), Daniel Morad (Toronto, ON), and Jesse Lazare (Montreal, QC) will race in the Grand Sport class; LP Montour (Blainville, QC), Robert Wickens (Guelph, ON), Dean and Sam Baker (Bowmanville, ON), James Vance (Toronto), Denis Dupont (Montreal), Karl Wittmer (Montreal), and Mark Wilkins (Mulmur, ON) will race in the TCR class. To read more about the father-and-son Baker duo racing together for the first time, click here. The top Canadian points runners are Lazare (third in GS) and Wilkins (second in TCR).
