The NASCAR Canada Series, OSCAAR and CASC-OR will be in action this weekend, along with several other Ontario and Atlantic Canada series. We break down a busy schedule of racing in this week’s preview.
NASCAR Canada Series
The second race of the NASCAR Canada Series (NCS) season will take place Saturday evening at Autodrome Chaudière, with the green flag scheduled for 5:30 p.m. local time. Marc-Antoine Camirand won the season opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, with the 2022 champion and 2023 runner-up recording his ninth straight podium on a road/street course. The first oval event of the year, at the 1/4-mile Chaudière, will mark the first of seven straight short track races.
A couple of part-time drivers will be looking to continue some momentum at the track, located southeast of Quebec City. Alex Labbé leads NCS drivers with four podiums at Chaudière and has the second-most laps led there (297), despite competing in only half of the eight races. The driver of the No. 36 LL Motorsport entry will be making his first start at the track since 2019.
Raphaël Lessard won his very first NCS start, coming at Chaudière in 2019. He finished sixth in the 2022 race and will be making his first start of the season. The driver is scheduled to compete in three races for Innovation Auto Sport, a new team with full-time drivers Kevin Lacroix and Andrew Ranger. You can read more about how former rivals Lacroix and Ranger became teammates here.
22 Racing, which won last year’s championship with Treyten Lapcevich, will make its first start of the year; they’ll field a car for Alex Guenette in six races.
OSCAAR Hot Rods and Modifieds
The Just Foam It OSCAAR Modifieds and JRS Auctions OSCAAR Hot Rods will race on the same card for the first time this season, when they visit Flamboro Speedway on Saturday. The Modifieds’ lone standalone stop opened their season at Sunset Speedway on the Victoria Day weekend, where Rick Spencer-Walt won the race, followed by TJ Edwards, AJ Emms, Dale Reinhart and last year’s champion Jason Keen.
The Hot Rods have 12 races at seven tracks on their schedule, concluding at Peterborough Speedway’s Autumn Colours Classic. Their lone standalone race will be on the dirt at Brighton Speedway on September 21. Tyler Hawn won his third series championship last season, ending 2023 with three wins in the last four points-paying events.
Regional Road Racing
The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship and CASC Ontario Region will be in action this weekend at Shannonville Motorsport Park. F1600 has three races on their weekend schedule. Connor Clubine opened the year with a Class A sweep during the Victoria Day SpeedFest, where Antonio Costantino finished runner-up in all three races. Steve Bodrug (one win) and Dylan McPherson (two wins) picked up victories in Class B.
The Pirelli Super Touring and Pirelli Grand Touring series will headline CASC-OR action at Shannonville; Formula Libre/F4, Miata Canada Cup and Rolling Start HPDE will also be in action. Defending champion Rocco Marciello has an early lead in the Super Touring GT1 standings, with a win and two podiums in the opening three contests, during the BEMC Spring Trophy Races.
Ontario Racing
Two Ontario short track series are getting ready to start their seasons this weekend. The Ontario Outlaw Super Late Models (OOSLM) have 10 races at five tracks on their schedule, beginning Saturday at Sunset Speedway. Ten-time and defending champion Glenn Watson looks to add more hardware to his collection, after three wins and seven top-fives in seven races last season. Two-time APC Series champion J.R. Fitzpatrick, who won both of his OOSLM starts last year, is slated to make the move to OOSLM for 2024, though an engine issue threatens his ability to compete this weekend.
The Great Lakes Legends Series (GLLS) will open its season on the other side of the border, where Michigan’s Flat Rock Speedway will host the legends on Saturday night. The GLLS has 13 races at seven tracks on its 2024 schedule, including seven events where they’ll join forces with the Ontario Legend Car Series. Kenny McNicol won the championship in each of the series’ first two seasons, scoring two victories in 2023.
The OOSLM and GLLS won’t be the only Ontario series in action this weekend:
- The Ontario Sportsman Series will race at Full Throttle Motor Speedway on Saturday. Defending champion Cory McAllister won the season opener on the Victoria Day weekend at Delaware Speedway.
Nick Spiez in Outlaw Midgets victory lane at Sunset Speedway. COURTESY: Ashley McCubbin The Outlaw Midgets will race on Saturday at Peterborough. Nick Spiez won the season opener at Sunset Speedway, with his dad Kevin Spiez finishing second, followed by veteran Mike Homewood in third.
- The Ontario Legend Car Series hopes to shake off Mother Nature, after two of the first three races were postponed due to rain. Last weekend’s race will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday at Peterborough Speedway. Mitch Wright won the new season opener, two weeks ago at Peterborough.
- The Can-Am TQ Midgets will race at Full Throttle Motor Speedway on Saturday. Following a rain out for race one, Jeff Blackburn recorded the victory on the Victoria Day weekend at Sunset Speedway.
- The Canadian Vintage Modifieds will continue their season on Saturday at Flamboro Speedway. Four drivers scored wins in the first four features of the season, with TJ Marshall, Jason Keen, Mike Podd and Rodney Rutherford visiting victory lane.
Atlantic Canada Racing
The East Coast International Pro Stock Tour will race at Scotia Speedworld on Saturday at 4 p.m. local time, an event that was re-scheduled due to rain earlier in May. Porter’s Lake, Nova Scotia’s Jarrett Butcher won the season opener last weekend at Speedway 660. Four New Brunswick drivers followed him across the finish line, with Ashton Tucker, Ryan Messer, Devin Snell and Mike Rodgers rounding out the top-five.
A pair of Atlantic Canada series will start their seasons this weekend. The Hot Rod Classics’ will compete at Lake Doucette Motor Speedway on Saturday; the series has nine races at eight tracks on its 2024 schedule. Meanwhile, the Maritime League of Legends will start its season on Saturday at Speedway 660; 10 races at five tracks make up their calendar.
Also in Atlantic Canada:
- The Maritime All Star Series will have its Sportsman division in action on Saturday at Lake Doucette. Dennis Nickerson won the season opener, at Petty International Raceway, before race two was rained out.
- Round two of the Super Late Model Series will take place Saturday at Speedway 660. Ashton Tucker won the season opener at Petty.
News & Notes
Here are some other series to watch this weekend:
- The Rocky Mountain Rally will take place Friday through Sunday in Invermere, BC. The event is part of the Canadian Rally Championship (CRC), North American Rally Cup and Western Canadian Rally Championship. Ten-time CRC champion Antoine L’Estage returned after several years out of the sport, winning the opening Rallye Perce Neige Maniwaki with co-driver Alan Ockwell.
- The DIRTcar Sportsman Series West Region begins its season at Ransomville Speedway on Friday and at Thorold, ON’s Merrittville Speedway on Saturday. St. Catharines, ON’s Cody McPherson is the defending champion; he won three West Region races last year and has 16 career DIRTcar Sportsman Series victories.
- The CARS Tour late models will race at Langley Speedway on Saturday. Canadian Treyten Lapcevich finished 18th last weekend and is currently tied for fifth in the standings, 20 points back.
- The NASCAR Truck Series will race at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday afternoon, with the Cup Series racing there on Sunday; the Xfinity Series will visit Portland International Raceway on Saturday. Canadian Stewart Friesen is currently 11th in the Truck Series standings.
- IndyCar will race just across the border, with the Detroit Grand Prix taking place on Sunday afternoon.
- The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will also be in Detroit, with their race scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The GTP and GTD Pro classes will take part in the event, with Canadian Parker Thompson piloting the No. 15 GTD Pro entry for VasserSullivan.
