Mirabel, QC – Marc-Antoine Camirand claimed the highly-coveted Evirum 100 victory on Saturday at Complexe ICAR, where thousands of fans packed the former Mirabel airport tarmac to watch 19 of the best NASCAR Canada Series drivers battle it out under the summer sun.
The day began on a strong note for Paillé Racing, with Camirand setting the fastest time in practice aboard the No. 96 Paillé Racing Chevrolet. Andrew Ranger followed up by capturing the E3 Spark Plugs Pole Award, setting a new lap record of 1:02.864 in the No. 27 Paillé Racing Chevrolet.
When the green flag waved, Ranger settled in the lead, holding the top spot for the opening 12 laps before Camirand seized the opportunity to take control of the field. Behind them, Alex Tagliani, in the No. 80 St-Hubert / Bet GRW / UPS Chevrolet, climbed into third, pressuring the Paillé duo while fending off young standout Justin Arseneau.
Arseneau started third in the No. 3 Piscine Fibro / Volaria Air Show / 440 Laval Chevrolet but briefly lost the position to Tagliani before reclaiming it, just as a red flag came out for Larry Jackson’s No. 84 Superior Propane / Rack.ca / Castrol / Bestbuy Dodge.
On the restart, Camirand managed to hold firm against both Ranger and Arseneau. Meanwhile, Tagliani came under pressure from Alex Guenette’s No. 39 GL Électricité-Automatisations / Bet GRW Chevrolet and local favourite Kevin Lacroix.
Lacroix, commanding the No. 74 NAPA Racing / Valvoline Chevrolet, delivered one of the day’s most impressive performances. Forced to start from the back due to mechanical issues in qualifying, he carved through the field and climbed into seventh by the halfway point.
Drama struck again on Lap 29 when Arseneau’s promising run ended abruptly after his car stalled with a fire, bringing out another red flag. Later, a flat tire for Louis-Philippe Dumoulin’s No. 47 WeatherTech / Bellemare / Omnifab Dodge triggered a final full-course caution, setting up a five-lap shootout to the finish.
In the closing laps, Camirand expertly held off Ranger’s relentless charge, while Tagliani defended his podium spot under heavy pressure from Lacroix. At the checkered flag, it was Camirand who emerged victorious, with Ranger finishing second and Tagliani third.
“Andrew did an amazing job in qualifying,” said Marc-Antoine Camirand. “We knew we had a great car in the long run. I took my time in the race, and around Lap 6 or 7 I started catching him. There were places on the track where I was quicker, so I stayed patient. I knew Andrew had a fast car after full-course cautions, and it took a few laps for my tires to get back up to temperature. But in the end, I was able to keep him behind me.”
“The car was fast, but it got a little tight on the long runs,” explained Andrew Ranger. “My best chances came in the first two or three laps after restarts, and that’s when I really pushed. I’m satisfied, I gave everything I had, and we’re leaving with important points.”
“Congratulations to the Theetge Motorsport crew, they deserved to enjoy a race like this,” said Alex Tagliani. “The car was very quick on short runs, and most of the passes had to be made on restarts. The yellow and red flags came out at the right time for us, and we had a strong pace every time the race went back to green.”
NASCAR Canada now shifts to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the WeatherTech 200 on Sunday, August 31.
