Saskatoon, SK – Marc-Antoine Camirand made a strong comeback to win a second consecutive race, last Saturday, as Paillé Course//Racing was at Sutherland Automotive Speedway, in Saskatoon, SK, for the beginning of the NASCAR Canada Series’ Western Swing. Andrew Ranger also scored another strong podium finish, with a third place.
Camirand and the Camirand Performance crew worked hard all day to find some speed in the GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada No. 96 Camaro.
“During practice session, we were not the fastest for a qualifying simulation, but we had a good car on the long run, on older tires. Then we went out for qualifying, and I knew right when I hit the track that my car would be very good,” said Camirand, who scored the pole position.
The driver of the GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada No. 96 led the first 100 laps of the race, before surrendering the lead to Ranger. After the midway break, Camirand dropped to third place, but with about 80 laps to go in the 250-lap race, he started catching up to the leaders.
“I struggled a bit right after the break, but my car was getting better on the long run,” said Camirand.
A timely yellow flag tightened the gap and he managed to pass Ranger back for second place at Lap 193. During this battle with Ranger, the leader pulled away, but Camirand then managed to catch him too.
“I pushed hard to close the gap; I gave everything I had, and we had a great battle for the lead,” said Camirand. “This is a huge win for us, we fought really hard all day to get this win. It has been a great team effort. Now we are increasing our championship lead and heading out to Edmonton, where we won back-to-back races for the last two years.”
Ranger also had another strong race to kick off NASCAR Canada’s annual trip west. Third in both the practice session and qualifying, Ranger showed right at the beginning of the race that he had a very fast car. The driver of the GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada No. 27 Camaro set up a fast pace and took the lead at Lap 100.
“My car was very good all day, and we were aiming at the victory here in Saskatoon,” said Ranger. “Unfortunately, after the midway break, I was not able to maintain my pace.”
Ranger dropped to second place at Lap 184, after a restart, and was passed by Camirand at Lap 193.
“Our GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada car was fast, but we fell off a little bit on the long run on our second set of tires; I’m still very happy with this other podium finish,” concluded Ranger.
Camirand leads the NASCAR Canada Series’ drivers’ championship by seven points over Ranger, who sits second. Paillé Course//Racing drivers now head to Edmonton International Raceway, in Wetaskiwin, AB, next Saturday, for the conclusion of the NASCAR Canada Series’ Western Swing.
- By Service Presse/Paillé Racing
