Clarington, ON – Andrew Ranger claimed his first NASCAR Canada Series win of the season, holding off the field on an overtime restart at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), while Marc-Antoine Camirand clinched the championship in the penultimate race of the year. For Camirand, he entered with a commanding points lead, needing to finish in the top-30 to clinch early, regardless of L.P. Dumoulin’s result.
A record-setting 38 cars took the green flag for the 51-lap race. Kyle Steckly started on pole for the WeatherTech 200, alongside Tyler Gonzalez. Gonzalez took the lead in the opening turns, while an early incident happened behind him; Camirand made contact with Connor Bell entering turn three, sending Bell spinning into the tire wall, with Alex Guenette also going off track but seemingly avoiding damage.
Bell suffered significant damage to the front of his car but was able to drive on, the race staying green. Camirand was issued a stop-and-go penalty for the contact, sending him to pit road on Lap 7.
On the next lap, a caution came out for Bell’s car stopped at the side of the track. Chaos ensued under the yellow flag, as Glenn Styres also came to a stop, while Gonzalez came to a stop in the runoff area at turn five. Steckly took over the lead when Gonzalez stalled, while Gary Klutt, Ranger and Alex Tagliani led a group of drivers who pitted.
Steckly and Kevin Lacroix led the field back to green on Lap 16. The various pit strategies that often happen at CTMP continued to play out when Lacroix pitted from second on Lap 22, while Steckly made a stop the following lap. D.J. Kennington took over the lead, staying out over a long green-flag run.
Ranger passed Kennington for the top spot on Lap 32, coming out of turn nine. A few cars were momentarily stopped off track after the early-race incidents but the event was able to continue at speed until six to go, when Ryan Klutt stopped off track and wasn’t able to drive on.
This set up NASCAR overtime and a two-lap dash to the checkered flag. Ranger cleared for the lead on the restart, while Kennington ran out of fuel soon after, trying to complete the race without a pit stop. With one lap to go, Ron Tomlinson spun on the frontstretch, collecting David Thorndyke. The race ended under caution, with Ranger winning ahead of Camirand and Cayden Lapcevich.
“CTMP’s always been a track that I really like,” said Ranger, who recorded his first CTMP podium since 2019 and first CTMP win since 2016, both during the Victoria Day event. “A lot of bad luck and to finish like that here and the win, it’s amazing for me. For my family, my friends, everybody at home, it’s a big win…we didn’t know if we were able to do the first race and we (raced in) almost all of (the races), except out west. So proud, so happy for my team.”
Camirand’s runner-up finish gives him his 11th podium in the last 13 races at CTMP, while Lapcevich returned for just his third series start since 2017, recording his second-ever CTMP podium.
The 2026 season concludes next Saturday, September 12 at Delaware Speedway, located just outside of London, ON.
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