DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 tackles the final road course of the season at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the NAPA AUTOPRO 100 on Saturday, Aug. 18. Below is a statistical look at the recent performance of the series and selected drivers at Montreal, as well as some other statistical trends:
Montreal Race Setup
· Andrew Ranger has three Montreal wins in five starts with victories in 2008, 2010 and 2011. His other two efforts at the Quebec track resulted in second-place finishes.
· Points leader D.J. Kennington has three top-five finishes in Montreal, but his last two starts at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve have resulted in finishes of 28th (2010) and 18th (2011).
· J.R. Fitzpatrick has a start from the pole (2007), led a grand total of 42 laps, and scored a win (2009) in Montreal, but also has three finishes outside of the top 10 in five Montreal starts.
· Kerry Micks has four career top-five and five top-10 finishes at Montreal with his worst finish being sixth in 2010.
NASCAR Canadian Tire Series At Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
· This is the series’ sixth visit to the track situated on Île Notre-Dame in Montreal.
· The NAPA AUTOPRO 100 will be telecast live by RDS beginning at 9:30 a.m. and shown in its entirety on tape-delayed basis on TSN beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 18.
· The average starting field in Montreal is 33.8 cars with an average of 21 cars finishing on the lead lap.
· In the previous five races at the track, there has been an average of 2.8 caution periods for 6.8 laps with earliest coming at Lap 2 in 2009 and the latest at Lap 22 also in 2009
· In Montreal, the average finishing position for the polesitter is 10.8 and the average starting position for the race winner is 2.6.
· In the previous five Montreal events, the closest margin of victory was .103 seconds as Kerry Micks edged Andrew Ranger, and the largest margin to win a race was 2.846 as Ranger outdistanced Scott Steckly.
· Only three drivers – J.R. Fitzpatrick (42), Micks (28) and Ranger (48) – have led laps in the previous five events.
· The preliminary entry list of 38 cars this season is the most in series history.
Montreal Data
Race: #9 of 12 (8/18/12)
Track Layout: 2.709-mile temporary street course
Race Length: 23 laps (62.137 miles/100 kilometers)
Records
1-Lap Qualifying: Andrew Ranger, Dodge, 104.900 seconds, 93.003 mph, Aug. 19, 2011
23-Lap Race: Andrew Ranger, Ford, 54 min., 57 sec., 68.058 mph, Aug. 2, 2008
Race Winners
Andrew Ranger…………………………….. 3
J.R. Fitzpatrick…………………………….. 1
Kerry Micks ………………………………… 1
Pole Winners
Andrew Ranger…………………………….. 2
J.R. Fitzpatrick ……………………………. 1
Kerry Micks…………………………………. 1
Alex Tagliani………………………………… 1
Manufacturer Wins
Dodge………………………………………. 2
Ford………………………………………….. 2
Chevrolet……………………………………. 1
Laps Led
Andrew Ranger…………………………… 48
J.R. Fitzpatrick…………………………… 42
Kerry Micks……………………………….. 28
Selected Driver Information:
Ron Beauchamp Jr. (No. 60 Mopar/Exide/Mobil 1 Dodge)
· Finished 12th a year ago in Montreal.
· Scored top-10 finishes in 2009 (sixth) and 2010 (ninth) in NAPA AUTOPRO 100.
· Has recorded top 10s in six of his last seven starts overall.
· One of just four drivers to start all 71 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.
Patrice Brisebois (No. 71 L’Equipeur Dodge)
· Registered a 28th-place finish last season at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
· Best Montreal finish was 12th in 2009 covering three starts at the track.
· Had an 18-year NHL career as a defenseman with the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche covering 1,009 games and a 1992-93 Stanley Cup title with Montreal.
· Was named in June as the Canadiens’ Player Development Coach.
Robin Buck (No. 66 Quaker State Dodge)
· Scored a 13th-place finish a season in Montreal.
· Posted third-place finishes in 2007 and 2010 in NAPA AUTOPRO 100.
· Has scored seven top 10s in his last nine Canadian Tire Series starts – all on road courses.
Austin Dillon (No. 4 Fitzpatrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· Looking to make Canadian Tire Series debut in this year’s NAPA AUTOPRO 100.
· Currently ranked fourth in NASCAR Nationwide Series standings including a June 29 win at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky.
· In 2011 became the youngest NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion in series history.
· Won 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year.
· Set NASCAR Camping World Truck Series record for most poles as a rookie with seven in 2010.
Jean-Francois Dumoulin (No. 04 Bernier Crepeau/Bellemare Dodge)
· Finished ninth last season on the Montreal track.
· Registered an eighth-place finish in the 2010 Circuit Gilles Villeneuve event.
Louis-Philippe Dumoulin (No. 47 WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge)
· Posted a 10th-place finish last year – his best in three Montreal starts.
· Earned his first career Canadian Tire Series pole position on Aug. 4 at Trois-Rivieres, Que.
· Opened the season with back-to-back top-five road-course finishes.
· Was the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Rookie of the Year.
· Now a teammate of defending series champion Scott Steckly.
· Made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut on Aug. 20, 2012 at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
J.R. Fitzpatrick (No. 84 Equipment Express Chevrolet)
· Placed sixth in last season’s NAPA AUTOPRO 100.
· Won the 2009 Montreal event.
· Won the series’ inaugural pole in 2007 on the famed 2.709-mile race course.
· Has led 42 laps in series action at the Montreal event.
· Six of his seven career series wins have come on road courses – CTMP (3), Edmonton (2) and Montreal.
· Has made a pair of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts this season.
Jason Hathaway (No. 3 Snap-on Tools/Vortex Brake Pads/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge)
· Finished 32nd last year in Montreal.
· Best Circuit Gilles Villeneuve finish was fifth (2010) in five tries.
· Has scored top-five finishes in four of his last six starts this season.
· One of only four drivers to start all 71 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.
Timmy Hill (No. 10 affichage.ca Chevrolet)
· Aims to make his Canadian Tire Series debut in this year’s Montreal event.
· Currently ranked 17th in NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings with a pair of top-10 finishes.
· Was 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year at 18 years of age, the youngest in any of NASCAR’s national series to date.
· Was 2009 Allison Legacy Series national champion with 10 victories.
D.J. Kennington (No. 17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge)
· Scored an 18th-place finish last season after a 28th-place showing in 2010 at Montreal.
· Registered fourth-place finishes in 2007, 2008 and 2009 Montreal races.
· Had a series record five-race winning streak snapped on aug. 5 at Trois-Rivieres, Que. The streak equaled the modern era NASCAR touring series record shared with Ricky Craven (NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-1991), Herschel McGriff (NASCAR K&N Pro Series West-1972), Richie Evans (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-1985) and Mike Stefanik (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-1997) among currently NASCAR-sanctioned series.
· Sits atop the championship standings with a 37-point lead.
· Has a current streak of 10 straight top-five finishes and 11 consecutive top 10s.
· Won 2010 series championship.
· One of four drivers to start all 71 NCATS races.
Jeff Lapcevich (No. 23 Tim Hortons Dodge)
· Placed fourth a year ago in Montreal to establish his career-best finish at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
· Scored top-10 Montreal finishes of sixth in 2008 and eighth in 2007 and 2009.
· Has recorded top-10 finishes in eight of his last nine series starts.
Kerry Micks (No. 02 PartSource/BDI/Leland Ford)
· Was runner-up to Andrew Ranger in last year’s NAPA AUTOPRO 100.
· Won in the series’ inaugural visit to Montreal in 2007.
· Registered third-place Montreal finishes in 2008 and 2009 to go along with a sixth-place effort in 2010.
· Has top-10 finishes in six of his last eight starts dating back to the Montreal race last year.
Andrew Ranger (No. 27 Dodge/GC Motorsports Dodge)
· Has won the last two Montreal races and took the checkered flag in the 2008 event, as well.
· Was the runner-up in the 2007 and 2009 editions of the NAPA AUTOPRO 100.
· Has led a series-best 48 laps at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
· Has finished inside the top 10 in 29 of his last 31 series starts dating back to the 2008 season.
· Owns 13 Canadian Tire Series road-course wins in 24 career starts.
· Tied with Don Thomson Jr. at 11 atop the all-time list for pole wins.
· Won the series championship in 2007 and 2009.
Martin Roy (No. 90 Veloce/Battery Expert Dodge)
· Finished 21st last season at Montreal in his only start at the track.
· Has finished inside the top 10 in three of his last four starts overall.
· Is the current leader in the series’ Rookie of the Year standings.
Trevor Seibert (No. 69 Lake Excavating Dodge)
· Finished 11th a season ago at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
· Posted top-10 Montreal finishes of seventh in 2010 and 10th in 2007.
· Finished third July 22 at Edmonton – his best series finish since a fourth at Edmonton in 2009.
Scott Steckly (No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge)
· Recorded a seventh-place finish last year in Montreal.
· Best Circuit Gilles Villeneuve finish in five starts was second in 2008.
· Also registered top-five finishes of fifth in 2007 and fourth in 2010 at the Montreal track.
· Has nine top-10 finishes in his last 10 series starts dating back to last season.
· Has 11 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series victories – the third-highest total in series history.
· Won 2008 and 2011 series championships.
· One of just four drivers to start all 71 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.
From Shon Sbarra
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