· Western Swing To Commence With Alberta Has Energy 300

· Thiering In Familiar Territory

Daytona Beach, Florida – Jostens Rookie of the Year candidate Erica Thiering will put her home track advantage to work Saturday in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1’s Alberta Has Energy 300 at Edmonton International Raceway.

Thiering, from nearby Sherwood Park, began her racing career at the Alberta quarter-mile, and continues to race late models there on a weekly basis. And she doesn’t just race there, she wins. The 25-year-old has captured six NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track championships at Edmonton since 2008, including the last four in a row.

Thiering’s connection to the track extends beyond just the competition as her family owns and operates the facility. She’s actually one of three Canadian Tire Series competitors with family ties to a host tracks on the schedule along with part-time participants Elie Arseneau (Circuit ICAR) and Donald Chisholm (Riverside International Speedway).

Home cooking could be just the recipe Thiering needs as she’s still looking for her first top-10 finish this year after recording two in five appearances in 2014. She finished 11th in last year’s Alberta Has Energy 300.

Thiering enters Saturday’s event ranked third in Jostens Rookie of the Year points and 13th in the overall championship standings.

RACE: Alberta Has Energy 300
PLACE: Edmonton International Raceway, Wetaskiwin, Alta.
DATE: Saturday, July 11
TIME: 8 p.m. MT
TELECAST: TSN-July 18, 2:30 p.m. ET; RDS2-July 31, 8 p.m. ET
TRACK LAYOUT: .25-mile asphalt oval
2014 WINNER: Andrew Ranger
2014 POLESITTER: Alex Tagliani
EVENT SCHEDULE: Practice 12-12:30 p.m., Final Practice 1-1:45 p.m., Qualifying 4:30 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 6:40 p.m.
TRACK TWITTER: @EIRNASCAR
EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG: #AlbertaHasEnergy300

Fast Facts

The Race: The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 is set to visit Edmonton International Raceway for the second year in a row. The Alberta Has Energy 300 will be the fifth of 11 events on the 2015 season schedule.

The Procedure: The maximum starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 21 cars will have secured starting positions through two-lap time trials while the remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 300 laps (75 miles) and will have a five-minute midway break at or near the conclusion of Lap 150.

The Track: Edmonton is the second facility to play host to the Canadian Tire Series in the province of Alberta along with Edmonton City Centre Airport (2007-12). The track was first paved in 1994 and received a new coat of asphalt and other improvements just prior last year’s inaugural series event. Edmonton, under the ownership of Ron and Loretta Thiering for nearly 20 years, has been a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series member track since 2005.

The Winners: Andrew Ranger won 2014’s inaugural event.

The Polesitters: Alex Tagliani became the series’ first Edmonton polesitter when he turned a fast lap of 12.514 seconds (71.919 mph) a year ago.

Alberta Has Energy 300 Notes

Hathaway Goes West With the Lead: Jason Hathaway’s Ed Hakonson Racing team once considered not going on the western swing, but with the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 championship lead, the No. 3 Chevrolet is heading to Alberta. Hathaway, who hasn’t missed a race in series history, moved into the points lead for the first time in his career with a win at Autodrome Chaudiere on June 13 and has held it through two subsequent events. He will take a one-point advantage (159-158) on Gary Klutt to Edmonton International Raceway, where he finished third a year ago.

Tagliani Looks to Stay Hot: Last year’s Edmonton polesitter Alex Tagliani lapped the field en route victory at Sunset Speedway on June 20 and followed that with a pole and podium finish last week at Circuit ICAR. This time around Tagliani will look to finish what he started at the Alberta bullring, where he led a race- and career-high 268 laps but ended up in two late-race incidents and finished 13th. Tagliani’s history of success in Alberta also includes his first Canadian Tire Series win in 2008 at Edmonton City Centre Airport.

Steady Performances Paying Off for Defending Champ: Reigning Canadian Tire Series titlist L.P. Dumoulin has yet to register a podium finish in 2015, but he’s now up to a season-best fourth place in the standings. Dumoulin is one of just two drivers with top-10 finishes in each of the season’s first four races, and he heads to Edmonton just 12 points behind championship leader Hathaway. Dumoulin won the second stop on the western swing last year at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway.

First Appearances: The Alberta Has Energy 300 will be the first Canadian Tire Series appearance of the season for Alberta natives Adam Dowler (Sherwood Park), Shania LaForce (Athabasca), Jamie Krzysik (Grande Prairie) and James Van Domselaar (Fort Saskatchewan). It will actually mark the Canadian Tire Series debut for Dowler, younger brother of series regular Noel Dowler. Manitoba’s Nick Jewell (Fort Frances) and Saskatchewan’s Jason Hankewich (Kindersley) are also slated to make their first start of the year.