By: NASCAR Pinty's Series
August 30 2016
Ranger Looks to Repeat May Magic, Regain Points Lead
Daytona Beach, Florida – Andrew Ranger hopes to turn his luck around this weekend after mechanical issues at Riverside International Speedway not only took him out of the race, but also from the top of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series championship standings.
The Roxton Pond, Quebec, native looks take the points lead back at the placewhere he took control of championship race at the start of the season - Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
Ranger passed Jason Hathaway on the penultimate lap in May to score his first of two wins this season and to set his sights on his third series championship.
Two weeks ago, rookie Cayden Lapcevich took the points lead after scoring his second victory at Riverside. That gave the 16 year-old driver a 12-point advantage with three races remaining.
Ranger has already won three of his 11 starts at CTMP and this weekend could be an opportunity for him to catch or pass Lapcevich in the standings before the season’s final two races, which will be held at ovals Autodrome St-Eustache and Kawartha Speedway. Lapcevich hasn't finished worse than third in the series' five oval races this year.
RACE: Cam-Am 200
PLACE: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario
DATE: Sunday, Sept. 4
TIME: 1 p.m. ET
TRACK LAYOUT: 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course
2015 WINNER: Jason Hathaway
2015 POLESITTER: Andrew Ranger
EVENT SCHEDULE: Saturday: Practice 10:40 a.m. – 11:25 p.m.; Final practice 1:10 - 2 p.m.; Qualifying 4:40 p.m.; Sunday: Can-Am 200 11:05 a.m.
TRACK TWITTER: @CTMPOfficial
EVENT HASHTAG: #CanAm200
Fast Facts
The Race: The Can-Am 200 will be the 10th of 12 races during the 2016 NASCAR Pinty’s Series championship season. This will be the tour’s 14th all-time visit to the historic road course, and the second of two slated for this year.
The Procedure: The starting field is 32 cars, including provisionals. The first 27 cars will qualify through time trials while the remaining five starting spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 51 laps (200 kilometers/125.4 miles).
The Track: The Speedway at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, formerly known as Mosport Speedway, is part of Canada's largest motorsports complex. The 750-acre, multi-track facility is located within the Greater Toronto Area, north of Bowmanville, Ont. CTMP also features the 2.459-mile road course, a 2.4-kilometer advanced driver and race driver training facility and a 1.4-kilometer karting track. The facility opened in 1961 and has hosted stock car, Formula 1 and IndyCar events over the years. Canadian Tire acquired the naming rights to the facility in 2013.
The Records: Andrew Ranger holds the qualifying record at 82.807 seconds, 106.904 mph, set on Aug. 30, 2015.
Can-Am 200 Notes
Klutt to Pull Double Duty: Gary Klutt has already scored a NASCAR Pinty's Series win at CTMP last year and he’ll try to get his second win in the Can-Am 200. He will also be driving the No. 51 JEGS Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and will attempt to become the first driver to sweep both races on the same day.
Tagliani to make his first start at CTMP: After having Pier-Luc Oullette drive his car to a respectable 11th-place finish in May while he competed in the Indianapolis 500, Alex Tagliani will make his first start of the year at CTMP. Tagliani has scored a series-high three wins this season and sits third in the standings despite missing the season opener.
Champions in the Field: Three former champions will be in the field. Two-time champions D.J. Kennington and Andrew Ranger will be joined by L.P. Dumoulin in the starting lineup. All three drivers have recorded wins at CTMP.
Hathaway Looks To Keep Momentum: While the top-two championship contenders battle it out, one driver will try and build on his momentum from Riverside and success past success at CTMP. Jason Hathaway scored his first top-five finish of the season at Riverside and is the defending winner of the Can-Am 200. The win in the race last year was the veteran’s first triumph on a road course and finishing second to Ranger in May makes him one of the favorites in Sunday’s annual event held in conjunction with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Lacroix Goes For Another Road Course Win: Kevin Lacroix is the most recent winner of a road course event on the NASCAR Pinty’s Series schedule, winning from the pole at Trois Rivieres. He will try to win back-to-back road course races this weekend for the second year in a row. He's done it before in 2015 with wins at Circuit ICAR and at Trois-Rivieres.
Labbe Looks to Remain Fast: After winning the E3 Spark Plugs pole at CTMP in the May race and leading the first eight laps of the race on the way to a fifth-place finish, Labbe will try and score his second win of the season this Sunday in his Can-Am sponsored car.