By: NASCAR Pinty's Series
September 7 2016
Analyzing the Lucas Oil 250 at Autodrome St. Eustache
Daytona Beach, Florida – Two races remain in the 2016 NASCAR Pinty’s Series season and all eyes will be on the tight championship battle in both the drivers and owners divisions. The NPS makes its fourth and final stop in Quebec this Saturday for the Lucas Oil 250 at Autodrome St-Eustache. Below is a statistical look at the performance of the series and selected drivers at the track:
Lucas Oil 250 Setup:
• Andrew Ranger is the defending winner at Autodrome St-Eustache. After leading the points standings for most of the season, mechanical woes have knocked Ranger back to second place behind rookie Cayden Lapcevich.
• St-Eustache native and two-time winner this season Kevin Lacroix returns to his home track and he's looking for his first oval track victory.
At Autodrome St-Eustache:
History
• Was founded in 1965 as Fury Speedway de Fabreville, and the current configuration has played host to various types of racing since 1970. The track was purchased by Alan Labrosse prior to the 2008 race season.
• The facility also includes a 1-mile road course and .125-mile drag strip.
• Was a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series member track from 2004-09, and returned to the program in 2014.
• Welcomed the NASCAR Pinty's Series for four events from 2008-10, and again in 2013-15.
• Was the only oval in Quebec to play host to a NPS event prior to 2014.
Notebook
• Scott Steckly won the inaugural race at Autodrome St-Eustache event on July 5, 2008.
• The previous seven events have produced four different race victors, led by Steckly with four.
• There have been six different pole winners in the seven races, but only Scott Steckly has won the pole twice.
• Three drivers have participated in all seven events, and two (Jason Hathaway and D.J. Kennington) are expected to extend the streak this week.
• A driver has yet to win from the pole.
• Two events have run beyond the scheduled 250-lap distance. Ranger won last year's event in a green-white-checkered event that went 256 laps.
• Dodge has been the winning manufacturer in all seven events.
Autodrome St-Eustache Data
Race #: 11 of 12
Track Layout: .4-mile asphalt oval
Race Length: 250 laps (100 miles)
TV Coverage: TSN - Sunday, Sept. 18, 1 p.m. ET; RDS - Friday, Oct. 14, 8 p.m. ET
Qualifying/Race Data
2015 Race Winner: Andrew Ranger
2015 Pole Winner: Scott Steckly
Qualifying Record: Alex Labbe, Dodge, 84.019 mph, 17.139 secs., July 26, 2014
Active Category Leaders at Autodrome St-Eustache:
Wins
1. D.J. Kennington ... 1
Andrew Ranger ... 1
Poles
1. five drivers with ... 1
Top Fives
1. D.J. Kennington ... 3
Andrew Ranger ... 3
3. Mark Dilley ... 2
Top 10s
1. Andrew Ranger ... 6
2. D.J. Kennington ... 5
3. Mark Dilley ... 4
Kerry Micks ... 4
Laps Led
1. Andrew Ranger ... 245
2. Kerry Micks ... 133
3. Jason Hathaway ... 61
Laps Completed
1. Jason Hathaway ... 1,715
2. D.J. Kennington ... 1,644
3. Andrew Ranger ... 1,515
Select Driver Highlights:
Mark Dilley (No. 02 Johnsonville/Leland/BDI/Avenue Auto Parts Ford)
• Has three wins, three poles, 35 top fives and 56 top 10s in 96 career starts.
• Has competed in five of 10 events this year and ranks 12th in points.
• All of his wins and poles have come on ovals, where he has 46 top 10s and an average finish of ninth in 73 starts.
• Has participated in six of the seven previous events at ASE, where he's posted two top fives and four top 10s, an average finish of 11th and a best result of second last year.
L.P. Dumoulin (No. 47 WeatherTech Canada Dodge)
• The 2014 NPS Champion and 2011 Rookie of the Year has four wins, a pole, 29 top fives and 44 top 10s in 69 career starts.
• Has finishes of sixth, third and fourth in his three previous ASE appearances.
• Finished fourth in last year's final season standings.
Jason Hathaway (No. 3 Raybestos/Fast Eddie/Choko/HGC Chevrolet)
• Has eight wins and 72 top 10s in 119 career starts.
• Is one of two drivers that have participated in every race in NPS history.
• Finished a career-best second in last year's final season standings.
• Has three top 10s, an average finish of 10th and a best result of fourth (2010) in the seven previous ASE events.
D.J. Kennington (No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge)
• The 2010 and 2012 NPS champion. Maintains series records for top fives (75) and top 10s (99), and is one of two drivers to start each of the 119 all-time events.
• Ranks second in series history in wins (19), laps led (2,820) and ranks fifth in poles (11).
• Sits sixth in points after 10 races with nine top 10s and a best finish of third at CTMP in May.
• Finished seventh in last year's final season standings.
• Has a win (2010), a pole ('09) and an average finish of seventh at ASE.
Gary Klutt (No. 59 Pool Supplies Canada/CTL Dodge)
• Has a win, a pole and 17 top 10s in 26 career NPS starts. Both the pole and win came in last year's season-opener at CTMP.
• Finished fifth in last year's final season standings winning Josten's Rookie of the Year honors.
• The NASCAR Next driver finished seventh last year in his first start at ASE.
Alex Labbe (No. 36 Cam-Am/Kappa/Cyclops Gear/Lou's BBQ Ford)
• Has one win (Chaudiere – 2016) five poles, nine top fives and 14 top 10s in 25 career starts.
• This will be his third start at ASE with one top 10 finish in 2014. He also won the pole at the track in 2014.
Kevin Lacroix (No. 74 Bumper To Bumper/Total/Go Fast Dodge)
• Has two poles, four wins, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 16 career starts.
• Recorded two wins in seven starts during his debut season in 2015. Won road races at Circuit ICAR and Circuit de Trois-Rivieres.
• Won from the pole at Trois-Rivieres for the second year in a row in August and last week at CTMP.
• Is the first driver in series history to record two victories in rookie season.
• Became the first driver in the history of the series to win a caution-free race last season at ICAR.
• This will be his second appearance at his home track.
Cayden Lapcevich (No. 76 Fastline Motorsports Dodge)
• Has made 16 career starts in the NASCAR Pinty's Series and recorded his first career win at Wyant Group Raceway in July. He picked up his second win three weeks ago in Riverside.
• Enters this race leading the NPS points standings by 30 points over Andrew Ranger (415-385).
• This will be his first start at Autodrome St. Eustache and he could clinch the 2016 NASCAR Pinty's Series championship this weekend.
Andrew Ranger (No. 27 Mopar/Pennzoil Dodge)
• The 2007 and 2009 champion is the series' all-time leader in wins at 22 and holds the record for the poles with 19. Has 53 top fives and 77 top 10s in 93 career starts.
• Finished third in last year's final season standings.
• Has one win, three top-five and six top-10 finishes six previous starts at ASE.
Alex Tagliani (No. 18 EpiPen/Riobel/Complexe JCP/Juste du Chevrolet)
• Has five wins, seven poles and 16 top fives, 26 top 10s in 43 career NPS starts.
• Three of his five wins at have come on the ovals (Sunset Speedway 2015-16 and Edmonton).
• In three previous starts at ASE, he has one top-10 finish.
Up To Speed:
• The 2016 season is the first for new series sponsor Pinty's and the 10th overall for the Canadian-based NASCAR division.
• The 2016 schedule features 12 races at 11 different tracks across five provinces and a return to the road course in Toronto as part of the IndyCar weekend in July.
• Quebec native Andrew Ranger took the lead on the penultimate lap of the season opening race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park to score the win.
• Alex Tagliani made Quebec drivers two-for-two this season after he won the Leland Industries 300 at Sunset Speedway for his third career series victory.
• Alex Labbe won from the pole last weekend in an exciting finish with rookie Cayden Lapcevich. It was Labbe's first career win.
• Andrew Ranger retook the points lead and also became the first multi-race winner of the season with his third win at ICAR two weeks ago.
• Alex Tagliani was able to hold off Andrew Ranger in a green-white-checkered finish in the series return to the road course in Toronto for his second win of the season.
• Alex Tagliani took the lead on Lap 88 and remained out front the rest of the way to score his second consecutive win and third of the season at Edmonton. Tagliani will try and become the first driver since Scott Steckly in 2013 to win three NPS races in a row.
• After finishing second twice earlier this season, Josten's Rookie of the Year contender Cayden Lapcevich scored his first series win at Wyant Group Raceway. He also became the youngest winner in the history of the series.
• Kevin Lacroix set a new track record in qualifying and went on to lead every lap at Trois-Rivieres to pick up his second straight win at the historic road course and third win of his career.
• Rookie Cayden Lapcevich took the lead from Jason Hathaway with 10 laps remaining to score his second win of the season and overtake the points lead in the process.
• Kevin Lacroix kept the winning streak alive of Josten's Rookie of the Year contenders taking the checkered flag as he picked up his second win of the season and fourth of his career at CTMP.