Bowmanville, Ontario – The anticipation is high as NASCAR Canada prepares for the ASSA ABLOY Accentra 200 on May 19th. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) will be the host of a historic moment as a record 31 cars are set to take part in the season opener.

 

The 2022 series Champion Marc-Antoine Camirand is set to return in his #96 GM Paillé Chevrolet, while triple Champion Andrew Ranger will also represent GM Paillé in his #27 machine. Ranger will be racing alongside Kevin Lacroix in the newly formed Innovation Autosport.

A standout to watch will be Daniel Bois in the #31 Sierra Excavations / Access Storage Chevrolet, who showcased impressive speed during pre-season testing, finishing 4th and narrowly missing the top three positions by mere tenths of a second. ASSA ABLOY / Accentra’s official driver will be commanding the #3 Chevrolet during the 51-lap race, sporting a new livery as well. 

 

Veteran driver Larry Jackson in the #84 Larry Jackson Racing Dodge is also returning to the grid with an impressive 12 years of experience. Another series regular, D.J. Kennington, will be on track this weekend with his #17 Castrol Edge / CIM Metals / Brimestone Games Dodge. Sam Fellows will be looking at a good result as he is set to take the green flag at his home track in his #87 AER / Polysleep / Mobil 1 Chevrolet. 

 

Championship contender Louis-Philippe Dumoulin will be returning in the #47 WeatherTech Canada car. He will be challenged by a lot of young talents in the likes of Thomas Nepveu in the #24 Richelieu / Home Hardware / Cromwell Ford, Jean-Philippe Bergeron in the #1 Prolon Controls / J.C. Perreault / eRacer Sports Jacombs Racing entry, Gary Klutt in the #59 Legendary Motorcar Company Dodge.

 

Crowd favourite Alex Tagliani will be on track in his #80 St-Hubert Chevrolet, while Steve Côté will be representing Allrem Racing in his #29 Evirum/ BKFC car. The newly formed Eighty8 Racing will see Simon Charbonneau commanding the #88 TransGestion / NAPA / IAI-Experts Conseils Chevrolet. 

 

"I'm absolutely ecstatic about the historic 31-car count for our season opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park," said Alan Labrosse, NASCAR Canada General Manager. "This will be a fantastic event where fans gather to witness history and good racing. The grid is packed with talented drivers from all across Canada, and I can't wait to kick off the season."

 

Saturday’s on-track activities will start at 12:25 PM for Practice, followed by Qualifying at 5 PM. Sunday’s ASSA ABLOY Accentra 200 will take place at 2 PM. Canadian fans can watch the race live on the TSN+ app, and international viewers can tune in on FloRacing.com.