Bowmanville, Quebec - It was not the weekend Kevin Lacroix had hoped for, as he was forced to retire during the ASSA ABLOY Accentra 200 last Sunday. The driver of the #74 Adaptive One Calipers/NAPA Auto Parts car experienced a transmission problem while leading the race.

 

The weekend had started well for Lacroix, who posted the fastest time in practice, also setting an unofficial track record with a time of 1:21.917. Later, in the qualifying session, he secured the second position, missing pole by 0.032 seconds.

 

In the early laps of the race, Lacroix put pressure on Gary Klutt, who was leading at the time. After 5 laps, Lacroix took the lead, pulling away from the second-place driver.

 

The race was not easy for Lacroix, as he battled with the Top 6 drivers to return to the front after a pit stop. His overtaking paid off, but not for long, as a mechanical issue forced him to stop at turn 1.

 

Nevertheless, Lacroix received two awards: the Evirum Fastest Lap in the race, and the Leland Industries Lap Leader, having led for 19 laps out of 51.

 

"It looked like a great start to the season," said Lacroix. "We have a very good new team and the car was very fast during the sessions. It's really unfortunate that we had to retire because it doesn't reflect our potential."

 

Lacroix and Innovation Auto Sport will be back on track on June 1 at the Autodrome Chaudière.