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Hangin' With The Big Boys
Canadian Tire Series proves its mettleMONTREAL – The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 is a relative newcomer to the NASCAR world, but the series—in just its third season—made a statement on Sunday in Montreal.
Though it was not the first time that a NASCAR Canadian Tire Series driver has competed in one of NASCAR’s big three—NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series—it was the first time, as a group, they showed what Canadian stock-car drivers can bring to the table.
Four drivers—JR Fitzpatrick, DJ Kennington, Andrew Ranger and Alex Tagliani—did double duty over the weekend by competing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series’ NAPA Autopro 100 and the NASCAR Nationwide Series event. Daryl Harr planned to make it a quintet, but, unfortunately, he was not able to secure a starting position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. However, two other drivers—Jean-Francois Dumoulin and Jacques Villeneuve—with NASCAR Canadian Tire Series ties were in the field.
Each of the four double-duty drivers played primetime roles in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race. Fitzpatrick collected the win in his No. 84 Schick Chevrolet, his first victory in 2009 and the fourth of his series career. Ranger, who had his bid to win all four road-course races this season foiled by Fitzpatrick, finished second in his familiar blue and orange No. 27 Walmart/Tide Ford. Kennington, in his equally recognizable No. 17 Castrol/Mahindra Tractors Dodge, finished in fourth place. Tagliani, meanwhile, put the No. 81 H. Gregoire/Monsieur Muffler Chevy on the pole in Saturday’s qualifying session.
While not a series regular, Jacques Villeneuve has competed in a pair of NASCAR Canadian Tire Series events this season and it is a strong bet he will continue to make visits to the series as his schedule allows. His racing pedigree as a former Formula One, IndyCar Series and Indy 500 champion is as strong anyone’s in the sport. In Montreal, his performance was more than solid all weekend. After qualifying sixth in wet conditions on Saturday, the son of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve, for whom the track in Montreal in named, ran up front all day long and finished fourth, his best finish in any of NASCAR’s top-three series having competed in each of them on a limited basis.
Dumoulin, out of Trois-Rivieres, Que., made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut in Montreal and logged an impressive seventh-place finish. Primarily a sports-car racer in his career, Dumoulin has made three NASCAR Canadian Tire Series starts, but has plans to join the series on a full-time basis in 2010 along with his brother, Louis-Phillippe, and, perhaps, National Hockey League veteran defenseman Patrice Brisebois.
The story of the day, however, was the performance of the four double-duty drivers, who all spent significant time in the front half of the field.
The finishes of Fitzpatrick, Kennington and Tagliani were not indicative of their performance throughout the race. Both Fitzpatrick and Tagliani spent a large portion of the race inside or near the top 10, but had their day spoiled by contact with other cars in the closing laps. Kennington, too, was forced to retire his car with damage from an accident.
Ranger’s story nearly had a David Gilliland-like finish. Gilliland parlayed a 2006 NASCAR Nationwide Series win at Kentucky Speedway into a full-time ride in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Though he didn’t win, Ranger battled all day long at the very front of the field with the likes of Carl Edwards, Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch and Villeneuve—some of the most gifted racers on the planet—before finishing third behind Edwards and Ambrose.
Edwards stated that he was not at all familiar with Ranger coming into the race, but after dueling with the road-course prowess of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series’ championship point standings leader, he evaluated Ranger as a “driving machine” with a “very high skill level.”
It was an opportunity to make a statement for Canadian stock-car racing and the six NASCAR Canadian Tire Series drivers jumped on it with two feet and closed out one of the best, if not, the best weekends in the series’ short, but rapidly growing, résumé.
