tHE cOMPEtItIOn HEats UP T
he sixth season of competition for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series promises to be the most intense yet. With each
new season, drivers and teams invest months of off season sweat equity to lay the ground- work for their performances during the com- ing season. We, the fans, get to enjoy the results of their hard work, all season long. Not one to rest on his laurels, defending champion Scott Steckly has a brand new road racing car. Prior to the season opener at Cana- dian Tire Motorsport Park, Steckly put a lot of effort into building and testing his new mount. The driver of the No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge visited the race shops of several top NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams during the off season, looking to tap into their expertise prior to the construction and setup of his car. After several pre-season test sessions, the Mil- verton, Ontario driver is confident he can compete for podium finishes at each of the five road course events on the 2012 Canadian Tire Series schedule.
One of the reasons Steckly and the other championship contenders are more focused on road racing this seasons is because of the full-time return of two-time series champ An- drew Ranger, in 2012. Ranger has a remark- able record of wins and top finishes at road courses, especially in his home province of Quebec where he has three victories at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.
Ranger will pilot the familiar No. 27 for Dave Jacombs Racing at all 12 events this sum- mer. Ranger’s stock car prowess isn’t limited to the road courses. He’s also a potent force on ovals, so watch for him to be in contention at
the seven short track stops, as well. In his most recent championship year (2009), Ranger posted victories at the Canadian Tire Motor- sport Park oval (Bowmanville, ON), Riverside Speedway (Antigonish, NS) and at Motoplex Speedway (Vernon, BC). Turning to the series’ other champion, 2010 points leader DJ Kennington is rejuvenated and anxious to join Steckly and Ranger on the two-time winners list. In 2011, the driver of the No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge fell just short of earning back-to-back titles, en route to his third career Canadian Tire Series runner-up points result. Looking ahead to 2012, Kenning- ton admits that he preferred the attention of being on top of the heap and is very focused on returning to the number one position fol- lowing the season finale at Kawartha Speed- way, in September. The most popular man in St. Thomas, ON
won races last year at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, his first ever road course win in the series, and also at Kawartha Speedway. He had disap- pointing results at Circuit ICAR and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve which hurt his overall total. J.R. Fitzpatrick hasn’t won a NASCAR Cana-
dian Tire Series Championship, but he was the youngest ever Champion in the CASCAR Super Series.
While he has dabbled in NASCAR’s Nation- wide and Camping World Truck Series, it’s a championship closer to home that the Cam- bridge, Ontario resident is gunning for this sea- son. Fitzpatrick entered 2012 with five career Canadian Tire Series road course wins. He’s hoping a new car and the support of new crew chief Don Thomson Jr. will put him over the top, in terms of the points chase. While any one of these four competitors is
canadian tire series commentator todd Lewis is excited about the 2012 season BY TODD LEWIS
likely to win the championship, there are even more racers who can win on any given race weekend.
BC’s Jason White returns and has improved steadily since winning Rookie of the Year hon- ours in 2008. Ron Beauchamp Jr. had signifi- cant momentum in the final few events of 2011 and expects that trend to continue this season. Jason Hathaway is also a regular top finisher. Pete Shepherd, Jeff Lapcevich, Mark Dilley, Kerry Micks, and last year’s rookie of the year LP Dumoulin are all potential winners each weekend.
The rookie crop for 2012 can be referred to as the “French Canadian Connection.” Martin Roy, Ray Courtemanche Jr. and Steve Cote – all from Quebec – will be the three drivers hoping to be rookie of the year for this season. Turning to the schedule, there is one switch in the event locations for 2012. The series will not stop in Toronto, but does make a return to the Edmonton Indy weekend, after scheduling for that event didn’t work out in 2011. There has been a lot of positive buzz about
Canada’s national stock car championship re- turning to action at Edmonton’s City Centre Airport facility, and fans can anticipate another great show.
The other significant change this year is to the series’ point system. NASCAR has brought the Canadian Tire Series into line with its other touring series.
The structure is simple. The winner gets 43 points, plus three bonus points for winning. Second place gets 42, third gets 41, and so on, descending by one marker down to the final finisher. Anyone who leads a lap (in a given race) gets a single bonus point, as does the racer who leads the most laps.
(l to r) Andrew Ranger (27), Scott Steckly (22), J.R. Fitzpatrick (84) and DJ Kennington (r) are the prime candidates to win the Canadian Tire Series crown in 2012.
56 nascar canaDIan tIrE sErIEs
Joe Hamilton
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