2013 Trois-Rivieres

In 2013, the Canadian NASCAR series was in its seventh season. With Canadian Tire as the primary sponsor, NASCAR had developed a successful format that attracted competitors and fans.

For the most part, the series schedule mirrored that of 2012 - just some shuffling around of dates. For the second straight year, the title chase started on the Victoria Day Weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). There would be two additional events held at this facility – a race on the oval track in June and on the Labour Day weekend a second event on the road course supporting the NASCAR Trucks series. The title chase would end in September at Kawartha Speedway. The only significant changes saw two high-profile events - Edmonton and Montreal - dropped from the calendar. The championship also returned to Autodrome Saint-Eustache for the first time since 2010. In total, there was twelve race weekends and the series would visit eleven different tracks in five provinces.

The cars competing in the championship are constructed to specifications and rules common to most stock car series. The chassis is a steel tube frame design covered with a fiberglass body and is required to weigh no less than 3000-lbs. Body styles are from manufacturers such as Dodge (Avenger, Challenger and Charger), Ford (Fusion) and Chevrolet (Monte Carlo and Impala SS). Engine type and displacement are dictated by the make and model of the vehicle. The carbureted eight-cylinder motors produce approximately 650-horsepower. Depending on the gearing, these cars are estimated to have a top speed of 160-mph.

Round eight of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series took place on the eleven-turn 1.53-mile Circuit de Trois-Rivieres in the 44th running of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.

The starting grid pulls away for round eight of the 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. On the front row is the pole-sitter, Alex Tagliani in the No. 24 Dodge Challenger. Next to Tagliani is the second fastest qualifier, L.P. Dumoulin in another Dodge Charger. The second row is occupied by two more drivers from Quebec - Marc-Antoine Camirand and Jacques Villeneuve. A total of thirty drivers would take the green flag.

D.J. Kennington qualified eighth in the Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge Challenger. Kennington worked his way to the front and on lap-38 took the lead. He would stay out front for the remaining eight laps to score his first victory of the season. Although Kennington was still second in the title chase, his result moved him to within four points of the championship leader, Scott Steckly.

IndyCar driver, Alex Tagliani made a single start in the 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. Tagliani drove a Dodge Challenger from the DJK Racing stable and was sponsored by Dicom Express and EPIPEN. Despite being his only NASCAR start of the year, he qualified on the pole. Tagliani would lead the first eight laps of the race before losing the position to Jacque Villeneuve. He kept in touch with the leaders and finished fifth.

Trois-Rivieres was the second start of the season for Andrew Ranger. In his first 2013 outing at Circuit ICAR, the two-time series champion started on the pole and won the race. The four-time winner of Trois-Rivieres missed qualifying because he was competing in the Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen. Ranger started twenty-eighth in the La Cite De Mirabel Inc. Dodge Challenger. He fought his way through the field and finished second.

One of the local favourites was, L.P. Dumoulin. Dumoulin was yet to win at Trois-Rivieres but had an impressive record at the track – in 2012 he started from the pole and finished second. This year he was the quickest in practice but missed the pole by 0.275-seconds. An incident early in the race forced him to pit for repairs. Dumoulin lost a lap and dropped to twenty-seventh place. At the end of the race, he was fourteenth.

During qualifying, Ron Beauchamp, Jr. carried too much speed at the end of Boulevard du Carmel. He gained control before hitting the tire wall and recorded the ninth quickest time. Beauchamp, who had started all eighty-two NASCAR Canadian Tire Series events, had his best Trois-Rivieres finish in 2009 when he was fifth. At the checkered flag, Beauchamp was on the same lap as the race leader in eighteenth place.

1995 Indy Car Series and 1997 Formula One World Champion, Jacque Villeneuve made a guest appearance at Trois Rivieres – this would be his third NASCAR Canadian Tire Series start. The former Indianapolis 500 winner drove the No. 24 Dodge Dealers of Quebec sponsored Dodge Challenger. Villeneuve was in contention for the entire event and led a race-high twenty-nine laps for a third place finish.

Another driver to have started all eighty-two NASCAR Canadian Tire Series events was Jason Hathaway. Hathaway was driving the No. 3 Snap-on Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge finished fifteenth in last year’s event. Looking to improve on his performance, he started from the twelfth position on the grid. As the result of some great driving and the misfortune of other competitors, Hathaway was in fourth place at the checkered flag.

There were eight rookies in the field and the quickest was the local Quebec competitor, Marc-Antoine Camirand. Camirand was familiar with the Trois-Rivieres circuit having raced and won in many different categories. During qualifying, he recorded the third fastest time driving the No. 88 Lucas Oil Chevrolet Impala SS. Unfortunately for Camirand, his race ended on lap-9 with severe front-end damage.

FINISH	START	DRIVERS	SPONSOR / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	8	D.J. Kennington	Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge	46	-
2	28	Andrew Ranger	La Cite De Mirabel Inc. Dodge	46	-
3	4	Jacques Villeneuve	Dodge Dealers of Quebec Dodge	46	-
4	12	Jason Hathaway	Snap-On Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge	46	-
5	1	Alex Tagliani	Dicom Express/EPIPEN/Sennheiser Dodge	46	-
6	7	Martin Roy	Batteries Expert/Gamache/Veloce Dodge	46	-
7	6	Alex Labbe	Soudure Plastique/VR Victoriaville Dodge	46	-
8	14	Scott Steckly	Canadian Tire/Johnsonville Dodge	46	-
9	13	Jeff Lapcevich	Tim Hortons Dodge	46	-
10	25	Trevor Seibert	Lake Excavating/Emco Waterworks Dodge	46	-
11	30	Jason White	Bowers & Wilkins Dodge	46	-
12	29	Patrice Brisebois	Jiffy Lube/Fédération des oeufs Dodge	46	-
13	5	J.R. Fitzpatrick	Equipment Express Chevrolet	46	-
14	2	L.P. Dumoulin	WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare / Dodge	46	-
15	18	Ryley Seibert	Lake Excavating/Emco Waterworks Dodge	46	-
16	20	Noel Dowler	EMCO/Praxair/Safety Kleen Dodge	46	-
17	11	J.F. Dumoulin	Bellemare/Bernier Crepeau Dodge	46	-
18	19	Ron Beauchamp, Jr.	Mopar/Exide/Pennzoil Dodge	46	-
19	23	Ray Courtemanche Jr.	La Cité de Mirabel Inc. Dodge	46	-
20	10	Alex Guennette	Motos Illimitées/DLGL Dodge	39	-
21	21	Isabelle Tremblay	Archibal/AutomobileEnDirect.com Dodge	38	-
22	16	Hugo Vannini	Evy Look Ford	38	-
23	17	Xavier Coupal	Bain Magique Dodge	37	-
24	27	Paul Jean	BFI Canada/Transport Humar Chevrolet	37	-
25	15	Howie Scannell Jr.	K&B Auto/Trailers by Jim Bray Dodge	32	Suspension
26	22	Benoit Theetge	Mercedes-Benz St. Nicolas Chevrolet	29	Driver Fatigue
27	9	Kerry Micks	Leland/BDI/Gaunt Collision Ford	28	Off Track
28	24	Dexter Stacey	MaddiesPlaceRocks.com Dodge	23	Accident
29	3	Marc-Antoine Camirand	Lucas Oil Chevrolet	9	Off Track
30	26	Simon Dion-Viens	Best Buy Pièces d'auto Dodge	0	Off Track