In September 2006, NASCAR announced the purchase of Canada’s premier stock car series - CASCAR. They also revealed a long-term sponsorship agreement with the Canadian Tire Corporation. The series debuted in 2007 at Cayuga Speedway. The first season included many of the teams that had previously participated in the CASCAR series.

The 2014 championship opened at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as it had done since 2012. The schedule looked much as it had in 2013. The opening round was followed by two events in Quebec - Autodrome Chaudiere and Circuit ICAR. The series then headed to western Canada and competed at Edmonton International Raceway and the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon. Then the championship returned to Quebec for races at Autodrome Saint-Eustache and Circuit Trois-Rivieres. Next on the schedule were Riverside International Speedway and the second visit to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The season finale was held at Kawartha Speedway.

The series cars 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.

Round one of the eleven contested during the 2014 NASCAR Canadian Tire season, took place at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The race was held in May on the Victoria Day long weekend.

Twenty-eight drivers were scheduled to compete for fifty-one laps (201.8-kilometers) around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course in the Clarington 200. However, a late race caution caused the event to go into overtime and set up a green-white-checkered flag finish. As a result, the contest ran for fifty-four laps.

A penalty for the fastest qualifier, Andrew Ranger, moved J.R. Fitzpatrick to the top starting position. Fitzpatrick made the most of the opportunity and led the pack of twenty-eight NASCAR Canadian Tire competitors into turn one. Hot on his heels is the No. 76 Dodge of Jeff Lapcevich who qualified third but started on the outside of the front row.
Series veteran, Jeff Lapcevich was not only an experienced stock car racer but had many miles under his belt competing in showroom stock endurance road racing series. This made Lapcevich very versatile and was always a threat to win on a road course. It was no surprise to those in the know that he qualified third and was in the runner-up position at the finish.
Another experienced road racer in the field was Robin Buck. Buck’s car racing career began with Formula Fords. He was only running a partial schedule which included the two events at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Buck made the most of the appearance – he started seventh in the No. 66 Quaker State Dodge and captured the final position on the podium.
Andrew Ranger qualified on the pole but was had to start in the twenty-fourth position after the crew made unauthorized adjustments in impound. Ranger moved into the top-ten early in the race. But the weekend continued to go downhill for the two-time series champion. He lost time when he had to pit for an ignition issue. Ranger finished three laps behind the leaders in twenty-first place.
L.P. Dumoulin scored his first NASCAR Canadian Tire win at Canadian Tire Motorsport. It seemed only natural that his initial victory would occur on a road course as Dumoulin join the series after a successful open wheel career. In the season opener, he started from the fifth position on the grid and after fifty-four laps of racing was fourth.
Since the series inception, D.J. Kennington had won two championships (2010 and 2012), been the runner-up four times and finished third in the final standings once. Kennington’s results could be attributed to his speed and his ability to consistency finish events and finish them at or near the top of the results sheet. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he was fifth at the checkered flag after a thirteenth place start.
A pleasant surprise at the conclusion of the event was the performance of Hugo Vannini. In 2013, Vannini, driving the VTI Motorsports Ford Fusion competed in ten of the twelve scheduled races. His best finish during the season was an eighth at Delaware. In the season opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he topped that result with a seventh after starting twentieth.
Jason Hathaway was one of three drivers that had started all the NASCAR Canadian Tire races since 2007 – the other two being – Scott Steckly and D.J. Kennington. In the opening round, he was as quick as ever, qualifying in the fourth grid position. Unfortunately, for Hathaway and the team he retired on lap-35 with an engine issue – he was classified twenty-fourth.
J.R. Fitzpatrick won the season opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2012 and he was victorious again in 2014. Fitzpatrick was the second fastest qualifier but started first when the pole-sitter, Andrew Ranger, was penalized for an unapproved change to the car. Fitzpatrick dominated the contest – leading forty-nine of the fifty-four laps on his way to the checkered flag.

FINISHSTARTDRIVERSSPONSOR / CARLAPSRETIREMENTS
12J.R. FitzpatrickEquipment Express/Autism Speaks Chevrolet54-
23Jeff LapcevichTim Hortons Dodge54-
37Robin BuckQuaker State Dodge54-
45L.P. DumoulinWeatherTech Canada/Bellemare / Dodge54-
513D.J. KenningtonCastrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge54-
612Kerry MicksJohnsonville/Leland/Go Tire Ford54-
720Hugo VanniniVTI Motorsports Ford54-
88Luc LesageSportchief Dodge54-
96Peter KluttLegendary Motorcar Chevrolet54-
1022Ray Courtemanche Jr.La Cité de Mirabel Inc./Blackshape Dodge54-
1126David ThorndykeLubeSource/Thorsons EVT Chevrolet54-
1216Matthew ScannellOMVIC Dodge54-
1311Stefan RzadzinskiEpiPen/Dicom Express Dodge54-
1428Jocelyn FecteauOctane Dodge54-
1525Bob AttrellCastrol/Jumpstart Dodge53-
1619Matt PritikoGlobal Warranty Chevrolet53-
1717Joey McColmPartSource/Toronto Maple Leafs Dodge53-
1823Russ BondDoor Doctor/Motoring TV Ford52-
199Marc-Antoine CamirandHeadrush Chevrolet52-
2027Derek WhiteHeadrush/99 Resto Bar Chevrolet52-
211Andrew RangerMopar/Exide Dodge51-
2215Noel DowlerEMCO/Rheem Dodge41Oil Line
2321Steve MathewsTSC Stores/CBSF/Bill Mathews Ford Ford37Oil Leak
244Jason HathawayRockstar Energy Drink/Roto Static Chevrolet35Engine
2510Scott StecklyCanadian Tire/Sylvania Dodge23Accident
2614Ryan KluttK-Line/Legendary Motorcar Chevrolet23Vibration
2724Jason WhiteBowers & Wilkins Dodge21-
2818Anthony SimoneInnovative Plumbing & Mechanical Dodge4Suspension

Copyright Notice:
All content (photographs and text) appearing on this website are the exclusive property of © www.zoompics.com and are protected under International copyright laws. The subject matter on this website may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated.

© Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017

Return to home page.