DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season hits its stride, competitors in the series are beginning to as well, both at home and at other NASCAR-sanctioned events across North America.
With four of the 12 events on the 2011 slate in the books drivers and teams have worked out the kinks and are ready for the summer stretch that has five races covering four Canadian provinces – British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan – from July 9 to August 20.
The early portion of the schedule has seen Milverton, Ontario's Scott Steckly jump out to the early lead in the championship point standings, but J.R. Fitzpatrick, D.J. Kennington and Don Thomson Jr. are in hot pursuit.
The stage is now set for the Streets of Toronto 100 on July 9 at Toronto's Exhibition Place as part of the Honda Indy Toronto event. Over 30 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series cars are expected to be on hand. Rivals Fitzpatrick and Andrew Ranger, who won last season's Toronto race, once again square off, but they must not lose sight of Steckly, Kennington and Jason Bowles. Bowles, the 2009 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion and winner of the 2011 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, battled Ranger for the win last year at Montreal.
"The (Honda Indy Toronto) is definitely a big event for all of us," said Fitzpatrick. "It's a big stage and everyone wants to put on a great show for the fans."
The 23-year-old Fitzpatrick, out of Ayr, Ont., has yet to find his way to Victory Lane in 2011, but he has led laps in all four races and has posted a pair of top-five and four top-10 finishes. The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is just part of Fitzpatrick's racing duties this season. He is the driver of the new No. 67 Go Canada Racing Ford in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
The day before he finished as runner-up to Kennington at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ont., on June 26, he posted a 10th-place finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc.
The June 25 event at Road America proved to be a landmark day for north-of-the-border drivers. Canadian racing legends Ron Fellows and Jacques Villeneuve finished second and third, respectively, while two-time NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion Andrew Ranger finished sixth followed by Fitzpatrick in 10th. It was best showing in one of NASCAR's top-three series since three Canadians placed in the top 10 at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in August 2009.
After Toronto, the series heads to Western Canada for events at Motoplex Speedway and Event Park in Vernon, B.C., and Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, Sask. The two oval-track events have been held in front of capacity crowds for the past two seasons.
Then the teams travel to Quebec for the final two road-course events of the season – August 7 at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres for the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres and August 20 at Montreal's legendary Circuit Gilles Villeneuve at which they will share the date with the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the fifth straight season. Each of these events features tremendous crowds and spectacular racing. Ranger has wins in Montreal in 2008 and 2010 separated by a Fitzpatrick victory in 2009. Ranger also looks to continue his mastery at Trois-Rivieres where he has won three straight seasons.
"The opportunity to share the track in Montreal with the (NASCAR Nationwide Series) is always a lot of fun," said defending NASCAR Canadian Series champion Kennington. "And Trois-Rivieres always has a great crowd. Race fans in Quebec may be the best of anywhere."
So far this season, Steckly has logged top-five finishes in each of the four events, so far, including a win in the season opener on May 28 at Mosport Speedway in Bowmanville, Ont. Thomson earned the win on June 11 at Delaware (Ont.) Speedway. Kennington collected his 10th series career win on June 26 at Mosport International Raceway, which will be a memorable one for the driver out of St. Thomas, Ont. It was his first series win on a road course and done in dramatic fashion as he went from third to first in the final two laps of the race.
The remaining win went to road-course ace Robin Buck at the series' inaugural visit to Circuit ICAR, a 2.113-mile road course on the grounds of the Mirabel (Que.) Airport.
By the time the summer stretch is complete, the already tight championship battle surely will have closed up even more, as the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will crown its fifth champion on Sept. 24 at Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville, Ont.
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