St-Eustache, July 5th, 2008: Under a shining sun, with an enthusiastic crowd, a demanding track, five Quebec drivers on the starting grid, everything was set for a successful and memorable inaugural National Kodak 250. This was the case Saturday night for the first NASCAR Canadian Tire Series in the province of Quebec in 2008 and the only one on an oval track.
For this first Quebec event, two guest drivers were taking part in the event to pump up the number of Quebecers in the National Kodak 250: Miguel Duhamel, multiple motorcycle AMA champion with 86 victories and 8 titles and Patrick Laperle, 2007 ACT champion and currently 3rd in the American ACT championship, 6 points behind second place and some 45 points behind the leader at mid-season.
After the qualifying session, Andrew Ranger and Alex Tagliani, involved in a heated championship battle, started in 11th and 16th followed by Patrick Laperle in 17th and Miguel Duhamel in 21st. At the drop of the green flag, Ranger and Tagliani were able to escape without damage a mid-grid start and started their climb up the order. Unfortunately for Alex, his race ended early. Involved in a lap 10 incident, he was forced to abandon the race on lap 23. For Andrew Ranger however, his night was anything but a walk in the park. As the laps were completed, after numerous yellow flag periods and a drive-through penalty on lap 136, Andrew climbed from 16th all the way to 3rd place. With a podium finish in sight on lap 226, he relinquished his 3rd place position and finished in 4th. Learning the ropes of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Patrick Laperle ended the race in an excellent 8th position and Miguel Duhamel finished in 19th.
Andrew Ranger: "It was a really difficult race. Starting 11th, anything could happen on this very short track. I was penalised for dropping below the white line but fortunately I got the Free Pass that allowed me to get back on the lead lap and still have a chance at a good finish. Of course I would have loved to be on the podium in my first race in Quebec in 2008 but 4th place moves me up in the championship standings."
Alex Tagliani: "I am really disappointed with today's result. I could not do better than 16th place in qualifying and then in the race, I was caught short by a sudden braking manoeuvre in front of me which I could not avoid. I punctured the radiator and eventually had to retire from the race on a blown engine. It is unfortunate because on May 31st before it rained, I was second quickest. I was really looking to doing well today."
Patrick Laperle: "For me, it was all about learning today. The car is very different to the one I am used to racing. The NASCAR Canadian Tire Car is heavier and the centre of gravity is higher. The braking is not the same. In the race, I thought I could finish in the top 5. However, the incident on lap 10 cost me dearly. I had to work very hard to catch up to the leaders and then I had a bad set of tires which forced me to pit once more. On top of it all, I ended the race with a flat tire."
Miguel Duhamel: "Today I learned that on an oval, there are a lot of left turns! Joking aside, I was here to learn as much as I could and my main priority was to finish the race. I had a few good moves on the track but also some mistakes. I asked to change the set-up of the car after the qualifying session but that made my car worse as I had little grip in the rear. In all, I really loved my experience and can't wait to start again."
Miguel was competing in his second NASCAR Canadian Tire series race since he also took part in the 2007 Mosport road course race where he finished 11th out of 30.
Andrew Ranger is now in a comfortable 6th place in the championship and Alex Tagliani, due to his retirement, is now out of the top 10 in the overall standings.
The next race is on July 19th at Sun Valley Race way in Vernon, BC.
The Victory Lap Charity Program : The Victory Lap Charity Program, affiliated to Opération Enfant-Soleil in Quebec and to Children's Miracle Network in the rest of Canada, aims to raise funds to help sick children across the country. Since the program's inception in 2003, over $700,000 have been raised for 14 children's hospitals in Canada.
In 2008, the Victory Lap takes an even bigger leap forward and plans to break the $1,000,000 mark in donations since 2003. To do so, the program counts on the support of Wal-Mart stores in Canada, the participation of prestigious brands and on the generous input from Andrew Ranger and Alex Tagliani as program ambassadors.
Source: Professional Sports Management
No comments:
Post a Comment