NCATS at Chaudière, June 13 – News & Notes

RACE:  Budweiser 300

PLACE:  Autodrome Chaudiere, Vallee-Jonction, Que.

DATE:  Saturday, June 13

TIME:  8 p.m. ET

TELECAST:  TSN – June 21 at 12 p.m. ET; RDS2 – July 3 at 10 p.m.

TRACK LAYOUT:  .25-mile asphalt oval

2014 POLESITTER:  Steve Mathews

2014 RACE WINNER:  Jason Hathaway

EVENT SCHEDULE:  Practice 12-12:30 p.m., Final Practice 1-1:30 p.m., Qualifying 4:15 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 6:45 p.m.

TRACK TWITTER:  @AutChaudiere

EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG:  #Bud300

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The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 will make history with the drop of the green flag in Saturday’s Budweiser 300 at Autodrome Chaudiere, and defending race winner Jason Hathaway will share in the milestone event.

Hathaway is one of just three drivers that have competed in each of the series’ first 99 races, and a victory in last year’s inaugural Budweiser 300 ranks among his career highlights. Despite turning in a dominant performance throughout the race, Hathaway needed to out-duel Mark Dilley in a tense green-white-checkered flag finish to reach Victory Lane.

The St. Thomas, Ontario, native is eager to return to the wide and banked quarter-mile oval in Valle-Jonction, Quebec, to chase another victory.

“I can’t wait to get there, I’d drive there right now,” Hathaway said. “It’s a great race track. It’s great for the fans to see us run up there on that nice oval.”

Hathaway will share the history of Saturday’s event with D.J. Kennington and Scott Steckly, who will also make it 100-for-100 by starting the Budweiser 300.

“It’s quite an accomplishment,” Hathaway said. “From where I started as a kid running go-karts and street stocks in Ontario, there wasn’t a thought in my mind I’d run 100 NASCAR races in Canada.”

Like Kennington and Steckly, Hathaway has enjoyed team stability throughout his career, a big factor in making it to each and every event.

“It’s an accomplishment for myself, but also for my family and my team,” Hathaway said. “I’ve been to all 99 races with Ed Hakonson Racing and Team 3 Red, so I haven’t been like an old hockey player traded around a few times.”

While Hathaway will get to share in the exclusivity of the 100th Canadian Tire Series event on Saturday, he’ll primarily be driven to repeat as the Budweiser 300 winner.

“It was nice to win up there last year on Father’s Day and have the kids there, so hopefully we can win again and bring home another trophy,” Hathaway said.

Fast Facts:

The Race:  The Budweiser 300 will be the second of 11 events on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 schedule, and the first of four trips to the province of Quebec.

The Procedure:  The maximum starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 21 cars will have secured starting positions through two-lap time trials while the remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 300 laps (75 miles) and will have a five-minute midway break at or near the conclusion of Lap 150. This is an impound race with two change tires allowed.

The Track:  Autodrome Chaudiere held its inaugural Canadian Tire Series event in 2014. The quarter-mile, high-banked oval opened in 1992 with a dirt racing surface and was paved for the first time in 2005.

Budweiser 300 Notes:

The 300 is No. 100:  Saturday’s Budweiser 300 will mark the 100th event in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 history. Ontario’s Cayuga Motor Speedway played host to the inaugural race on May 26, 2007, and the series visited 16 other tracks across six provinces through its first eight seasons.

Oval Expertise:  The same three drivers that have started all 99 previous Canadian Tire Series races – Jason Hathaway, D.J. Kennington and Scott Steckly – also make up three of the top four most successful competitors on ovals. Kennington leads the trio with 17 triumphs, the series’ ovals record, while Steckly is just one behind with 16. Don Thomson Jr., now the crew chief for rookie Cayden Lapcevich, ranks third with seven oval wins while Hathaway follows with five.

Ontario Winners at Quebec Ovals:  There have been seven oval races in the province of Quebec in Canadian Tire Series history, and each has been won by an Ontario driver. Hathaway won the inaugural Autodrome Chaudiere race last year and the six events at Autodrome St-Eustache have gone to Steckly (4), Kennington and Dave Whitlock.

L.P. Dumoulin to Reach a Milestone of His Own:  Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, native and defending series champion L.P. Dumoulin will reach a milestone of his own at Autodrome Chaudiere as the Budweiser 300 will be his 50th career start. Dumoulin earned his first Quebec win a year ago in his hometown Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres, and notched his first oval victory last year as well, at Saskatchewan’s Auto Clearing Motor Speedway.

First Oval Test for J.F. Dumoulin:  The Budweiser 300 will be the first career oval start for J.F. Dumoulin, older brother of the reigning champion. Each of J.F. Dumoulin’s first 20 Canadian Tire Series starts has come between the road courses at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Circuit ICAR, Circuit de Trois-Rivieres and Toronto Exhibition Place.

Labbe Set to Return:  Alex Labbe will return to action in the Budweiser 300 after an injury just prior to green flag at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park prevented him from participating in the season-opener on May 17. Labbe, from Victoriaville, Quebec, grew up closest to Autodrome Chaudiere of any of the Canadian Tire Series competitors.

Inaugural Events:  Last year’s inaugural Budweiser 300 marked the first new oval event for the series since Ontario’s Delaware Speedway joined the schedule in 2009. Following this week’s second running at Chaudiere, the Canadian Tire Series will return to Ontario for another inaugural event, the Leland Industries 300 presented by Johnsonville on June 20 at Sunset Speedway.