NPS – News & Notes – Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres August 11, 2016 NASCAR After finally scoring his first NASCAR Pinty’s Series win last month in Saskatoon, Josten’s Rookie of the Year leader Cayden Lapcevich will try and score another win this Sunday in the Can-Am Le 50 Tours at Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres in Quebec. If the teenager can pull off the win on the historic track, he would become the second rookie driver to win this race at Kevin Lacroix scored his second victory of the season in this event last year. Lacroix became the first driver to win two races in his first year of competition in 2015 and he joins Lapcevich in the ROY battle. The Saint-Eustache, Quebec, driver won his first E3 Spark Plugs Pole Award during the recent western swing at Edmonton International Raceway and he’ll join several of his fellow racers from his home province looking for a win. Among them will be Alex Tagliani and Andrew Ranger. Ranger enters the weekend as the points leader with Lapcevich second. Ranger leads all competitors with four wins in the nine previous stops at GP3R. Tagliani leads all drivers with three wins this season and is third in the standings despite missing the season opener to run the Indianapolis 500. The GP3R is an annual festival in the city of Trois-Rivieres, nestled along the Saint-Laurent River in Quebec. The uniqueness of the temporary street course circuit, combined with tremendous fan support, creates a high level of interest from Canadian racers and teams, making it a premiere event to win. The NASCAR Pinty’s Series loads in on Friday for inspection day and on-track activities will begin for the series with practice and qualifying on Saturday. RACE: Can-Am Le 50 Tours PLACE: Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres, Trois-Revieres, Quebec DATE: Sunday, Aug. 14 TIME: 2 p.m. ET TELECAST: TSN – TV: TSN, Sunday, Aug. 21, 3 p.m.; RDS, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. TRACK LAYOUT: 1.53-mile road course 2015 WINNER: Kevin Lacroix 2015 POLESITTER: Andrew Ranger EVENT SCHEDULE: Saturday, Aug. 13: Practice 10:15 – 10:55 a.m.; Final Practice 1:10 – 1:50 p.m., Qualifying 5 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 14: Driver Autograph Session 12:15 p.m., Can-Am Le 50 Tours 2:10 p.m. TRACK TWITTER: @GP3R EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG: #CanAm50 Fast Facts: The Race: The Can-Am Le 50 Tours will be the seventh of 12 events on the 2016 NASCAR Pinty’s Series schedule, and the third of four dates in the province of Quebec. The Procedure: The maximum starting field is 34 cars, including provisionals. The first 29 cars will have secured starting positions through NASCAR Road Race style group qualifying and the remaining five spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 50 laps (76.5 miles/123 kilometers). The Track: The temporary street course of Circuit de Trois-Rivieres is an 11-turn, 1.53-mile circuit. In Trois-Rivieres – differing from many road course tracks – the cars race in a counter-clockwise motion as on oval tracks. The track’s trademark is the Porte Duplessis, a narrow concrete gateway the cars pass through in Turn 3. The History: The Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres (GP3R) began in 1967 when racing-passionate members of the Club Autosport Mauricien decided to organize a race in the streets of the city. Inspired by the Monaco race, Mr. Jean E. Ryan, Leon Dufour and Yves Girard, plus a committee of about thirty people, organized the event that has now become a unique event in North America. It is the oldest street course in North America and this year is the 47th edition of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres. Pole Winners: The first nine Trois-Rivieres races have produced five different pole winners. Andrew Ranger set the series’ circuit qualifying record in 2015 at 66.989 seconds (82.226 mph). Race Winners: Andrew Ranger has won four of the nine all-time GP3R Pinty’s Series events, including three in a row from 2008-10. Trois-Rivieres native L.P. Dumoulin won in 2014 and Kevin Lacroix is the defending race winner. Can-Am 50 Tours Notes: Ranger’s Remarkable GP3R Record: Quebec native Andrew Ranger has a podium spot locked down at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres. The road course ace has won four of the nine all-time NASCAR Pinty’s Series races on the 1.53-mile street circuit, and finished second in the other five races. Former Champions in Field: D.J. Kennington joins Andrew Ranger and L.P. Dumoulin are former Pinty’s Series champions to have recorded a win at Trois-Rivieres. Kennington won this event in 2013. Camirand and Cote to Make First Starts of Season: After competing full-time last year, Quebec racing veteran Marc-Antoine Camirand returns to make his first start of the season. Martin Cote is also entered to make his first start of the season in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series. An Earnhardt Will Compete This Weekend: Jeffrey Earnhardt will head North this weekend to compete for the first time at Trois-Rivieres. Earnhardt, grandson of the late seven-time NASCAR Premiere Series champion Dale Earnhardt Sr., will drive a car owned by former championship winner Dave Jacombs. He will join forces with Alex Labbe.
