Ranger Holds Off Lacroix for NASCAR Canada Series Win at Chaudiere

VALLEE-JONCTION, QC – Three-time NASCAR Canada Series champion Andrew Ranger captured his first win of 2024 on Saturday at Autodrome Chaudière, holding off teammate Kevin Lacroix. Ranger, who went winless in 2023, was able to pass Lacroix with 10 laps to go and hold him off for the victory.

Ranger started ninth in the No. 27 GM Paillé Chevrolet but quickly broke into the top five, where he stayed most of the race.

“I want to thank my crew. It’s been an awesome weekend. We know that we are fast here,” Ranger said. “We didn’t start where we wanted; we started ninth, but in the last 150 laps, we knew that we were quick, and I was able to catch the guys in front.

“When we put the second set of tires on, I knew that I was able to catch up. I needed to push hard for the last 50 laps, but we made it happen. With 15 to go, I was stressed, and a little bit nervous, but we finally got the win here in Vallée-Jonction, in front of my sponsors and my guys. So I’m very happy about that.”

Lacroix, who led 160 laps and was the Freshstone Rolleez Midway Leader, came home second.

“I didn’t win, but the team won with a one-two,” Lacroix said. “We had fun; it’s encouraging after the difficult race we had at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It’s looking good for the rest of the year.” 

Marc-Antoine Camirand finished third in the No. 96 GM Paillé Chevrolet after leading the first 125 laps. Camirand, who was fastest in practice and qualifying, captured his second podium of the season. 

“I’m happy with third; we gave it our all,” Camirand said. “I pushed a lot in the second part of the race to go get Kevin (Lacroix). The car was very fast after the mandatory caution. We finished in third place, which is good considering the circumstances, and we’re in first place in the championship. A good example for GM Paillé. Now we’re going to focus on Newfoundland and try to be consistent.”

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin in the No. 47 WeatherTech/Bellemare/Omnifab Dodge came home fourth, followed by Donald Theetge in the No. 80 Groupe Theetge/Vulcain Chevrolet rounding off the Top 5. 

D.J. Kennington in the No. 17 Castrol Edge/CIM Metals/Brimstone Games Dodge finished sixth. Jason Hathaway in the No. 3 Weiser/ASSA ABLOY/Leland Chevrolet came home seventh.

In eighth was the No. 92 ReCap Cherry/K-Fibre Optic Chevrolet of Dexter Stacey. Ninth was Simon Dion-Viens in the No. 37 Duclos Chrysler/Pieces d’Auto Alain Cote Dodge, and J.P Bergeron rounded out the top 10 in his No. 1 Prolon Controls/J.C. Perrault/ERacer Sports Ford.

Alex Guenette in the No. 39 Casino Grand Royal Wôlinak/DLGL Chevrolet started fourth but had to pit on Lap 20 with a flat tire. He finished several laps down.

Rookie Will Larue in the No. 45 Larue Industrial Snow Blowers Chevrolet, who started seventh in his first NASCAR Canada Series race, was forced to retire from the race early following power steering issues.

“I was pleased with the speed the car had,” Larue said. “Unfortunately, the power steering hose broke, and we had no more power steering. Sometimes it’s just bad luck.”

Engine problems plagued hometown hero Raphaël Lessard all day. The driver of the No. 48 Larue/XPN World Dodge blew an engine in practice, forcing the team to replace it before his 12th-place qualifying effort. However, he suffered engine issues again on Lap 117 and was forced to retire from the race.

“It’s terrible. I hate it for my crew,” Lessard said. “They worked really hard over the last few weeks to get this car ready.”

The NASCAR Canada Series has two weeks off before heading East to Newfoundland and Eastbound International Speedway on June 22.

You can watch the Bud Light 300 tape-delayed on TSN on June 8 at 12:30 p.m. ET and on RDS on June 22 at 3:30 p.m. ET.