Ranger wins again

Andrew Ranger had to contend with a hungry Anthony Simone but held on to win the GP3R 100 in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 action from the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (Que.) on Sunday afternoon, successfully defending his race title from a year ago.

Simone, looking for his first series win, stayed right on Ranger’s rear deck lid throughout a green-white-checkered finish before settling for a runner-up finish. Setting up the two-lap dash to the finish line was a red flag caused by Jason Hathaway’s contact with a retaining wall that track officials needed to repair.

It was Ranger’s fifth victory of the season in the No. 27 Wal-Mart/Tide Ford, which establishes a new single-season series record eclipsing Scott Steckly’s four wins of a season ago. It was also Ranger’s fourth win in the last five races, dating back to his triumph at SunValley Speedway in Vernon, B.C., on July 18.

DJ Kennington finished third for his seventh top-five finish of the season.

Jacques Villeneuve, who had a disappointing result in this series debut on July 11 at Autodrome St. Eustache (Que.), finished the race in the fourth position. He was followed by Ron Beauchamp Jr. in fifth.

Kerry Micks, Jeff Lapcevich, Don Thomson Jr., Joey Hanssen and Kent Nuhn rounded out the top 10.

The race was slowed 3 times for caution for a total of 11 laps. The race was completely restarted after there was contact between J.F. Dumoulin and Robin Buck on the first lap. The race lead changed hands three times involving two drivers.

In the championship point standings, Ranger grew his lead to 124 points over Kennington, who moved into the second-place position. Defending series champion Steckly came into the race second in points, but left in fourth after experiencing transmission problems just 12 laps into the race. He is now 154 points off Ranger’s pace.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is on the track next on Sunday, Aug. 30 at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the AUTOPRO 100 just prior to the NASCAR Nationwide Series event.

Results
1. (3) Andrew Ranger, Roxton Pond, Que., Ford, 43 laps, 51.735 mph, $8,850.
2. (4) Anthony Simone, Holland Landing, Ont., Chevrolet, 43, $5,100.
3. (2) DJ Kennington, St. Thomas, Ont., Dodge, 43, $6,400.
4. (5) Jacques Villeneuve, Montreal, Que., Ford, 43, $4,000.
5. (8) Ron Beauchamp, Jr., Windsor, Ont., Dodge, 43, $4,500.
6. (12) Kerry Micks, Mt. Albert, Ont., Ford, 43, $3,000.
7. (16) Jeff Lapcevich, Grimsby, Ont., Chevrolet, 43, $2,800.
8. (6) Don Thomson, Jr., Hamilton, Ont., Chevrolet, 43, $2,600.
9. (14) Joey Hanssen, Venray, Holland, Dodge, 43, $2,900.
10. (21) Kent Nuhn, Williamsford, Ont., Chevrolet, 43, $2,200.
11. (27) Cale Gale, Mobile, Ala., Chevrolet, 43, $3,100.
12. (11) L.P. Dumoulin, Trois-Rivières, Que., Dodge, 43, $2,000.
13. (25) Andre Coursol, St. Jerome, Que., Chevrolet, 42, $1,900.
14. (28) Derek White, Kahnawake, Que., Chevrolet, 42, $1,800.
15. (23) Jason White, Sun Peaks, B.C., Chevrolet, 41, $1,700.
16. (13) Jason Hathaway, Appin, Ont., Dodge, 37, $1,650.
17. (19) Patrice Brisebois, West Mount, Que., Dodge, 32, $1,600.
18. (20) Jarrad Whissell, Calgary, Alberta, Ford, 32, $1,550.
19. (10) Mark Dilley, Barrie, Ont., Dodge, 32, rear end, $1,500.
20. (24) Howie Scannell, Jr., Milton, Ont., Dodge, 30, off track, $1,450.
21. (22) Dave Whitlock, Petrolia, Ont., Dodge, 28, rear end, $1,400.
22. (1) Alex Tagliani, Lachenaie, Que., Chevrolet, 25, engine, $1,350.
23. (26) Dexter Stacey, Kahnawake, Que., Pontiac, 25, suspension, $1,300.
24. (18) Pierre Bourque, Ottawa, Ont., Dodge, 21, transmission, $1,250.
25. (29) David Thorndyke, Oshawa, Ont., Chevrolet, 16, rear end, $1,200.
26. (9) Trevor Seibert, Williams Lake, B.C., Ford, 13, engine, $1,150.
27. (7) Scott Steckly, Milverton, Ont., Dodge, 12, transmission, $1,100.
28. (15) J.F. Dumoulin, Trois-Rivières, Que., Pontiac, 0, accident, $1,050.
29. (17) Robin Buck, Campbellville, Ont., Ford, 0, accident, $750.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 16 minutes 18 seconds
Margin of Victory: .495 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: A.Tagliani (80.557 mph, 68.374 seconds)
Caution Flags: 3 for 11 laps.
Lead Changes: 3 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Tagliani 1-7; A. Ranger 8-11; A. Tagliani 12-25; A. Ranger 26-43.
Standings: 1. A. Ranger, 1554; 2. D. Kennington, 1430; 3. R. Beauchamp,Jr., 1413; 4. S. Steckly, 1400; 5. A. Simone, 1325; 6. K. Micks, 1296; 7. D. Thomson,Jr., 1266; 8. D. Whitlock, 1252; 9. J. Hathaway, 1235; 10. M. Dilley, 1140.