Marc-Antoine Camirand captured his second consecutive Nascar Canada win and third of the season in the Leland Industries 250 at Sutherland Automotive Speedway on Saturday night. Camirand held off Kevin Lacroix and Andrew Ranger, further extending his championship points lead.
Fourteen drivers battled each other in intense heat throughout the day and into the night. Camirand started strong capturing the pole position with a qualifying time of 14.915. Kevin Lacroix who would finish second in the race was right behind, a mere 0.045 slower.
The race started with Marc-Antoine Camirand, Andrew Ranger, and Kevin Lacroix breaking away from the field, creating a healthy gap. Camirand and Lacroix raced side-by-side for a few laps, which was an indicator for more exciting battles to come.
Donald Theetge, who set the fastest time in practice, spun on lap 179, bringing out another caution. On the following restart, Lacroix passed Ranger for the lead, with Camirand holding on to third. Camirand fought his way back up to challenge Lacroix for the lead with 24 laps to go. After an intense battle, Camirand took over the top spot and held on to it to the end of the race.
“Nice win here at Saskatoon, we had a good car,” said Camirand. “The first half of the race was pretty good. After that, the car started getting tight. We made an adjustment at the halfway break, and with 50 laps to go the car was really good and I was able to make a pass on the 74. I’m really proud of my team; it's a great way to start the trip out west.”
The top local driver Saturday night was Prince Albert’s Shantel Kalika who finished 10th.
NASCAR Canada continues its Western Swing with the annual stop at Edmonton International Raceway in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, for the next event on July 27.
