Saskatoon race known for predicting champions
Winner in Saskatoon usually goes on to win Canada’s NASCAR championship
If history is any indication, whoever wins in Saskatoon has a good chance of winning the NASCAR Pinty’s Series championship. It happened last year.
It also happened the year prior to that.
In fact, the Saskatoon winner has gone on to win Canada’s NAS - CAR series in each of the past six seasons.
So, when the NASCAR Pinty’s Series Velocity Prairie Thunder Twin 125s go tonight (first race starts at 6:30 p.m.) at the Wyant Group Raceway, watch out for who ends up in the winner’s circle. It could be quite telling. The club-owned track has the distinction of being an auto-racing fortuneteller.
“When we won Saskatoon in the past (2014), we won the championship the same year so you’ve got a good point right there — hopefully we can make it happen again this season,” said Louis-philippe (LP) Dumoulin, who currently shares the NASCAR Pinty’s Series points lead with Andrew Ranger.
“I’m very comfortable around that track, and I think (past experience) will definitely help me.”
The big difference this year, however, are two 125-lap races on the same night in Saskatoon, which Dumoulin admits, is “huge.”
Today’s doubleheader will kick off NASCAR’S annual western swing, which also features a 300lap event at Edmonton International Raceway on Saturday. That’s three races in four nights.
“Usually, we have just one race per weekend,” added Dumoulin.
“So, within three days, we’ve got a fair amount of the championship being decided.
“It’s pretty intense. It makes it challenging for all the teams and drivers, but I really like it. It’s hard on the cars as well as the team. You have to really work hard between the races to get the car ready (to race) again.”
If you include DJ Kennington’s win during his championship season in 2010, seven of the past eight Canadian NASCAR series champions had earned a win at the Saskatoon track during those title-winning seasons.
Kennington was a Saskatoon track winner in 2012, while Scott Steckly won in Saskatoon 2013 and 2015.
Sandwiched in between was Dumoulin’s Toontown win.
Cayden Lapcevich took Wyant Group’s checkered flag in 2016, and Alex Labbe did the same a year ago.
Dumoulin, 39, describes the Wyant Raceway as race-friendly and fan-friendly.
“The fans are awesome in Saskatoon,” noted Dumoulin, a native of Trois-rivieres, Que. “There’s always a big crowd at the track.”
Just the way the track is made is “racy,” Dumoulin adds.
“We can easily race side-by-side around that track. The banks are decent around here and we can go side-by-side for a couple of laps, which is a lot of fun and easier on us. It’s really fun for the drivers and teams, as well as the fans to watch. That’s a big deal there.”
Dumoulin says the Saskatoon track is faster than Edmonton’s, too. He is a big fan of Saskatoon itself. He says he loves to come over here when his Weather Tech car and racing crew come out west. Everybody — from their pit-stops at Tiger-automotive and Bessborough Hotel — takes good care of them.
“It’s a fun event for us.” Ranger and Dumoulin have accumulated the same amount of points (167) through the first four races of the season.
Ranger has the tiebreaker with his pair of back-to-back wins over the past two races. Marc-antoine Camirand sits in third, just nine points back, while rookie Cole Powell and two-time champion DJ Kennington complete the top five, each of them 14 points out of the lead.
Veteran Mark Dilley will make his first start of the season today. Wyant Group Raceway has been a good track for him with seven top10 finishes in 10 starts, including back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2012 and 2013.
Shantel Kalika, who competes in the Sportsman division at Wyant Group Raceway on a regular basis and has already won twice this season, will make her first Pinty’s Series start today.
She’ll drive the No. 43 Dodge owned by Ben Busch.
Alberta’s Jamie Krzysik and Noel Dowler will also make their first starts of the season this week. Manitoba driver Luc Haukaas will also compete in Saskatoon for the second consecutive season.
Ranger, who won last week in Toronto, captured the inaugural Edmonton International Raceway event in 2009. He lost his chance for the championship last season when he suffered an illness and was forced to miss the Edmonton race.
The NASCAR Pinty’s Series will reach the midpoint of the 2018 season during its three-race stretch out west, and judging by past history, success during this trip will go a long way in determining the championship contenders.
It’s really fun for the drivers and teams, as well as the fans to watch. That’s a big deal there.