MONTREAL (Aug. 29, 2010) -- Andrew Ranger took one bump that nearly cost him the win and gave it right back to grab the checkered flag in the NAPA AUTOPRO 100 Sunday.
After losing the lead briefly to Jason Bowles on the white-flag lap, Ranger muscled past on the final turn to claim the victory in a NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 race that he had dominated until the final circuit around the 2.709-mile Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
It is Ranger's second win in three years at Montreal's 2.709-mile course; he was second in last year's event.
It's the third win of the season -- all on road-courses -- for the Roxton Pond, Quebec, driver who is running a partial schedule in the series along with his NASCAR K&N Pro Series obligations. The two-time NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion has 12 career wins in the series with nine coming on road courses.
Don Thomson Jr. finished second, followed by Robin Buck, Scott Steckly and Jason Hathaway. Kerry Micks Trevor Seibert, J.F. Dumoulin, Ron Beauchamp Jr. and rookie John Farano rounded out the top 10.
Bowles, the 2009 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion, limped his car across the line in 20th with major hood damage.
Bowles and Ranger ran 1-2, respectively, in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Infineon Raceway in Sonama, Calif., earlier this year before Bowles ran out of gas 100 yards from the finish line and handed that win to Ranger. Sunday in Montreal, Bowles had several restarts to challenge Ranger include one on Lap 3 where they made contact in Turn 1 that briefly put Bowles into the lead. However, Ranger quickly regained the top spot.
Bowles took advantage of a green-white-checkered finish to make a move for the lead on Ranger in the hairpin Turn 10. Ranger wobbled from the contact but slipped back into second. As the leaders went through the final chicane, Ranger returned the favor. Bowles spun into the retaining wall and Ranger kept the momentum and took the lead.
Points leader JR Fitzpatrick and his closest challenger DJ Kennington both suffered mechanical issues early. Fitzpatrick, who started on the front row alongside Ranger, picked up enough spots through attrition to finish 18th. Kennington completed just 14 laps of 24 laps and finished 28th. Fitzpatrick, who carried a 16-point lead into the race, extended his lead to 51 points with just three races left on the schedule.
Both Steckly and Micks capitalized on the opportunity and moved into striking distance of the two leaders should either or both encounter further misfortune. Micks now trails Fitzpatrick by 92 points and Steckly is 101 points off the pace.
The next NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race will be the Wild Wing 300 presented by DriveWise at Barrie (Ont.) Speedway.
NASCAR CANADIAN TIRE SERIES presented by MOBIL 1-NAPA AUTOPRO 100 Unofficial Results
Sunday
At Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Montreal, Quebec
Lap length: 2.709 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) Andrew Ranger, Roxton Pond, Que., Dodge, 24 laps, 55.059 mph, $8,600.
2. (7) Don Thomson, Jr., Hamilton, Ont., Chevrolet, 24, $3,200.
3. (13) Robin Buck, Campbellville, Ont., Ford, 24, $2,700.
4. (10) Scott Steckly, Milverton, Ont., Dodge, 24, $5,400.
5. (16) Jason Hathaway, Appin, Ont., Dodge, 24, $3,000.
6. (4) Kerry Micks, Mt. Albert, Ont., Ford, 24, $1,800.
7. (11) Trevor Seibert, Williams Lake, B.C., Dodge, 24, $2,350.
8. (15) J.F. Dumoulin, Trois-Rivieres, Que., Dodge, 24, $2,000.
9. (18) Ron Beauchamp, Jr., Windsor, Ont., Dodge, 24, $1,400.
10. (17) John Farano, Toronto, Ont., Chevrolet, 24, $1,300.
11. (27) Jason White, Sun Peaks, B.C., Chevrolet, 24, $1,200.
12. (26) Marc-Andre Cliche, Vallee-Jonction, Que., Chevrolet, 24, $1,150.
13. (19) Jarrad Whissell, Calgary, Alta., Ford, 24, $2,145.
14. (29) Dexter Stacey, Kahnawake, Que., Chevrolet, 24, $1,140.
15. (30) Derek White, Kahnawake, Que., Chevrolet, 24, $1,135.
16. (34) Michel Pilon, Blainville, Que., Chevrolet, 24, $2,130.
17. (33) David Thorndyke, Oshawa, Ont., Chevrolet, 24, $1,125.
18. (2) JR Fitzpatrick, Cambridge, Ont., Chevrolet, 24, $1,120.
19. (23) Patrice Brisebois, West Mount, Que., Dodge, 24, $1,110.
20. (3) Jason Bowles, Ontario, Calif., Dodge, 24, $1,100.
21. (24) Brad Graham, Glencoe, Ont., Ford, 23, $1,090.
22. (8) Jeff Lapcevich, Grimsby, Ont., Chevrolet, 23, $1,080.
23. (31) Shawn McGlynn, Kitchener, Ont., Dodge, 23, $1,070.
24. (12) L.P. Dumoulin, Trois-Rivieres, Que., Dodge, 18, $1,060.
25. (14) Peter Klutt, Halton Hills, Ont., Chevrolet, 18, $1,050.
26. (28) Maryeve Dufault, Sorel, Que., Dodge, 18, $1,040.
27. (9) Anthony Simone, Holland Landing, Ont., Chevrolet, 15, mechanical, $1,030.
28. (5) DJ Kennington, St. Thomas, Ont., Dodge, 14, $1,020.
29. (20) Pierre Bourque, Ottawa, Ont., Dodge, 12, steering, $1,010.
30. (21) Joey McColm, Ajax, Ont., Dodge, 11, off track, $1,000.
31. (6) Mark Dilley, Barrie, Ont., Dodge, 10, $800.
32. (32) Isabelle Tremblay, St. Hippolyte, Que., Ford, 6, rear end, $700.
33. (22) Howie Scannell, Jr., Milton, Ont., Dodge, 3, $545.
34. (25) Caitlin Johnston, Orangeville, Ont., Dodge, 0, accident, $500.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 10 minutes 51 seconds
Margin of Victory: .488 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: A.Ranger (92.877 mph, 105.003 seconds)
Caution Flags: 4 for 9 laps.
Lead Changes: 2 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Ranger 1; J. Fitzpatrick 2-4; A. Ranger 5-24.
Standings: 1. J. Fitzpatrick, 1623; 2. D. Kennington, 1572; 3. K. Micks, 1531; 4. S. Steckly, 1522; 5. D. Thomson,Jr., 1506; 6. J. Hathaway, 1386; 7. R. Beauchamp,Jr., 1282; 8. M. Dilley, 1267; 9. A. Simone, 1182; 10. D. Stacey, 1162.
From Shon Sbarra , NASCAR PR
Photo by Greg MacPherson / www.InsideTrackNews.com
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