BOWMANVILLE, Ontario — Andrew Ranger has won in a dominant car at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and he’s lost races on the Ontario track when he’s had the car to beat.
Which is probably what made Sunday’s victory so sweet.
Ranger only led three laps in the Clarington 200, but went from third to first on the green-white-checkered finish to grab the season-opening win in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series.
It is Ranger’s 21st career win and his third at CTMP.
Robin Buck finished second, followed by DJ Kennington. Teenage rookie Cayden Lapcevich was fourth and pole sitter Alex Labbe wound up fifth.
Jason Hathaway, who won at CTMP last fall, led Labbe and Ranger to the green on Lap 49 of 51 on the 2.459-mile, 10-turn road course. But Labbe quickly got by for the lead and Ranger promptly overtook him. Ranger cruised to a win by .534 seconds over Buck.
J.F. Dumoulin was sixth, followed by Kerry Micks and Simon Dion-Viens. Hathaway, who led a race-high 31 laps, slid back to a ninth-place finish. Gary Klutt rounded out the top 10.
The Clarington 200 will air on TSN on Sunday, May 29 at noon and re-air on Tuesday, May 31 at 4 p.m. and midnight. It will also air on RDS2 on Sunday, June 12 at 11 p.m. and re-air on Tuesday, June 14 at 4:30 p.m.
The NASCAR Pinty’s Series will transition to oval racing with its next event: Chaudiere 300 at Quebec’s Autodrome Chaudier on Saturday, June 11.
