Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
The track record that Steven Mathews set at Autodrome Chaudiere in 2014 is no more.
Alex Labbe has earned the pole for tonight’s NASCAR Pinty’s Series CRS Express 300 at Chaudiere, and set the track record at 12.953 seconds; besting Mathews track record of 13.109 seconds.
Labbe looks for redemption in his home province after winning the pole last season and leading more than 100 laps before finishing second to Jason Hathaway. Labbe and his new team Go Fas Racing with Dave Jacombs started on pole at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and finished fifth. He wasn’t so fortunate at Sunset Speedway last week as the Quebecois driver finished 15th, and now sits fifth in the standings. Labbe led the lone practice session this afternoon, and could be on his way to his first career win tonight.
Cayden Lapcevich got a last minute sponsorship from Ohsweken Speedway allowing for he and Fastline Motorsports to make the trek out to Chaudiere, and so far, it’s paying off as the teenager qualified second. Lapcevich was beat by Labbe by nearly a full tenth of a second as Lapcevich made his way around the quarter-mile track in 13.040 seconds. Lapcevich enters tonight’s race tied for the point lead with two-time series champion, Andrew Ranger.
Three more Quebecois drivers joined their fellow French-Canadian Labbe in the top-five as L.P. Dumoulin, Alex Tagliani and Donald Theetge round out the top-five. Theetge is making his first Pinty’s Series start since 2011 driving for Scott Steckly in the No. 22 AIM Levis/Le Soleil/L’Antidote Dodge.
Anthony Simone, Gary Klutt, Kevin Lacroix, Larry Jackson and D.J. Kennington wound up sixth through 10th in qualifying.
Rounding out the 16-car field were Andrew Ranger, Mark Dilley, Jason Hathaway, Kerry Micks, David Michaud and Josh Collins.
Although Labbe, Lapcevich and Theetge seem to be the frontrunners for tonight’s show based on practice and qualifying, you can’t count out Andrew Ranger and Jason Hathaway, whom both start outside the top-10. Ranger comes into the race tied for the point lead, and Hathaway won at Chaudiere in 2014 and 2015, making him the only NPS winner at the track.
