September 22, 2012. The final event of the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire series took place Saturday night at Kawartha Speedway near Peterborough, ON. It marked another spectacular run for Martin Roy driver of the #90 Batteries Expert/Veloce/Gamache Truck Centre Dodge who is the series rookie of the year and teammate Isabelle Tremblay pilot of the #07 Frank Lyman Design Dodge also showed well.
Even before the final race Martin Roy had secured the rookie championship for the season but that didn’t slow their drive to accomplish even more. The #90 Batteries Expert/Veloce/Gamache Truck Centre Dodge was quick during practice and would start the race 12th. “As usual the car was very fast and I really enjoyed racing on this track at Kawartha” said Roy.
As became the norm as the season progressed Roy would maintain a quick pace and run with the lead group of cars for much of the night. Refining his skill with every lap this season the #90 Batteries Expert/Veloce/Gamache Truck Centre Dodge was again in position for a solid result as the race set up for a green-white-checker finish. As drivers jockeyed for position in the final laps Roy skillfully moved his car through the crowd to claim a fifth place result.
“It got a little crazy in those last two laps” said Roy. “Fortunately I was able to move the car ahead a couple of spots on the final laps and finish with another top five” he added.
This was the second top five result for Martin Roy this season; it also marked his sixth top ten finish and also boosted him to eighth place in the overall championship standings for 2012. “I am so proud of what this team has accomplished this season” said Roy. “We are a new team and we have matured so much, a lot of the credit goes to my Crew Chief Mario Gosselin and the great job he did. To our sponsors, Batteries Expert, Veloce, Gamache Truck Centre’s have been great partners for us this year” he stated.
Martin Roy will be honoured for his rookie of the year championship at the NASCAR Touring Series Awards Gala in the Grand Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on December 8th.
It was a pleasant surprise that teammate Isabelle Tremblay was also able to compete at Kawartha Speedway. Tremblay made the most of her additional opportunity in the #07 Frank Lyman Design Dodge in this final race. “This was a last minute decision for me to race and a thank you to the fans and sponsors for their love and support this season” said Tremblay.
The #07 Frank Lyman Design Dodge was very quick during the race and Tremblay ran very competitively with the leaders. She was poised for another strong result when she was disrupted by a couple of tough breaks. Tremblay was ordered to complete a drive through penalty by NASCAR for an infraction which cost her a lap. And in a strategy move during a pit stop she also lost a lap. “I was a bit confused and disappointed by the ruling” explained Tremblay. “It was unfortunate those two things worked against us or we would have had another very good result. I had a very good car and was able to battle with the leaders” she stated.
A reminder to race fans that voting is underway for the NCATS most popular driver and Isabelle Tremblay currently leads the voting. You can vote once each day by logging onto the NASCAR Home tracks website, hometracks.nascar.com. “I have been overwhelmed by the support of the fans” said Tremblay. “This a great boost to our program and shows our sponsorship partners how loyal the fans are to our program”.
Photo: 1. Martin Roy at the #90 Batteries Expert/Veloce/Gamache Truck Centre Dodge. 2.Martin & Isabelle racing at Kawartha 3. Isabelle Tremblay & her team with the #07 Frank Lyman Design Dodge
