Statistical Advance: Analyzing The National 250 At Autodrome St. Eustache

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 23, 2013) – The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 makes its second of three trips into Quebec on Saturday, July 27 for the National 250 at Autodrome St. Eustache (Quebec).

Below is a statistical look at the recent performance of selected drivers at St. Eustache, as well as some other statistical trends:

Autodrome St. Eustache Race Setup

·         Scott Steckly has won two of the four ASE events and has finished inside the top five on all four occasions.

·         D.J. Kennington has the best average starting position (2.5) of all active drivers at the track.

·         Kerry Micks won the pole position in the last series event at St. Eustache and has a top-10 finish in all four of his outings there.

·         Four drivers – Kennington, Steckly, L.P. Dumoulin and Jason Hathaway – are within six points of each other atop the season standings.

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series At Autodrome St. Eustache

·         This is the series’ fifth time to compete at St. Eustache with the last time on July 3, 2010.

·         The race’s television premier is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 4 at 11 a.m. ET on TSN, Saturday, Aug. 24 at 11 p.m. ET on RDS2 and Sunday, Aug. 25 at 10 a.m. ET on RDS.

·         St. Eustache is the only Quebec oval to have hosted a Canadian Tire Series race.

·         In the previous four races at the track, there has been an average of 10.0 caution periods for 58.25 laps with earliest coming at Lap 10 in 2010 and the latest at Lap 247 in the May 2009 event.

·         In four races at St. Eustache, the average finishing position for the pole sitter is 7.25 and the average starting position for the race winner is 6.75.

·         There has been an average of 11.5 lead changes in four Canadian Tire Series races at ASE.

·         Only one event – May 2009 – out of four has been extended past the 250-lap advertised distance.

Autodrome St. Eustache Data

Race: #7 of 12 (7/27/13)

Track Layout: .4-mile oval

Race Length: 250 laps (100 miles)

Records

1-Lap Qualifying: D.J. Kennington, Dodge, 17.210 seconds, 83.672 mph, July 12, 2009

250-Lap Race: D.J. Kennington, Dodge, 1 hr., 37 min., 21 sec., 61.633 mph, July 3, 2010

Race Winners

Scott Steckly………………………………. 2

D.J. Kennington…………………………… 1

Dave Whitlock……………………………… 1

Pole Winners

D.J. Kennington ………………………….. 1

Kerry Micks…………………………………. 1

Scott Steckly………………………………. 1

Don Thomson Jr…………………………… 1

Manufacturer Wins

Dodge ………………………………………. 4

Laps Led

Scott Steckly……………………………. 327

Andrew Ranger…………………………. 230

Kerry Micks……………………………… 133

Selected Driver Information:

Ron Beauchamp Jr. (No. 60 Mopar/Exide/Pennzoil Dodge)

·         Finished fifth in the 2010 ASE event.

·         Has three top-10 finishes in four starts at the Quebec oval.

·         Recorded back-to-back top-10 finishes on western swing.

·         One of four drivers to start all 81 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

Ray Courtemanche Jr. (No. 29 La Cité de Mirabel Dodge)

·         Making track debut in this year’s National 250.

·         Was voted by fans as the series’ Most Popular Driver in 2012.

Louis-Philipe Dumoulin (No. 47 WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge)

·         Is making his first series start at ASE in the National 250.

·         Registered his first Canadian Tire Series victory in the season opener on May 19 on the road course at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

·         Scored his first career pole win last season at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

·         Was the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Rookie of the Year.

·         Made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut on Aug. 20, 2012 at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

J.R. Fitzpatrick (No. 84 Equipment Express Chevrolet)

·         Finished eighth in his last St. Eustache start in 2010.

·         Recorded a fifth-place finish in the series’ inaugural event at the track in 2008.

·         Won consecutive pole positions in last two series starts.

·         Is the series’ all-time leader in poles with 13.

·         Seven of his eight career series wins have come on road courses – CTMP (3), Edmonton (2) and Montreal (2); his oval track win came in July 2007 at Motoplex Speedway.

Alex Guenette (No. 39 Motos Illimitées/DLGL Dodge)

·         Making series track debut this season.

·         Trails Ryley Seibert by just two points in rookie-of-the-year standings.

Jason Hathaway (No. 3 Snap-on Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge)

·         Registered a fourth-place finish in last ASE outing in 2010; his best finish in four starts at the track.

·         Has recorded three straight top-10 finishes at the .4-mile oval.

·         Has led 16 laps at St. Eustache.

·         One of four drivers to start all 81 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

D.J. Kennington (No. 17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge)

·         Won in the series’ last ASE event in 2010.

·         Finished as the runner-up in the 2008 and May 2009 races at the Quebec track.

·         Has an average starting position of 2.5 in four St. Eustache starts.

·         Tops the all-time Canadian Tire Series wins list with 18.

·         Won 2010 and 2012 series championships.

·         Scored a single-season series record of seven wins in 2012.

·         One of four drivers to start all 81 NCATS races.

Kerry Micks (No. 02 Leland/Beyond Digital Imaging/Dickies Ford)

·         Finished sixth in 2010 start at ASE after starting from the pole position.

·         Best track finish of second came in the May 2009 event.

·         Has top-10 finishes in all four of his St. Eustache starts.

·         Has led a total of 133 laps at ASE.

Martin Roy (No. 90 Batteries Expert/Gamache Dodge)

·         Making his track debut this season.

·         Won 2012 series Rookie-of-the-Year honors.

Ryley Seibert (No. 09 Lake Excavating/Emco Waterworks Dodge)

·         Making track debut in this year’s National 250.

·         Scored a season-best finish of eighth on July 20 at his home track – Motoplex Speedway.

·         Leads series Rookie-of-the-Year standings this season.

Scott Steckly (No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge)

·         Finished second to D.J. Kennington in series’ last visit to St. Eustache.

·         Is a two-time winner at ASE having won in 2008 and May 2009.

·         Has led a series-best 327 laps at the Quebec oval.

·         His 13 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series victories rank third on the all-time list.

·         Won 2008 and 2011 series championships.

·         One of four drivers to start all 81 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

Hugo Vannini (No. 97 VTI Motorsports Ford)

·         Finished 20th in last ASE start in 2010.

·         Made series debut at St. Eustache in May 2009 and finished 19th.