Bowmanville, Ontario, Sunday May 18, 2014: Luc Lesage driver of the #24 SportChief/EcoTone Dodge proved he belongs on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series circuit with a strong effort on Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Lesage, who was making his debut in the Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 had only limited experience in a NASCAR type car with only one prior test session before the event on Sunday.
Practice for the SportChief team gave Lesage some valuable track time and he was able to post the tenth quickest lap of the twenty eight cars in attendance. Lesage and his team were very encouraged by their practice efforts and went on to record the eighth fastest time in their qualifying session. This would line up his SportChief Dodge on the outside of row four for the start of the 51 lap race on Sunday. “
Lesage and his crew had discussed a strategy for the race and the number one item on their agenda was patience and Luc showed he can be aggressive when needed but also patient when it was required. A slight miscue ensued when the caution flag flew and the #24 SportChief car came to pit road before it was open for the competitors. Not to be daunted, the team brought him back in and did the scheduled tire change and fuel stop and the #24 SportChief Dodge lined up at the rear of the field for the restart. Lesage would again march back through the field and when the checkered flag waived he was scored in 8th place. “I am just very happy today,” said an excited Lesage after the race. “We came from the back of the field twice and passed a lot of cars to get up to 8th place. This car was amazing to drive and my crew are amazing, and I cannot wait for my next race.”
“Luc proved that he’s got the potential to do well this year and SportChief/EcoTone is very pleased to sponsor him; He was very impressed by the professionalism of the 22 Racing team, he lived an experience he will remember for a long time,” said Michel Côté, President of SportChief. “Managers from my organization were also very pleased with the exposure SportChief/EcoTone received at CTMP; looks good, especially for the new EcoTone franchise that will open in Orono, Ontario next week.”
The #24 Lesage team will compete in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series next at Circuit ICAR on July 5/6.
The Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will air May 25 at 12:30 p.m. ET on TSN and June 13 at 10:30 p.m. on RDS2
Luc Lesage enjoys support from the following companies: SportChief, EcoTone and Trois-Rivières Toyota.
Race fans can follow Luc Lesage on Twitter @LucLesage24 or on Facebook at Luc Lesage #24.
SportChief and EcoTone are subsidiaries of Cote-Reco inc. It’s a family business which has been in the shoe market for over 75 years. COTE-RECO inc. is an organization in distribution and importation of shoe products all across Canada. The imported products come mainly from countries known for manufacturing footwear such as: Italy, Brazil, Mexico, and China.
