Andrew Ranger Scores Pole with Record Qualifying Lap at CTMP
Andrew Ranger has always been considered a road course ace and in need of some points to close in on the championship with three races to go, he is using those skills to his advantage. The Roxton, Pond native scored the pole for the Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 with a lap of 83.261 seconds (106.321 mph) in the No. 27 Mopar/Exide Dodge to become the all-time series leader in pole awards with 15. It also marks Ranger’s record-fifth pole at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
Ranger enters this weekend sitting 26 points behind L.P. Dumoulin in the championship standings with three races to go, despite struggling earlier this season. If Ranger can win the championship this season, it will mark his third career championship. Fitzpatrick, who is currently tied with Ranger for second in points, will start second after posting a lap of 83.597 seconds. Fitzpatrick won the spring race at CTMP and holds the most victories on the 11-turn road course with four.
Marc Antoine Camirand will start third, followed by points leader L.P. Dumoulin and DJ Kennington. Kennington had to change the motor following the first practice after laying down a trail of fluid.
Scott Steckly qualified sixth, followed by Jeff Lapcevich, Robin Buck, Kerry Micks and Alex Tagliani.
Sunday’s Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 is scheduled to take the green flag at 10 a.m. EDT.
Kevin Harvick Dominates the Great Clips 300 With Decisive Win at Atlanta
Atlanta Motor Speedway is good to Kevin Harvick as he takes his third Nationwide Series win of the year in the Great Clips 300 to Benefit Feed the Children. He started the race in eighth place but quickly took over the lead from pole winner Chase Elliott on lap 37 and he was gone, leading an incredible 159 laps out of the 195 lap race.
He is now tied with Mark Martin for all-time Nationwide Series wins at Atlanta. Harvick gave JR Motorsports their eighth win of the year. There were only two minor cautions, both for debris but a light rain extended the second caution to a total of 13 laps. At the restart it was clear that Harvick was the man to beat.
“This thing was bad fast from the drop of the green flag,” Harvick said. “This is just one of those race tracks where I like the challenge of everything you get to do here. Ernie (crew chief Ernie Cope) and I have found a great setup over the years back into the trucks (NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), and it’s still working today.”
Joey Logano started fourth in his No. 22 and brought home second place, but by the time he got his car handling to where he could gain on Harvick, it was too late.
“I just ran out of time,” he said. “I wish there were five or seven more laps, and I could have got to him and tried to do something with him. We were catching him two or three tenths (of a second) a lap there at the end and having some fun with it, but it was too little, too late.”
Kyle Larson, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet started the race in second and finished in third place. Larson was running up in the high groove, but clearly the bottom was where you needed to be.
“Here at Atlanta for whatever reason; it’s a really wore out track but the bottom seems to be a little faster,” stated Larson. “I tried to learn to run the bottom but you have to have your left sides on the paint and it’s really narrow down there so it’s hard, but Kevin is really good at it for whatever reason.”
Kyle Busch brought his No. 54 car home in fourth place while the series points leader Chase Elliott came home in fifth place, retaining the points lead.
Regan Smith finished in sixth followed by Brian Scott in seventh place and David Ragan in eighth. Rounding out the top ten finishing order were Ty Dillon and Elliott Sadler, in ninth and 10th respectively.
Your top five in the points standings are as follows:
1) Chase Elliott 874 2) Regan Smith -15 3) Ty Dillon -35 4) Elliott Sadler -48 5) Brian Scott- 54
The Nationwide Series’ next race will be the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Speedway on September 5th.
Complete Finishing Order:
| Position | Car No. | Driver |
| 1 | 5 | Kevin Harvick |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson |
| 4 | 54 | Kyle Busch |
| 5 | 9 | Chase Elliott |
| 6 | 7 | Regan Smith |
| 7 | 2 | Brian Scott |
| 8 | 98 | David Ragan |
| 9 | 3 | Ty Dillon |
| 10 | 11 | Elliott Sadler |
| 11 | 20 | Matt Kenseth |
| 12 | 6 | Trevor Bayne |
| 13 | 60 | Chris Buescher |
| 14 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan |
| 15 | 01 | Landon Cassill |
| 16 | 28 | JJ Yeley |
| 17 | 19 | Mike Bliss |
| 18 | 16 | Ryan Reed |
| 19 | 99 | James Buescher |
| 20 | 39 | Ryan Sieg |
| 21 | 31 | Dylan Kwasniewsk |
| 22 | 51 | Jeremy Clements |
| 23 | 17 | Tanner Berryhill |
| 24 | 14 | Eric McClure |
| 25 | 4 | Jeffrey Earnhardt |
| 26 | 40 | Matt DiBenedetto |
| 27 | 55 | Jamie Dick |
| 28 | 44 | Blake Koch |
| 29 | 87 | Chris Cockrum |
| 30 | 52 | Joey Gase |
| 31 | 70 | Derrike Cope |
| 32 | 25 | John Wes Townley |
| 33 | 43 | Dakoda Armstrong |
| 34 | 74 | Mike Harmon |
| 35 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd |
| 36 | 82 | Kevin Swindell |
| 37 | 23 | Carlos Contreras |
| 38 | 72 | John Jackson |
| 39 | 46 | Carl Long |
| 40 | 10 | Jeff Green |
Alex Tagliani Wins Truck Series Pole at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Alex Tagliani won the Keystone Light Pole Award and set a new track qualifying record at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with a lap of 80.558 seconds at 109.889 mph. As he leads the field to green in Sunday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 race, he will also be making his debut in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Tagliani competes in the Canadian Tire Series and has one previous start in the series at this track in 2008 where he finished in fifth place. He also competes in IndyCar.
After qualifying he talked about his preparation for qualifying and racing this weekend.
“We went out, the truck was fast from the get go,” he said. “We had just one little glitch we had to fix, we had some fuel pressure issues. Basically it took about 25 minutes to fix that and then we went and ran and made sure that everything was good. We parked it before the session was over, the guys were happy enough. We used the second practice getting ready for the race tomorrow.”
Tagliani also spoke about being part of the Brad Keselowski Racing team saying, “I feel really honored to be here and drive his truck.”
NASCAR Next driver Gray Gaulding will start beside him on the outside pole. Erik Jones will begin the race in the third position followed by German Quiroga Jr. and Cole Custer to round out the top five.
Several drivers had difficulties keeping their trucks on the track including third place finisher Jones who went off track during qualifying. Joey Coulter, who drove his No. 21 into the tire barriers, qualified in the 15th position. Ryan Blaney, who will start 14th, got sideways and Matt Crafton had similar issues but will begin the race in eighth place.
Series’ point leader Johnny Sauter will start the race from the 11th position.
The Chevrolet Silverado 250 is scheduled for Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET, with television coverage on FOX Sports 1.
Complete Starting Lineup:
| POS. | CAR | DRIVER |
| 1 | 19 | Alex Tagliani |
| 2 | 20 | Gray Gaulding |
| 3 | 51 | Erik Jones |
| 4 | 77 | German Quiroga Jr |
| 5 | 0 | Cole Custer |
| 6 | 53 | Andrew Ranger |
| 7 | 54 | Darrell Wallace Jr |
| 8 | 88 | Matt Crafton |
| 9 | 17 | Timothy Peters |
| 10 | 32 | Cameron Hayley |
| 11 | 98 | Johnny Sauter |
| 12 | 31 | Ben Kennedy |
| 13 | 9 | Brennan Newberry |
| 14 | 29 | Ryan Blaney |
| 15 | 21 | Joey Coulter |
| 16 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek |
| 17 | 13 | Jeb Burton |
| 18 | 99 | Bryan Silas |
| 19 | 2 | Tyler Young |
| 20 | 35 | Mason Mingus |
| 21 | 7 | Ray Courtemanche Jr |
| 22 | 50 | T.J. Bell |
| 23 | 63 | Scott Stenzel |
| 24 | 8 | B J McLeod |
| 25 | 36 | Justin Jennings |
| 26 | 6 | Norm Benning |
| 27 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb |
| 28 | 0 | Caleb Roark |
Jamie McMurray Hoping to Score Win to Secure Chase Bid
Heading into this weekend, Jamie McMurray is one of the drivers hoping to reach victory lane so that way he can stamp his ticket for the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup.
“I feel like our cars have been really good at the mile and a half, all of them this year,” he commented earlier this week. “That’s a little bit of a unique track because we only go there once a year. It certainly is — has the most fall-off of any track we go to as far as the tires go.
“So it’s just like anywhere else. It will be like being in the right position after the last pit stop and hoping everything falls your way.”
There is the opportunity for McMurray to do it as he qualified 15th and has been strong at Atlanta in the past with four top-10 finishes in 20 starts. He also notes that his team “tends to run better than where we’ve finished” as they haven’t been able to master adjusting the car on the last pit stop and putting themselves in position. As a result, he only has two top-fives and seven top-10s in the 24 races this far this season.
“If we can just put a whole weekend together and be able to finish off as well as or better than we ran throughout the race, yeah, I feel like the next two races should be really good for us. I hope we’re able to put it all together in one of those,” he commented. ”
McMurray is also hopeful following a solid test at Chicagoland, where he felt that his team learned some things for this weekend.
“There were a lot of teams there — all the Roush, Stewart-Haas, Michael Waltrip. And there was a lot of cars there, so they put a little rubber down. And we had a little bit of everything with rain multiple times and then also just incredibly hot temperatures. So you kind of got to see everything the track was going to do,” he comemnted. “And it was — you know, it’s good, I felt like, to have the 4 car there. He’s been — you know, I would say, if you had to pick a car all year long that’s been the fastest raw speed, the 4 car’s been that guy. So it was nice to kind of have a baseline to know what’s probably going to be fast when you go back.
“So I thought we had a really good test.”
Though, while the opportunity looms large, it can sometimes bring added pressure. McMurray says that hasn’t been the case so far as he hasn’t lain awake at night thinking of his chances.
“I mean, you just race everything single week to win,” he added. “So even though we’re down to two races, it’s really not any different than it was at the Daytona 500, the first race of the year. The goal is the same every week. You can’t really do anything different just because we’re down to two races.
“So, yeah, it’s just a regular weekend, and you go, and you perform your best.”
There is also the possibility of the intensity growing on track as the weeks tick by, though McMurray doesn’t see that either with people feeling tired right now due to the busy testing schedule.
“We tested Chicago the last two days, and after getting home from Bristol at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning and then getting up at 5:00 a.m. to go to Chicago and test for two days, I think most of the people that are on that plan, we’re all worn out by the time we even get to Atlanta,” he noted. “So I don’t know if you have time really to worry about anything or have a different vibe. I think the Hendrick cars were at Martinsville this week. I think most of the garage is really busy, and you don’t have time to think about what’s going on. You’re just racing and testing and doing everything that goes along with that.”
Mikhail Aleshin suffers fractured ribs, a broken right clavicle in practice crash
Following a crash in Friday night’s Verizon IndyCar Series practice at Auto Club Speedway, Mikhail Aleshin has been diagnosed with fractured ribs, a broken right clavicle, a concussion and chest injuries. INDYCAR added in their statement that the Russian was admitted to Loma Linda University Medical Center and listed in serious but stable condition.
Aleshin would get down below the white line in the corner, resulting in the car sliding sideways. He would then make contact with Charlie Kimball, before cartwheeling into the catch fence. Marco Andretti and Sebastian Bourdais also got a piece of the wreck.
Kimball, Andretti and Bourdais would all exit their cars under their own power, while Aleshin was helped from his car. Aleshin had qualified eighth for the race during the qualifying session earlier in the evening.
The MAVTV 500 marks the final race of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season as Will Power looks to hold off Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud for his first career championship. Power enters the weekend with a 51 point lead, but qualified 21st for the race while Castroneves qualified pole. The race is set for the green flag at 9 p.m. EST.
Fitzpatrick leads first practice as Kennington and Tagliani forced to change engines
It’s only practice and the action has already started as teams are working feverishly in the pit area to have the cars ready for qualifying later today, and tomorrow’s Printy’s presents the Clarington 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
J.R. Fitzpatrick would lead the first practice session with a lap of of one minute and 24.244 seconds as he looks to reach Canadian Tire Motorsports Park victory lane for the fifth time in his career.
Was fastest in practice with a car that isn’t comfortable to drive at all..also a small miss in the engine…getting it.all fixed
— J.R. Fitzpatrick (@J_R_Fitzpatrick) August 30, 2014
Current series points leader L.P. Dumoulin was second quickest, 0.149 seconds behind Fitzpatrick. Dumoulin enters the weekend sitting 27 points ahead of Fitzpatrick after winning last year’s Clarington 200. Following practice, Dumoulin’s team made the decision to change the transmission following issues late in the session.
Luc Lesage was third quickest, followed by Kerry Micks and DJ Kennington. Kennington is one of two drivers that laid down fluid on the track surface during practice; Kennington and Alex Tagliani had motor issues in practice and are changing them in hopes to get a couple of laps in the second practice to be ready for qualifying.
Andrew Ranger was sixth quickest, followed by Jason Hathaway, Tagliani, Peter Klutt and Joey McColm.
The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will have one more practice at 1 p.m. EST before taking to the track for qualifying at 4:40 p.m. EST. The Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 is scheduled for a 10 a.m. EST start on Sunday.
The Healing of Tony Stewart
People have been wondering each week before a NASCAR Sprint Cup race if this would be the week that Tony Stewart would choose to return behind the wheel of the No. 14. It’s not just NASCAR race fans but race fans in general and the public. I kind of felt in my heart it might be Atlanta. I can’t say why and I almost felt like making the three hour drive to the track but for personal reasons, I can’t at this time.
My heart goes out to the Ward family and always will for the loss of their son in this tragic accident but my heart has been with Stewart since this happened. There is absolutely no way he ran over that young man intentionally and who knows whether he will be able to continue racing after Saturday night. Only Stewart will know. I wonder if he will ever be able to race an Outlaw car again or if he will continue to own El Dorado? Again, only Stewart will know.
Stewart will talk to the media at Atlanta at 1 p.m. ET. This is surely going to be very very hard for him to do. I would not want to be in his position but I will support him and pray for the parents of Kevin Ward. I feel this is the best thing for Stewart to do and that is to get back to the track and around his family, his co-drivers. We all know Stewart is not the only one with a temper.
It angers me that every picture with articles that have been written about this tragic accident has Stewart looking like an angry man. Stewart is a hurt man right now and this is something that he will always have with him as anyone involved in such an accident would.
The drivers are supporting his return to the track even though it is still an ongoing investigation. I support him returning to begin his healing. NASCAR is a family, the fans are a family. I have read negative and ugly comments within the first two weeks and I call those people NOT race fans. Race fans do not say what they did. A true race fan shows support and empathy for the Ward family and in another way for Stewart and his fans.
I am not new to racing by any means. I have been a fan since I was a kid and that was over 40 years ago. I have worked around racing at the tracks and have seen how close these drivers are with each other. I have seen how they support each other like a family.
I hope and pray Atlanta will begin the healing for Stewart. He has a long ways to go and he is the only one who knows it and can deal with it. I pray he is treated well by the fans at the race Saturday night. None of us ever know when we might be put in the same situation. Welcome back Stewart. I and thousands of other race fans welcome and support you.
Serious Crash Ends Verizon IndyCar Series Practice Early at Auto Club Speedway
As a result of crash in turns three and four at Auto Club Speedway, Verizon IndyCar Series practice for tomorrow night’s MAVTV 500 has been cut short.
Mikhail Aleshin would get down below the white line in the corner, resulting in the car sliding sideways. He would then make contact with Charlie Kimball, before cartwheeling into the catch fence. Marco Andretti and Sebastian Bourdais also got a piece of the wreck.
Kimball, Andretti and Bourdais would all exit their cars under their own power, while Aleshin was helped from his car. Per IndyCar, Aleshin has been transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center, complaining of right shoulder and right foot pain. Aleshin had qualified eighth for the race during the qualifying session earlier in the evening.
A look at the catch fence after the wreck would reveal a tire stuck in the fence.
Wheel in the fence #IndyCarpic.twitter.com/AoJKGmYlRG
— Steve Wittich (@stevewittich) August 30, 2014
The MAVTV 500 marks the final race of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season as Will Power looks to hold off Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud for his first career championship. Power enters the weekend with a 51 point lead, but qualified 21st for the race while Castroneves qualified pole.
Reflecting: Inaugural Chevrolet Silverado 250 Brought Forth Memorable Experience
When NASCAR announced that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was coming to Canada, I couldn’t contain myself as a Canadian fan. I knew right from the announcement that it’d be great to be able to see the trucks in my own backyard (only two hours from my hometown) and get the experience up close to them that so many fans down south know too well.
It also an interesting experience as people questioned whether putting the trucks on a road course would be a good idea. They’d seen success with the cars – some close finishes, beating and banging, and the trucks had done it before so why not? Beyond that, the 11-turn track is the perfect place to go with the wide, fast corners that allow opportunities to try and pass. A driver messes up getting off a corner and getting into the next one, it opens the door for the truck behind them. For that reason, testing the driver’s skills would be up there near the top and seeing what they could do behind the wheel of their pick-ups.
The skepticism continued throughout practice and qualifying, but there was one thing known at the end of the weekend – this race had everything that NASCAR fans love.
The result of the 250 mile race brought forth everything that had made me a NASCAR fan and more as I watched the stars on the track, and the emotions that took place with the close competition. It was a perfect display for those who came out of curiosity as to why they should stick with the series moving forward, and why many fans in Canada travel to the United States yearly, whether Daytona, Bristol or Michigan, to watch racing.
NASCAR was built on certain roots – family, and emotion. The emotion of defeat and the emotion of victory combined to one, equaling confrontations. The ability behind the wheel to do whatever you could possible to try and win the race. It was evident by simply looking at two drivers – Chase Elliott and Ty Dillon. Now front runners in the Nationwide Series, the pair had been working their way up through the racing ranks and it was the streets of CTMP that brought forth the coming of age to many fans eyes. Fans got to see the future of NASCAR and how the love of racing is passed on from one generation to the other – Bill Elliott to Chase and Richard Childress to Ty. Both were doing whatever they could in the final laps to win the event for themselves and their team and as you know, contact took place in the final corner that led to Elliott winning and Dillon wrecking.
Being in victory lane and seeing the emotion on Chase’s face in the form of his NASCAR National Series victory, it was special – you can’t repeat first wins. Though it was also a glimpse of seeing the future and knowing the sport was in good hands.
On the flip side, seeing the disappointment on Dillon’s face and his frustration towards Elliott was the emotional aspect that fans love. The fact that Dillon was so passionate about winning that he confronted Elliott post-race, and then expressed displeasure in his interviews brought to the fans the passion as to why they do this.
Of course, this was just the beginning of the fun that weekend as there was some icing on the cake in the form of Mike Skeen and Max Papis. The pair must’ve bumped back and forth at least 20 times through the final laps, resulting in both trucks pretty torn up at the end of the race. The rubbing back and forth, the never give-up a spot attitude – another reason why fans are drawn to NASCAR. There was also that passion as Skeen’s girlfriend went up to Papis, slapping him across the cheek to show her displeasure. It was reflection of not only passion, but how NASCAR got their start. Who remembers the famous fight in the 1979 Daytona 500?
Last year’s race delivered a lot of excitement that will forever go down in history. This year’s race has the ability to deliver the same type of excitement with the cards that are laid on the table. Be sure to tune in – or attend the race yourself – as left and right turns should lead down a path of fun.
