After having victory lane elude him all season last year, J.R. Fitzpatrick would dominate the Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 on Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park to kick off the 2014 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season.

“It was pretty good – obviously,” Fitzpatrick commented. “We just focused on trying to stay up front. The biggest strategy that I had was to save my stuff for the end and it seemed the longer we went, the stronger the car got so it was a really good feeling. It was exciting how it all worked out.”

After qualifying second, Fitzpatrick wasted no time grabbing the race lead behind the wheel of his No. 84 Equipment Express Chevrolet. Fitzpatrick looked to have victory easily in hand when the caution flew, followed by a lengthy red flag to clean up oil all around the track after Noel Dowler lost a motor. The restart would come with a couple laps to go and Fitzpatrick was able to hold off a final charge from Jeff Lapcevich.

“The last few laps were pretty hairy running out on all that oil as we were talking on the way up here whether it’s better to be running first, second or third as whoever hits it first is in trouble,” Fitzpatrick commented. “I think they had a good idea what we were running through after I hit it. It was a scary moment for me, but glad it worked out.”

For Fitzpatrick, it marks his ninth career victory and his first victory since winning at CTMP on August 18, 2012. The dominance by the Cambridge, Ontario native is no surprise, though, as it marked his fourth career win at CTMP.

Jeff Lapcevich would finish second for his second straight runner-up finish at CTMP after finishing second to L.P. Dumoulin last season. It marks the 13th career top-five finish for the driver of the No. 76 Tim Hortons Dodge. Robin Buck would finish third, followed by L.P Dumoulin and D.J. Kennington.

Kerry Micks, Hugo Vannini, Luc Lesage, Peter Klutt and Ray Courtemanche Jr. completed the top 10. Pole sitter Andrew Ranger would finish 21st after having to drop the rear of the field at the start of the event for unapproved adjustments.

Unfortunately, a pair of pre-season championship favourites did not have hte day that they were expecting. Jason Hathaway finished 24th after blowing a motor at lap 35, while defending series champion Scott Steckly finished 24th after getting into the wall after trying to get into turn three too aggressively.

The Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 will air on TSN on Sunday, May 25 at 12:30 p.m. ET. It will air on RDS2 on Friday, June 13 at 10:30 p.m.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 returns on June 14th for the inaugural Budweiser 300 at Autodrome Chaudiére in Vallée-Jonction, Que.

Jeff Hanley would keep his string of Sunset Speedway success rolling as he scored the victory in the Lucie Alywin Memorial 52 at Sunset Speedway.

The night didn’t start off smoothly with Todd Campbell spinning in turn two on the first lap of the opening heat. Derrike Tiemersma would grab the win ahead of Dwayne Baker, Glenn Watson, Corey Jones, Jesse Kennedy and Campbell.

The second heat would go to Rob Poole as he makes his return to OSCAAR competition following a blown motor midway through last year. Shane Gowan finished second followed by Kevin Cornelius, Kelly Balson and Rudy Oppersma.

After struggling to figure out Sunset in his rookie year, Andrew Gresel won the third heat ahead of Jeff Hanley, Ethan Cournyea, Scott Field and Dave Doucette.

Jesse Kennedy won the fourth heat ahead of Baker, Tiemersma, Watson and Jones.

Rob Poole went 2-for-2 in the fifth heat ahead of Gowan, Balson and Cornelius.

Jeff Hanley won the final heat ahead of Gresel, Cournyea, Doucette and Field.

When it came time for the feature, Jesse Kennedy would start pole ahead of Shane Gowan, Brent McLean, Dwayne Baker, Jeff Hanley, Andrew Gresel, Rob Poole, Kelly Balson, Ethan Cournyea, Glenn Watson, Dave Doucette, Corey Jones, Todd Campbell, Kevin Cornelius, Scott Field and Rudy Oppersma.

Kennedy would jump out to the early lead ahead of Gowan, Tiemersma, Baker and Gresel. Though by lap three, Gowan was kicked out of the top five as he had been passed by Tiemersma, Baker, Hanley, Gresel and Poole. Tiemersma would get by Kennedy for the lead as the caution flew for Oppersma and Jones went around in turn four. Campbell brought his super late into the pits under caution and was done for the evening. With 48 laps to go, Tiemersma led Kennedy, Hanley, Baker, Gresel, Watson, Poole, Balson, Field, Cournyea, Oppesrma, Doucette, Cornelius and Gowan.

Tiemersma was able to hold on to the lead on the restart while Hanley got by Kennedy to move into second while Gresel and Baker rounded out the top five. The top five remained single-file and the same order till the second caution at lap 12 for Cournyea having a flat tire after contact with Balson. Cournyea would pull his super late behind the wall and be done for the night. With 41 laps to go, Tiemersma led Hanley, Kennedy, Gresel, Baker, Watson, Poole, Balson, Doucette, Field, Oppersma, Cournelius and Gowan.

On the restart, Hanley used the outside lane to his advantage as he grabbed the lead from Tiemersma while Gresel grabbed third from Kennedy as Watson got by Baker for fifth. That didn’t last long, though, as Baker would pass Watson back at lap 18. Baker then continued his charge to the front, passing Kennedy for fourth at lap 26. At lap 28, Scott Field brought his super late down pit road with mechanical issues but was unable to make it to his stall so the caution was waved so they could move his car as a safety measure. With 24 laps to go, Hanley led Tiemersma, Gresel, Baker, Kennedy, Watson, Poole, Doucette, Balson, Oppersma, Gowan and Field.

Hanley was able to escape on the restart while Baker moved into third with a pass on Gresel and Watson moved in to fifth with a pass on Kennedy. Doucette would bring his super late down pit road with problems at lap 44, but at the same time, the caution would fly for Poole going around in turn four by his lonesome. Doucette would make his repairs and return to the track without going a lap down. With 18 to go, Hanley led Tiemersma, Baker, Gresel, Watson, Kennedy, Cornelius, Balson, Doucette, Poole, Gowan and Oppersma.

The first attempt at a restart did not go smoothly as Watson would go around by himself in turn four.

The second attempt went better as Hanley escaped with the lead ahead of Tiemersma, Baker, Gresel, Kennedy, Cornelius, Balson, Poole, Watson and Doucette. At lap 39, Baker’scharge to the front continued with a pass on Tiemersma for second while Poole got by Balson for seventh. Watson then followed suit with a pass on Balson a lap later. Poole continued his rebound to the front, passing Cornelius for sixth at lap 44, with Watson following him through.

At the front of the field, Baker was able to track down Hanley and got underneath him a couple of times, however wasn’t able to make the pass. In the end, Jeff Hanley cruised to another Sunset Speedway victory ahead of Dwayne Baker, Derrike Tiemersma, Andrew Gresel, Jesse Kennedy, Glenn Watson, Rob Poole, Kevin Cornelius, Kelly Balson, Dave Doucette, Shane Gowan and Rudy Oppersma.

On Saturday night, Chad Strawn had his modified on a roll as he held off all charges sent his way in the 30 lap feature to score his first career Hanover Holiday Modified feature victory.

Kicking off the night, the first heat didn’t go according to plan as Bobby Tolton would make contact with Max Beyore, causing Beyore to spin. Mike Westwood picked up the win in his new car ahead of Tolton, Brian McLean, Beyore, Dustin Jackson and Branden Bullen.

The second heat didn’t go much better with John Harper getting into Gary Elliott on the opening lap, resulting in both getting into the inside wall. Tommy Robb picked up the victory ahead of Brent McLean, Davey Terry and Harper.

The third heat went smoothly as Ryan Dick held off Gary McLean for the victory while Shane Stickel finished third, followed by Matt Barton. Strawn would get credited with fifth after pulling off on the last lap with a mechanical issue.

The fourth heat didn’t go well for Tolton as he would spin on lap eight as he fought to find the right handling combination for his mod. 13-year-old Dustin Jackson would score his first career heat victory ahead of Beyore, Bullen, Brian McLean, Westwood and Tolton.

Davey Terry would win the fifth heat ahead of Elliott, Brent McLean, Robb and Harper.

The final heat would go to Chad Strawn ahead of Gary McLean, Stickel, Barton and Dick.

When it came feature time, Chad Strawn would start pole ahead of Mike Westwood, Shane Stickel, Tommy Robb, Brent McLean, Davey Terry, Gary McLean, Dustin Jackson, Ryan Dick, Gary Elliott, Bobby Tolton, Brian McLean, Matt Barton, Max Beyore, John Harper and Branden Bullen.

Strawn would jump out to the early lead, though couldn’t escape the field as the caution flew at lap five for Robb going around and then Dick, Barton and Tolton getting together on the frontstretch. With 25 laps to go, Strawn led Westwood, Stickel, Brent McLean, Gary McLean, Terry, Dick, Jackson, Brian McLean, Beyore, Barton, Bullen, Robb, Elliott, Harper and Tolton.

The restart wouldn’t go smoothly as Stickel would get loose, causing Westwood and Gary McLean to attempt to split him. As the field bottled up, contact was made and Westwood would get into the wall, leaving Terry with nowhere to go but into the back of Westwood. McLean would be sent to the back as an involved car while Stickel maintained the second spot behind Strawn.

The second restart would go smoothly with Strawn holding down the fort and leading Stickel, Brent McLean, Dick and Brian McLean. Brian would then have his night go sour as he slowed with a problem on lap 13 for the caution. Behind him, contact would happen between Tolton and Harper.  With 17 to go, Strawn led Stickel, Brent McLean, Dick, Beyore, Jackson, Bullen, Elliott, Gary McLean, Barton, Robb, Brian McLean and Tolton.

Restarts would become a common problem as the night went on as this restart didn’t go much better than the previous ones with Bullen and Gary McLean going around. For McLean, it marked a disappointing end to his night as he searches for his third straight championship this season.

The second attempt at a restart would go smoothly with Stickel grabbing the lead ahead of Strawn till the caution flew at lap 16 for Brent McLean stalling on the backstretch with a problem. In the slow-up to avoid hitting Brent, Jackson would go around while Elliott slid up out of the groove.

The restart would be messy as Stickel would get loose, pushing Dick up towards the wall – Dick would make an impressive save with Beyore making an impressive save as everybody was able to keep going without incident. Once they settled, Stickel led at lap 20 ahead of Strawn, Dick, Bullen and Beyore. Stickel’s lead didn’t last long as Strawn took over the top spot at lap 21. Behind them, Beyore would pass Bullen for fourth at lap 22, and then pass Dick for third at lap 24 as the caution flew for Bullen spinning with Brian McLean and Tolton also catching a piece of it. Robb would pull behind the wall under caution, done for the event. With six laps to go, Strawn led Stickel, Beyore, Dick, Elliott, Barton, Jackson, Bullen and Tolton.

The messy restarts would continue as Stickel would get loose once again, causing everyone to check up with Gary Elliott being wrecked in the aftermath. Beyore would be sent to the back as an involved car. Now with six laps still to go, Strawn led Stickel, Dick, Barton, Jackson, Bullen, Tolton and Beyore.

Stickel would mount a charge once the field got the green, but wasn’t able to as Chad Strawn scored the victory ahead of Shane Stickel, Matt Barton, Ryan Dick, Dustin Jackson, Max Beyore, Branden Bullen and Bobby Tolton.

Rob Neely would grab the lead with four laps to go and held off a last lap charge from defending series champion Mack DeMan to score the victory in the TQ Lucas Oil Can-Am Midget feature at Sunset Speedway on Sunday night.

The night didn’t start off smoothly as Dylon Smith stalled during the opening heat in turn four, while Rob Divenanzo would spin in turn one. Daniel Bois would take the victory ahead of Ryan Fraser, Chris Holman, Adam Racine, Jeff Blackburn, Kent Turnbull, Divenanzo, Dave Hickson and Chris Bauman.

The second heat didn’t go smoothly either as the field would check up on the opening lap with Barry Dunn getting into David Balych with the 4 spinning. Todd Cresswell also got a piece of it as he got some damage. Adrian Stahle would grab the win ahead of Darren McLennan, DeMan, Neely, Adam Walsh, the Ryan Hunsinger and Tyler Turnbull.

In the TQ B-Main, it’d be Rob Divenanzo would grab the win ahead of Turnbull, Balych, Hunsinger, Dunn, Kent Turnbull, Bauman and Hickson.

In the feature, Adrian Stahle would pull out to the early lead ahead of Darren McLennan, Rob Neely, Adam Walsh and Mack DeMan. The first caution would fly on lap seven when Rob Divenanzo would go for a spin in turn one. With 18 laps to go, Stahle led McLennan, Neely, DeMan, Walsh, Chris Holman, Adam Racine, Daniel Bois, Ryan Fraser, Todd Cresswell, Barry Dunn and Ryan Hunsinger.

Stahle would get a good restart and break away from the field while David Balych found some misfortune, getting into the wall on lap 16. Balcyh kept it clean, though, as no caution was flown.

As the laps ticked down, Neely got around McLennan and then began to eat into Stahle’s lead. With four laps to go, Neely made his move and was able to get by with DeMan in suite. Rob Neely then cruised to the victory while Mack DeMan had to settle for second after winning the season opener at Flamboro Speedway. Adam Walsh rounded out the podium, followed by McLennan, Cresswell, Holman, Fraser, Racine and Bois.

On Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, qualifying for the 98th Annual Indianapolis 500 kicked off. Under the new format, Saturday is used to lock in the nine drivers that will go for the pole. With the top nine locked in, Sunday will be used for those nine to go for the pole and set the top nine spots, while the rest fight through spots 10th thru 33rd.

Topping the charts on the first day of qualifying for Indianapolis native Ed Carpenter as he had a four lap time of two minutes and 36.0735 seconds with an average speed of 230.661 mph behind the wheel of his No. 20 Fuzzy Vodka Chevrolet.

“It’s been a good month,” Carpenter commented. “I’m really happy we have the second car this month with the way it’s gone with limited running and the rain. Having JR on the team has been a huge help. I’m happy we’re in a position to have a chance to win a pole again, and at the same time I feel like we’re in better shape for the race than where we were last year too, so it’s shaping up to be a fun weekend.”

Carpenter is looking to win the pole for the second straight year and says he has to repeat what he’s done in the past in Sunday’s session.

“We’ve got to get it right for that one run,” he said. “Everybody’s got one shot at it, and I think you saw guys going faster, going slower, going faster, going slower today depending on which run they were on. Some guys moved forward, some guys moved back when they pulled out a time. It just comes down to the engineers and the drivers making the right decision, believing in it and going out a laying down four good ones.”

Andretti Autosport rookie Carlos Munoz was second fastest as he is looking to better his run in last year’s Indianapolis 500 by one spot after finishing second to Tony Kanaan.

“After the second run, I was really disappointed. During the first run, the Cinsay car was really good, but during the second run, we just completely lost the balance of the car,” Munoz commented. “My team, my engineer – they did exactly what I asked, and we had a great third run. I was questioning myself, the team, everything before, but as soon as I hit the track I forgot everything (about the second run). The car was really fast, and it’s a shame we wasted that second outing. I think we’re looking strong, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Helio Castroneves was third fastest, followed by James Hinchcliffe. The laps on Saturday marked Hinchcliffe’s second session behind the wheel as he missed practice last week due to a concussion suffered in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

“It feels really good now. It’s a huge testament to this team and the work that they’ve done to be able to come out here,” Hinchcliffe commented. “We had a solid first run, but we knew we were going to have to tweak some more out of it. We were sitting back in the garage there watching ourselves tumble down the charts, watching the track get a bit quicker and guys go a bit quicker. We knew it was our time to go out. The rain came, and we weren’t sure what that was going to do to the track and the conditions. But Nathan (O’Rourke), my engineer, just nailed the aero balance on that one. The car was even nicer to drive than it was the last run. It was on edge, man. I’m shaking a little bit. But it was fast, and that’s what matters.”

Will Power rounded out the top five, followed by Marco Andretti, Simon Pagenaud, Josef Newgarden and JR Hildebrand. Kurt Busch was in the Fast Nine for the majority of the session, though was bumped out in the final half hour as he was 10th quickest in today’s session.

“I’ve qualified Pro Stocks on the quarter-mile; I’ve done the longest track on the NASCAR circuit (Talladega) but to do four laps here on a 2.5-mile track, that’s a 10-mile run. That’s the longest I’ve had to focus for a qualifying run. Just the shear excitement of trusting a car with downforce going down into Turn 1 at 230 is indescribable,” Busch commented following his first of two runs on the day. “Those four laps felt like one; 230 is a totally different game. I wasn’t as focused as I needed to be; the moment of Indy can kind of overtake you. It was a very solid run; I was hoping for more. I didn’t keep up with the adjustments in the car. Those guys at Andretti Auto sport have given me a great car.

“It’s been an experience, the month of May in an Indy car. It’s really hard to digest at all. The chance to qualify is one thing but to do it in an Andretti car is another. The qualifying run I made felt very comfortable, maybe that’s why it wasn’t as good as I had hoped. Maybe I was conservative with the car instead of edgy. I have to thank Andretti Autosport and Suretone for making all this happen; those guys have been great to partner up with and run a big advertising campaign around the Indy 500.”

Surprisingly, none of the Chip Ganassi cars made the Fast Nine Shootout with Dixon laying down the quickest four-lap time in 15th.

“It was an average run,” Dixon commented. “I think we were a little bit neutral and started sliding the rear a bit coming from Lap 2 and onwards. The speed just wasn’t there anyways. After Ed (Carpenter’s) run we have to find a good mile and one-half or a little more. We’re trimmed out more than what they are. It’s not about how trim you are; it’s all about the whole package together. We’ll go back out. With warmer conditions later we may see some bigger speeds.”

Qualifying Results

1. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 02:36.0735 (230.661)

2. (34) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.2090 (230.460)

3. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 02:36.2286 (230.432)

4. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.2452 (230.407)

5. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 02:36.3022 (230.323)

6. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.4306 (230.134)

7. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.4741 (230.070)

8. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.4993 (230.033)

9. (21) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Chevy, 02:36.5032 (230.027)

10. (26) Kurt Busch, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.5493 (229.960)

11. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.5904 (229.899)

12. (98) Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.6471 (229.816)

13. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy, 02:36.6681 (229.785)

14. (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.7821 (229.618)

15. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.0111 (229.283)

16. (7) Mikhail Aleshin, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.1426 (229.091)

17. (8) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.3252 (228.825)

18. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.3522 (228.786)

19. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.4043 (228.710)

20. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.4364 (228.664)

21. (22) Sage Karam, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.4460 (228.650)

22. (6) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.5435 (228.508)

23. (10) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.5944 (228.435)

24. (11) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.6265 (228.388)

25. (63) Pippa Mann, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.6474 (228.358)

26. (17) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.6917 (228.294)

27. (5) Jacques Villeneuve, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.7766 (228.171)

28. (33) James Davison, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.7912 (228.150)

29. (16) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.8713 (228.034)

30. (18) Carlos Huertas, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.9011 (227.991)

31. (68) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 02:38.0246 (227.813)

32. (41) Martin Plowman, Dallara-Honda, 02:38.5601 (227.043)

33. (91) Buddy Lazier, Dallara-Chevy, 02:38.9102 (226.543)

On Saturday at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Andrew Ranger made his presence known as he scored the pole for the Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200. It marks the 13th career pole award for the two-time series champion as he makes his return to full-time NASCAR Canadian Tire Series competition in 2014.

Ranger’s lap of 1 minute, 22.956 seconds in his No. 27 Mopar/Exide Dodge marks a new track record as he topped the time set by J.R. Fitzpatrick last year. Ranger is a past winner at CTMP with two previous victories – 2007 and 2009.

Fitzpatrick, who led practice, would qualify second with a lap of 1:23.111 (106.513) as he is searching for his fourth CTMP victory this weekend. It marks a nice comeback for Fitzpatrick to show speed this weekend as he wrecked during pre-season testing after hitting a puddle on the course and sliding off course into the Styrofoam barrier.

Last year’s fall pole sitter Jeff Lapcevich qualified third as he searches for his first career NCAT victory. He finished second in last year’s event. Jason Hathaway and last year’s race winner L.P. Dumoulin rounded out the top five. Peter Klutt, Robin Buck, rookies Luc Lesage and Marc-Antoine Camirand, and defending series champion Scott Steckly rounded out the top 10.

The 2014 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season will kick off on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. EST.

Qualifying Results

1. (27) Andrew Ranger, Roxton Pond, Que., Dodge, 106.712

2. (84) J.R. Fitzpatrick, Ayr, Ont., Chevrolet, 106.513

3. (76) Jeff Lapcevich, Grimsby, Ont., Dodge, 106.352

4. (3) Jason Hathaway, Dutton, Ont., Chevrolet, 106.162

5. (47) L.P. Dumoulin, Trois-Rivières, Que., Dodge, 106.043

6. (42) Peter Klutt, Halton Hills, Ont., Chevrolet, 105.975

7. (66) Robin Buck, Campbellville, Ont., Dodge, 105.943

8. (24) Luc Lesage, Trois-Rivières, Que., Dodge, 105.903

9. (88) Marc-Antoine Camirand, Saint-Leonard-d’Aston, Que., Chevrolet, 105.901

10. (22) Scott Steckly, Milverton, Ont., Dodge, 105.667

11. (18) Stefan Rzadzinski, Edmonton, Alta., Dodge, 105.654

12. (02) Kerry Micks, Mount Albert, Ont., Ford, 104.812

13. (17) D.J. Kennington, St. Thomas, Ont., Dodge, 104.744

14. (59) Ryan Klutt, Milton, Ont., Chevrolet, 104.670

15. (5) Noel Dowler, Sherwood Park, Alta., Dodge, 104.584

16. (56) Matthew Scannell, Milton. Ont., Dodge, 104.075

17. (25) Joey McColm, Ajax, Ont., Dodge, 103.897

18. (95) Anthony Simone, Holland Landing, Ont., Dodge, 103.234

19. (99) Matt Pritiko, London, Ont., Chevrolet, 103.009

20. (97) Hugo Vannini, Repentigny, Que., Ford, 102.971

21. (87) Steve Mathews, New Liskeard, Ont., Ford, 102.785

22. (29) Ray Courtemanche Jr., Montreal, Que., Dodge, 102.701

23. (9) Russ Bond, Toronto, Ont., Ford, 102.667

24. (28) Jason White, Sun Peaks, B.C., Dodge, 102.335

25. (83) Bob Attrell, Brampton, Ont., Dodge, 100.600

26. (67) David Thorndyke, Oshawa, Ont., Chevrolet, 100.552

27. (00) Derek White, Kahnawake, Que., Chevrolet, 98.501

28. (77) Jocelyn Fecteau, Montreal, Que., Dodge, 87.553