Race #2 For NASCAR Canadian Tire Series: Grand Prix ICAR
This weekend’s race on June 5th marks the second race of the season for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, though the first ever visit for the series to Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Quebec.
While the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series drivers only visit two or three road courses a year, the Canadian Tire Series competes on a number of different road courses across Canada. The 2.113 mile course marks the sixth different road course, joining Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Circuit de Trois-Rivieres, Edmonton City Centre Airport, Mosport International Raceway and Toronto’s Exhibition Place.
The series has competed on road courses for a total of 17 times, with only four drivers accounting for wins – Andrew Ranger (9), J.R. Fitzpatrick (5), Kerry Micks (2) and Alex Tagliani (1). With all four entered into this weekend’s race, it’s no question that it’s going to be a fight down to the checkered.
Ranger is the driver that most fans focus on when it comes to choosing a winner as he has nine road course wins, including three last year at Montreal, Toronto and Trois-Rivieres. He knows how to compete well in the series as he is a two-time series champion and has won eight of the last 10 Canadian Tire Series road course races that he has ran. Ranger has experience beyond the Canadian Tire Series as he won a K&N Pro Series West race on a road course and won the ARCA New Jersey Motorsports Park road course race earlier this month.
Meanwhile, a lot of people believe that Fitzpatrick is a stronger oval driver, however some would argue that his stats showcase him as a better road course driver. He has six wins in the series to date, in which five of those have come on road courses – Mosport, Edmonton and Montreal. He is also very consistent as he has finished in the top five nine times in his 16 Canadian Tire Series road course starts, with four of those starts coming from the pole position. He also has experience beyond the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series level as he scored two top 10s last year for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series on road courses.
Though one of the most talked about drivers coming into this weekend is Alex Tagliani after he qualified on pole for the Indianapolis 500 last month. The Quebec born driver has had a good season to start as he currently sits ninth in IZOD IndyCar Series Championship points and look to continue that success this weekend. He has made eight Canadian Tire Series road course starts, with one lonely win coming at Edmonton City Centre Airport in 2008.
The last past road course winner to watch is Kerry Micks, who is a driver with probably the most experience. He is one of seven drivers who has competed in all 52 series races to date and has two wins, eight top-fives and 12 top-10s in 17 starts on the road courses. He also was one of the most consistent drivers last year on the road courses as he finished inside the top five in four of the five events and has top 10s in six of his last eight starts dating back to last year.
Beyond those who have tasted champagne at a road course before, eyes will also be on Scott Steckly, who won the race at Mosport last weekend and currently leads the point standings, 15 points over Pete Shepherd III. Like Micks, Steckly has ran all 52 races in series history and in 17 road-course starts, he has nine top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes.
While the race is set to be run on Sunday, practice and qualifying will be run on Saturday. The race will be shown on TSN on June 12th at 11 a.m. ET while live updates will be available through http://hometracks.nascar.com.
Matty’s Picks – Vol. 4 – STP 400 at Kansas Speedway
Matty’s Picks
Vol. 4 – Kansas – June 5, 2011
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[/media-credit]This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to a track that I hate to say, but I have very limited knowledge about. I sent out a Tweet this morning looking for some help with making my picks for this week’s STP 400, and unfortunately got no help.
After a couple of absolutely amazing finishes last week, I am fairly excited to see what this week will bring.
Last Week’s Recap
For last week’s Coke 600, I was on the Roush Fenway bandwagon that dominated the All-Star Race the week before. As my Dark Horse, I rode the Sprint Showdown winner, David Ragan to another Top 5 pick for myself. Ragan came in second following a pit on lap 397 for four tires and fuel, after receiving the free pass just a lap prior.
Ragan was running well all night, and as it turned out, ended up on the right end of the pit strategy gamble. The fresh tires and fuel made the difference in the end, as it did for race-winner Kevin Harvick and last-lap loser Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kudos to me for winning the pit-strategy pick of the week, and Kudos to Ragan for a career best second place finish.
After starting 3rd on Sunday Night, my Winner pick, Carl Edwards looked like the favorite to win. He jumped out front while the sun shined, and slowly moved backwards as darkness fell in Charlotte. Edwards lead 61 laps while the sun was up, but failed to reach the point in the last half of the race. Edwards finished right in line with his other two Roush Fenway teammates who found the front for numerous laps on Sunday – Biffle in 13th, Kenseth in 14th, Edwards in 16th. No points for me on the back to back backflips.
As for the bonus pick last week, the 100th Annual Indianapolis 500 was another race that came down to who could stay on track the longest. I didn’t think we could see two heartbreak finishes in the same day, but last Sunday proved me wrong again. I won’t bore you with the details that you all know about already so… I picked Dario Franchitti who lead 51 laps Sunday afternoon, had to pit late and finished the race in 12th as the last car on the lead lap. No double points for me for the bonus pick.
STP 400 Picks
Against by better judgment, I’m off the Roush Fenway bandwagon for this week. My winner pick this week already has a win this year, and swept the first two races at Kansas. Jeff Gordon is my Winner pick for this week. As I write this column, he is currently 4th on the speed chart. On top of the two wins, he has seven Top 5’s and eight Top 10’s at Kansas, with an average finishing position of 8.5. I think Gordon is a sure-fire Top 10 for this week.
I did do a bit of research for this week, and found out that the winner of the past two races at Kansas have come from the 5th starting spot on Sunday afternoon. Since qualifying isn’t until tomorrow for the Sprint Cup Series, I do not have the luxury of jumping on the 5th starting spot superstition.
Dark Horse Pick
As for my dark horse this week, I am going with a guy that impressed me over the two weeks at Charlotte. A.J. Allmendinger has put his Ford Fusion towards the front countless times this season. At a track where the asphalt is beginning to wear (resurfacing is an item of discussion at Kansas), starting positions are critical. Allmendinger has started 2nd, 2nd, and 7th in the past three points races. He is a driver who knows how to lay down a qualifying lap, and on top of that has two Top 10’s at Kansas during his Sprint Cup career.
I’m looking forward to learning more about Kansas Speedway throughout the weekend and am looking for a solid couple of picks this week.
As always, please lend me some advice with my picks for next week via email; riotwvu@yahoo.com or you can always send me comments via Twitter @ML_B_lo
Until Next Time….You stay classy NASCAR NATION!
