DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 25, 2010) – The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 makes its fourth visit to Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday, Aug. 29 for the NAPA AUTOPRO 200. It is the 2010 season’s 10th event and the last of five road-course races this year. Below is a statistical look at the race and recent performance of selected drivers in Montreal, as well as some statistical trends:
Ron Beauchamp Jr. (No. 60 Mopar/Mobil 1 Dodge)
· Posted his best Montreal finish of sixth last season
· Posted finishes of 28th and 21st in first two starts on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
· On Aug. 21 at Mosport, posted first top-five finish since July 3 at Autodrome St. Eustache
· One of seven drivers to start all 47 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races, to date
Jason Bowles (No. 11 Triad Racing Technologies Dodge)
· Making third series start
· Finished third on June 13 at Mosport International Raceway in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series debut and second in Toronto
· Is reigning NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion
· Four of his nine career wins in the K&N Pro Series West have come on road courses
· Is splitting time behind the wheel this season with John Gaunt handling the duties on the oval tracks
Patrice Brisebois (No. 71 L’equipeur Dodge)
· Making fourth career NASCAR Canadian Tire Series start
· Finished 12th last season in his track debut
· Veteran of 18 National Hockey League seasons – 16 with Montreal Canadiens
Robin Buck (No. 66 Active Green+Ross/Durabody Ford)
· Has a pair of top-10 finishes in Montreal – third in 2007 and eighth in 2008
· Making his 13th series start, all on road courses
· As an instructor at Mosport International Raceway, once had current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Jeff Gordon, at 15 years of age, as a student
Mark Dilley (No. 9 Exide Dodge)
· Has consecutive top-10 finishes – seventh in 2008 and fifth in 2009 – after a 21st-place finish in 2007
· Has posted four consecutive top-10 finishes
· Has a pair of top-10 finishes – Mosport and Trois-Rivieres – in four road-course starts this season
· One of seven drivers to start all 47 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races, to date
Maryeve Dufault (No. 10 Dodge Dealers of Quebec Dodge)
· Making her second NASCAR Canadian Tire Series start after debut in Trois-Rivieres
· The fourth female driver in series history following Ashley Taws, Catlin Johnston and Isabelle Tremblay
· Has raced sports cars and motorcycles, as well as serving as a Hollywood stuntwoman
· Developmental driver with FAZZT Race Team that fields car for Alex Tagliani in the IZOD IndyCar Series.
J.F. Dumoulin (No. 04 Group Bellemare/GP3R Dodge)
· The Quebec native, and brother of fellow competitor Louis-Philippe, is making his fifth series start
· Making first series start in Montreal
· Often competes in GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series events
· Car owner is current National Hockey League star Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning
L.P. Dumoulin (No. 47 Maskimo/Somavrac Dodge)
· The Quebec native, and brother of fellow competitor Jean-Francois, is making his fifth series start
· Finished 23rd in last season’s NAPA AUTOPRO 100
· Car owner is former Montreal Canadien Marc-Andre Bergeron
JR Fitzpatrick (No. 84 Schick Hydro Chevrolet)
· Won last season’s Montreal event
· Finished 22nd in each of his first two trips to Montreal, despite leading laps in both races
· Has led a series-high 39 laps in action at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
· Current points leader by 16 points over DJ Kennington
· Collected sixth series victory on July 25 at Edmonton City Centre Airport and fifth series victory on June 13 at Mosport International Raceway
· Five of his six career series wins have come on road courses – Mosport (2), Edmonton (2) and Montreal
· Competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event, as well
· Finished seventh on June 19 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc., in his first NASCAR Nationwide Series start in 2010 and first for JR Motorsports
· Finished 11th on Aug. 7 in NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.)
Jason Hathaway (No. 3 Snap-on Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge)
· Finish of 13th a season ago is career best in Montreal
· Finished 20th in 2007 and 28th in 2008 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
· Has top-10 finishes in three of four road-course starts this season, with Toronto being the exception
· Had a four-race streak of top-10 finishes snapped in his last outing at Mosport Speedway with a 14th-place effort
· One of seven drivers to start all 47 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races, to date
Caitlin Johnston (No. 01 Pizza Pizza Dodge)
· Making her third career Canadian Tire Series start after competing this season at Mosport Int’l Raceway and Exhibition Place in Toronto
· One of three female drivers, along with Maryeve Dufault and Isabelle Tremblay, entered into the event
· At Mosport, became the second female driver to compete in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series following Ashley Taws in 2008
DJ Kennington (No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge)
· Finished fourth in all three Canadian Tire Series starts in Montreal
· Has strung together four straight top-10 performances
· Earned the victory in four of his last 10 series starts dating back to 2009
· Collected his seventh career series win and third of 2010 on Aug. 4 at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway
· Collected his sixth career series win and second of 2010 on July 3 at Autodrome St. Eustache
· Collected his fifth series-career win in 2010 season opener on June 5 at Delaware Speedway
· Competing in NASCAR Nationwide Series event, as well
Jeff Lapcevich (No. 23 Tim Hortons Chevrolet)
· Has registered top-10 finishes in all three of his Montreal starts – eighth in both 2007 and 2009, and sixth in 2008
· The 18th-place finish on Aug. 21 at Mosport Speedway was first outside the top 10 in 2010
· Posted top-10 finishes in seven of last 10 series starts dating back to last season
Kerry Micks (No. 02 Dickies/Beyond Digital Imaging Ford)
· Won the 2007 race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
· Finished third in other two Montreal starts
· Has led a total of 28 laps in Canadian Tire Series action in Montreal
· Has finished inside the top 10 in 15 of his last 16 series starts dating back to last season
· Has one oval-track win (Mosport Speedway in 2008) and two road-course wins (Montreal and Trois-Rivieres in 2007) in NCATS action
· Is one of seven drivers to compete in all 47 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races
Andrew Ranger (No. 27 Dodge Dealers of Quebec Dodge)
· Won the 2008 Montreal event
· Finished second in his other two series starts at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
· Has two Canadian Tire Series wins this season – Toronto and Trois-Rivieres
· Has 10 consecutive Canadian Tire Series podium finishes on road courses, including seven wins, dating back to 2008
· Eight of his 11 Canadian Tire Series wins have come on road courses
· Has a pair of NASCAR K&N Pro Series road-course wins this season – Infineon Raceway (West) and Lime Rock Park (East)
· Two-time NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion (2007 & 2009)
· Holds overall career series mark for wins at 11
Anthony Simone (No. 95 Rx100 Chevrolet)
· Has finished of 33rd (2008) and 30th (2009) in his two Montreal starts
· Has top-10 finishes in four of his last five starts
· Posted a pair of runner-up finishes on road courses – Mosport and Trois-Rivieres – last season
Scott Steckly (No. 22 Canadian Tire Jumpstart Dodge)
· Career-best Montreal finish was second in 2008
· Finished fifth in 2007 and 19th in 2009
· Finished 17th on Aug. 21 at Mosport Speedway for his first finish outside the top 10 for the first time since July 17 at Toronto
· Collected his first win of the season on July 31 at Motoplex Speedway in Vernon, B.C.
· Has finished inside the top five in five of nine starts this season
· Has eight NASCAR Canadian Tire Series wins to his credit
· Won 2008 series championship
Don Thomson Jr. (No. 4 Home Hardware Chevrolet)
· Logged finishes of sixth (2007) and fifth (2008) on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
· Finished 18th a year ago in Montreal
· Broke a 10-race winless streak with Aug. 21 victory at Mosport Speedway for sixth career win and first of 2010
· Has top-10 finishes in seven of last eight starts
· Holds the overall series career mark for poles with 11
· His six series wins is tied (JR Fitzpatrick) for the fourth-highest total in series history
NASCAR CANADIAN TIRE SERIES presented by MOBIL 1 At Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
· This is the series’ fourth season to compete at the legendary circuit in Montreal.
· The average starting field in Montreal is 32.67 and average cars finishing on the lead lap is 19.
· There has been an average of 2.67 caution periods for an average of 5.67 laps in the three prior races in Montreal, with the earliest coming at Lap 2 in 2009 and the latest at Lap 22, also in 2009.
· The average starting position of the winner is 3.67, while the polesitter has an average finish of 14th.
· There are 10 Quebec natives entered into the event – Brisebois, Marc-Andre Cliche, Dufault, J.F. Dumoulin, L.P. Dumoulin, Ranger, Michel Pilon, Dexter Stacey, Isabelle Tremblay and Derek White.
· First series race with three female drivers – Dufault, Johnston and Tremblay – in the field.
For more information, contact: Shon Sbarra, NASCAR Public Relations, (704) 309-5493 or ssbarra@nascar.com
