NASCAR Release

INNISFIL, Ont. – The season opener at Sunset Speedway welcomed two series veterans into Victory Lane.

LP Dumoulin and Jason Hathaway both found success on the third-mile oval amid fierce competition and a few wrecked cars, as the NASCAR Pinty’s Series kicked off its 2020 campaign with the Pinty’s Series Fan Cave Challenge. The special six-race schedule encompasses three race weekends at three Ontario ovals.

Dumoulin survived a chaotic overtime finish in the QwickWick 125, which saw Hathaway and Kevin Lacroix tangle in the final turn. Dumoulin was able to steer his No. 47 Weathertech Canada/Bellemare/Eibach Dodge through the smoke and spinning cars well enough to claim the win by .286 seconds over 16-year-old Treyton Lapcevich.

Dumoulin’s luck ran in out in the Canadian Tire 125. He was forced to retire from the race after just 35 laps due to an engine fire and he finished 13th.

Hathaway, on the other hand, put his misfortune behind him.

After leading a race-high 107 laps only to be relegated to a ninth-place finish following the final lap wreck in the first race, Hathaway drove away from the field in the second race. He draw a fifth-place starting position, took the lead on Lap 25 and led the rest of the way.

Hathaway’s No. 3 Kubota/Choko/Kugel Bearings/Total Chevrolet crossed the finish line 4.839 seconds ahead of runner-up Connor James.

RESULTS: QuickWick 125 | Canadian Tire 125

James finish, despite missing the front nose of his race car, gave Ed Hakonson Racing a 1-2 finish in the Canadian Tire 125.

After the first round — which marked the series’ first visit to Sunset since 2016 — Hathaway holds a two-point advantage over Lapcevich and six over Dumoulin and DJ Kennington, in the Pinty’s Series Fan Cave Challenge.

Lacroix would also rebound to secure a podium spot in the second race, followed by Lapcevich and Donald Theetge.

Kennington was sixth, followed by Anthony Simone, Jason White, Dexter Stacey and Brett Taylor.

In the first race, which was pushed to 131 laps by a late-race caution, Taylor was third followed by Kennington and Kingsbury. Theetge, Jackson, Lacroix, Hathaway and James coupleted the top 10.

The QwickWick 125 will air on TSN on Sunday, Aug. 23, at noon, and the Canadian Tire 125 will air on TSN on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 2 p.m Each race also will air on RDS/RDS2, and MAVTV in the United States. The full season will be available on streaming services in both Canada and the United States. TSN and TSN Direct subscribers can stream the races as they air on TSN.ca or the TSN App. Fans in the United States can stream races after they air on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

The NASCAR Pinty’s Series will head to Flamboro Speedway in Hamilton, Ontario, on Saturday, August 29 for the next set of 125-lap twin races.

Mathew Manor | NASCAR