By: Ashley McCubbin

LONDON, Ontario — A single shootout for a win is normal territory for any driver. Though an overtime attempt in the final race of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series season is a good reason to be nervous.

Andrew Ranger admitted on Sunday after the Pinty’s Fall Brawl that he was, knowing the task ahead of him in battling fellow veteran Kevin Lacroix for the victory. He was able to overcome the nerves, out-battling the driver of the No. 74 for the victory.

“I’m so proud of my team – the entire Rick Ware Racing team,” he told NEWS FROM THE PITS. “Everybody worked so hard for the last race. I started second there with a lot of green white checkered, and I was very nervous as anything can happen. I was able to exit pretty good there off of corner four and right on the bumper of Kevin, and Kevin made a little mistake there and I was able to pass him on the last lap.

“I was very nervous, but it’s a great win to end the season for us.”

With two wins in the last four races, and seven top-five’s in 10 events, Ranger completed the year ranked second in points, eight markers behind L.P. Dumoulin.

“We had some wins, we had some bad luck, so I’m sure at the end of the season, the points were very close,” he commented. “Overall, I want to thank Rick Ware Racing, all my crew. They worked so hard. We had a couple races that cost us the championship, but overall, it’s a great season for us.”

While the pride in their first season together beamed from the past series champion, he admitted the need to improve moving forward to not endure another tough year in 2022.