The final corner at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park delivered yet another fender-banging and memorable finish.
This time, Kevin Lacroix put the bumper to Gary Klutt in double overtime, sending the No. 59 into the wall and allowing the No. 74 to claim the eBay Motors 200 victory, his Pinty’s Series record sixth career win at CTMP and first of the 2022 season.
The race, which started in wet conditions, was rather reminiscent of what we’ve seen Lacroix do at Mosport: dominate. After starting inside the top 10, Lacroix slowly worked his way through the field, eventually taking the lead from Marc-Antoine Camirand on Lap 8.
But two laps later while lapping Peter Klutt, Lacroix made slight contact with the No. 6, doing a 360-degree spin. He was able to continue with no damage, and just past the halfway point, Lacroix pit for slick tires. More drivers followed suit, as he charged out to over a 10-second lead. It appeared he had yet another CTMP win in the bag.
That was until a caution with three laps remaining for Marc-Antione Camirand bunched the field back up and sent the second race of the 2022 season into overtime. Lacroix held serve through the first three corners, until a wreck involving Peter Klutt, L.P. Dumoulin and Ray Junior Courtemanche brought out another caution and brief subsequent red flag.
In the second and final overtime, Lacroix couldn’t hold off Gary Klutt, who got by the No. 74 and took the white flag with one car length advantage. But down the Mario Andretti Straightaway, Lacroix closed in. And entering Turn 8, he made the ultimate race-winning move on Klutt.
Alex Tagliani finished second, while Dexter Stacey came home third, his best career finish in his 62nd career start.
Klutt, who ended a few hundred feet short of his second career Pinty’s Series victory, finished fourth and L.P. Montour rounded out the top five. Treyten Lapcevich, L.P. Dumoulin, Brandon Watson, J.P. Bergeron and Larry Jackson completed the top 10 finishers.
The eBay Motors 200 will air on TSN following the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 28 at 4 pm ET; it airs on RDS2 on Sunday, June 12 at 10 am ET.
The NASCAR Pinty’s Series heads to Autodrome Chaudière next on Saturday, June 11.
Categories: NASCAR Pinty's Series, NASCAR Roots, Race Recap