Pinty’s Finale Moved To Jukasa

NASCAR will crown its 2017 championship for stock car racing in Canada at the track that helped launch the series. NASCAR and Jukasa Motor Speedway announced today that the season finale for the NASCAR Pinty’s Series will be moved to the Hagersville, Ontario, track.

The event will be held Saturday, Sept. 23.

“We are looking forward to crowning our 2017 NASCAR Pinty’s Series champion at Jukasa Motor Speedway,” said George Silbermann. “Since the track was re-opened, we have talked about the series’ return at some point, and when the opportunity arose to host the finale, they stepped up. The track has substantial history with the NASCAR Pinty’s Series and stock car racing in Canada, and it’s extremely fitting we crown Canada’s national champion there.”

Due to management changes at Kawartha Downs, NASCAR and Kawartha have agreed to mutually terminate the sanction for the event scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 16.

Jukasa, formerly known as Cayuga Speedway, was open from 1966-2009. Through its history, it hosted countless high-profile racing events and notable NASCAR stars from Dale Earnhardt and Bobby Allison to Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth. The .625-mile paved oval held the inaugural NASCAR Pinty’s Series race in May of 2007. It held two races in each of the series’ first two years before it closed.

The track was purchased in 2016 by Kenny Hill and Jerry Montour, and repaving began in late 2016.

“We’ve made no secret that we’re looking to return the track to its status as ‘Canada’s Crown Jewel,’ and hosting the country’s championship event is a big step toward that goal,” said Jukasa General Manager Alex Nagy. “When NASCAR approached us with the possibility of being added to the schedule, we jumped at the opportunity. A lot of hard work has gone into returning this track to its glory, and the season finale is a perfect stage for us.”

The track now features banking up up to 8.5 degrees with slight banking on the previously flat straightaways. The racing surface has also been expanded to 60 feet. The track sits on more than 350 acres and boasts 1,100 campsites.

The NASCAR Pinty’s Series just completed its annual swing through western Canada, with Alex Labbe winning two of the three races to take the points leader over Kevin Lacroix and NASCAR Next driver Cayden Lapcevich. The race at Jukasa is one of five events remaining, with the series next racing at Quebec’s Circuit de Trois-Rivieres on Sunday, Aug. 13.