Pinty’s Series News & Notes: Jukasa

Pinty’s Series News & Notes: Jukasa

Labbe On Cusp Of First NASCAR Championship

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There is plenty of reason to celebrate the first NASCAR Pinty’s Series race at Jukasa Motor Speedway this Saturday, but for Alex Labbe the celebration will be just a little sweeter when he takes the green flag to start the Pinty’s Fall Brawl 200.

Labbe will clinch the 2017 NASCAR Pinty’s Series championship by just starting the race and will become the sixth champion in the history of the Canada’s national stock car championship series. The Victoriaville, Quebec, native enters with 33-point lead over Kevin Lacroix and will secure the championship no matter where he finishes in the race.

While Labbe has the title in hand as long he starts the race, Lacroix will have his hands full holding onto second place with defending series champion Cayden Lapcevich and D.J. Kennington in contention for the runner-up position in the final standings.

Lapcevich, the 16-year old NASCAR Next driver, sits 23 points behind Lacroix with Kennington, a two-time Pinty’s Series champion himself, just four points behind Lapcevich.

In addition to the podium battle for the final standings, several drivers who visited Victory Lane in 2016 will get one last chance to score a win this season. Among those drivers is Andrew Ranger. Ranger has collected three runner-up finishes so far in 2017.

This is also the first Pinty’s Series race at the newly updated and reconfigured Jukasa Motor Speedway, formerly known at Cayuga Speedway. The speedway hosted the series during its inaugural season in 2007 and has previously hosted four races between 2007 and 2008.

RACE CENTRAL LIVE: EVENT SCHEDULE & ENTRY LIST

Fast Facts:
The Procedure: The maximum starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 21 cars will have secured starting positions through group qualifying  while the remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 200 laps (125 miles), and is an impound race with one practice tire and four change tires allotted for the event.

The Race: The 2017 NASCAR Pinty’s Series schedule will return to Jukasa Motor Speedway for the first time since 2008 when the track was known as Cayuga Speedway. This will be the fifth NASCAR Pinty’s Series race at the track in the history of the series.

The Track:  Jukasa Motor Speedway, 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.

Pole Winners: The first four races at the track produced two different pole winners. D.J. Kennington has the old track qualifying record at 108.251 mph, set in 2007, and Don Thomson, Jr., who now serves as crew chief for Kevin Lacroix, recorded the other three.

Race Winners: Mark Dilley (2008) is the only previous race winner on the old configuration at Jukasa Motor Speedway scheduled to compete in the Pinty’s Fall Brawl 200 on Saturday.

Pinty’s Fall Brawl 200 Race Notes
New lighting and pit road to be used in Fall Brawl: For the first time in the Pinty’s Series they’ll compete under a completely new Musco LED lighting system and crews will have the opportunity to perform pit stops on the newly widened pit road at Jukasa Motor Speedway. 

Several drivers still looking to end winless streaks: D.J. Kennington, Andrew Ranger, Gary Klutt and L.P. Dumoulin are four drivers entered in the Pinty’s Fall Brawl 200 looking to end long winless streaks. Kennington, the only driver to start all 133 races in the history of the Pinty’s Series, last won 50 races ago in 2013, while Dumoulin last visited Victory Lane 39 events ago during his championship season in 2014. It’s been 28 starts for Klutt who won at CTMP in 2015 for his only win to date while Ranger last won in 2016, 19 starts ago. Ranger holds the series record with 22 career wins, while Kennington is tied for second with Scott Steckly at 19.

Kennington Keeps Streak Alive: Kennington, who started from the pole position in the inaugural Pinty’s Series race at Jukasa in 2007, will return to Jukasa to make his 134 start. The St. Thomas, Ontario native is the only driver to start every race since it began operating under NASCAR sanctioning in 2007.

Martin Clinches Rookie Race: Adam Martin has clinched the Jostens Rookie of the Year race and will now concentrate on getting his first series win in the season finale. The Ayr, Ontario driver outdistanced fellow rookie drivers Donald Theetge, Armani Williams and several others in winning the prestigious honor. Martin is the only rookie contender to start all 12 races this season with four top-10 finishes.