Pinty’s Series News & Notes: Riverside
Time for Annual Visit to High-Banked Oval in Nova Scotia
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In the 10-year history of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, one stop everyone looks forward to is Riverside International Speedway for the Bumper To Bumper 300.
The race will be held on Saturday, Aug. 20 and once again feature 300 laps of side-by-side competition on the fast .333-mile speedway.
Among the favorites expected to contend for the win will be current points leader Andrew Ranger. Ranger won the season-opener at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, and he has remained out front in the standings thanks to a pair of wins during the first half of the season.
The Roxton Pond, Quebec, native has success at Riverside, scoring a victory there in 2009. He enters the weekend looking to become the third driver to earn multiple victories in Nova Scotia.
Another driver scheduled to compete this weekend is D.J. Kennington, who has multiple wins at Riverside. The St. Thomas, Ontario, driver picked up his first win in 2010 and followed with a victory in the 2012 race. His victories at Riverside have been a good omen in the past, as he scored both of his NASCAR Pinty’s Series championships in the same season he scored his wins at the fast oval.
Veteran Mark Dilley won the inaugural NASCAR Pinty’s Series race held at Riverside International Speedway in 2007 and holds record for most top-fives (seven) and top-10 (nine) finishes at the track. Dilley also is the only driver to finish in the top-10 at Riverside in every start.
Jason Hathaway is also slated to race and will go for his second win at the speedway. The veteran picked up his lone win at Riverside in 2013. He and Kennington will enter the weekend as the only two drivers in series history to start every race.
Cayden Lapcevich and Alex Tagliani enter this race second and third in the standings, respectively, with each driver picking up at least one win on an oval track this season.
| RACE: | Bumper To Bumper 300 |
|---|---|
| PLACE: | Riverside International Speedway, Antigonish, N.S. |
| DATE: | Saturday, Aug. 20 |
| TIME: | 8 p.m. ADT |
| TELECAST: | TSN – Sunday, Aug. 28, 12:30 p.m.; RDS2 – Fri., Sept. 16, 8:30 p.m. |
| TRACK LAYOUT: | .333-mile, banked asphalt oval |
| 2014 POLESITTER: | D.J. Kennington |
| 2015 WINNER: | Scott Steckly |
| EVENT SCHEDULE: | Practice 1-1:30 p.m., Final Practice 2-2:30 p.m., Qualifying 4:40 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 5:15 p.m. |
| TRACK CONTACT: | Paul McLean, 902-863-2410, mclean@riversidespeedway.ca |
| TRACK TWITTER: | @Riverside_NS |
| EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG: | #BumperToBumper300 |
| NASCAR IMC CONTACT: | Tim Southers, (386) 235-3634, tsouthers@nascar.com |
FAST FACTS:
The Race:The 10th annual Bumper To Bumper 300 will be the ninth of 12 championship points events on the 2016 NASCAR Pinty’s Series schedule, and the lone trip of the season to the province of Nova Scotia and Riverside International Speedway.
The Procedure: The maximum starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 21 cars will have secured starting positions based on two-lap time trials and the remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 300 laps (99.99 miles) and is an impound race with two change tires allowed.
The Track: Riverside International Speedway originally opened in 1969 and was modeled after legendary Bristol Motor Speedway. In 2006, the track was completely demolished and rebuilt with a new racing surface, concrete walls, lighting, grandstands, and control tower. Like its U.S. counterpart in eastern Tennessee, Riverside features high-banked turns, but here they are 14 degrees. The frontstretch is 440 feet long with banking of six degrees while the backstretch is also 440 feet but with five-degree banking.
Pole Winners: The first eight Riverside races have produced five different pole winners, led by Scott Steckly’s three. D.J. Kennington set the track record last year on Aug. 15, 2015, of 14.429 seconds, 83.803 mph.
Race Winners: There have been seven different winners in the first nine Pinty’s Series events at Riverside. Only Kennington has two triumphs.
Bumper To Bumper 300 Notes:
Championship Chase Remains Tight: Just five points separates Andrew Ranger and Cayden Lapcevich in the championship standings with only four races remaining in the season. It’s no surprise to see Ranger atop the standings as he’s a two-time series champion (2007 & 2009), however, Lapcevich is having a breakout season and currently leads the battle for the Josten’s Rookie of the Year title.The 16-year-old driver celebrated his first career series win in July and has been in the runner-up position in the standings all season long.
Lacroix Enters Race Hot: Quebec’s Kevin Lacroix enters the Bumper To Bumper 300 as the most recent winner on the Pinty’s Series schedule after a dominating victory at Trois-Rivieres last Sunday. He enters this race having won two of the last three E3 Spark Plug pole awards and will attempt to get his first win on an oval Saturday at Riverside.
Chisholm Returns Looking For Second Win: Donald Chisholm will have plenty on the line Saturday, as he looks to become the second driver to record a win at his home track. The Antigonish, Nova Scotia native rolled to a dominating win in 2014 his first career Pinty’s Series triumph. The series, which contests the bulk of its events in Ontario and Quebec, annually makes trips to western Canada in addition to the Maritimes and Riverside.
Sources: Tim Southers/NASCAR PR