NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (French: Série NASCAR Canadian Tire), commonly abbreviated as NCATS, is a national NASCAR racing series in Canada that derives from the old CASCAR Super Series which was founded in 1981.

History

Now in its fifth season, the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season Capacity crowds have been the hallmark of the young series, racing in front of 50,000 plus fans at Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. The heated action and Canada’s excitement for the NASCAR brand have been two of the primary reasons for the tremendous support.

NASCAR announced in September 2006 the purchase of the CASCAR Super Series,^[1] the top stock-car racing series at the time. At the same time, they announced a long-term sponsorship agreement with Canadian Tire as the title sponsor. They also introduced a television contract was signed with TSN to carry all events as inked with select races being aired live.

The 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season was the first with the first even being held on May 26, 2007 at Cayuga Motor Speedway and Don Thomson Jr. won a spirited battle for the first series win. Andrew Ranger, in his first year of stock-car competition, won the second race at Mosport International Raceway. He took over the lead in the point standings after that event and never relinquished it on his way to the first championship. The first season saw no less than five races decided on last lap passes.

The second season, the 2008 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season, featured Scott Steckly who dominated many events He won three of the first four events of the year and held a tight grip on the driver championship point standings all season long. He set a series record with four victories throughout the year.

The third year, the 2009 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season had Andrew Ranger, taking center stage by winning his second series championship in three seasons. He completed his transition from the open-wheel racing world by incorporating his highly-skilled abilities on the road courses with equally as strong program on the oval tracks. On the season, he won a single-season series record six races—three on road courses and three on ovals.

The 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season belonged to D.J. Kennington. He won his first series title on the power of five wins, nine top fives and 11 top-10 finishes. Kennington battled JR Fitzpatrick for the points lead all season long as the two exchanged the top spot an unprecedented five times. In the Montreal event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, three female drivers (Maryeve Dufault, Caitlin Johnston and Isabelle Tremblay) were in the record setting race that saw 34 drivers enter. This would also be the first live race to be broadcast nationwide on TSN. Kennington finished 2nd to fellow Canadian Tire Series competitor Jason Bowles in the Toyota All-Star Showdown against the fellow NASCAR K&N Pro Series showing that Canadian teams are here to compete.

In just four seasons, seven drivers have moved up to compete in NASCAR's top series. Fitzpatrick, Kennington, Ranger, Steckly and Thomson have competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, while Pierre Bourque and Derek White have raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Ranger finished third in the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series event in Montreal after having a spirited battle with eventual race winner Carl Edwards for much of the race. Many of these young drivers have promising careers in the higher divisions of NASCAR representing Canada's talent.

Tracks

The following are the tracks which have been, and are currently used in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series:

Cars

A gradual implementation of both competition and safety-based modifications have been made to the cars used in the CASCAR Super Series.^[2] These have included a move to a Goodyear 9.5” tire, the same size that is used in all NASCAR stock-car series, on-dash electrical and ignition systems, in-car fire suppression equipment and increased fuel cell protection. In 2009, the option of utilizing the NASCAR spec engine program was introduced. The cars uses steel tube-framed silhouette stock cars powered by carbureted V8 engines. The cars have a relatively high minimum weight, so development of lightweight components is minimal. A number of components are specified by the rules, as parity is given priority over vehicle development. Manufacturer involvement is therefore limited largely to supply arrangements for long-developed crate motors, and branding on the largely standard bodywork.

Wins

Specifications

• Power: 550 hp (410 kW)
• Weight: 3,000 lb (1,400 kg)
• Height: 49 in (1,245 mm)
• Length: 198 in (5,029 mm)
• Wheelbase: 105 in (2,667 mm)
• Width: 75 in (1,905 mm)

Types of cars used include the Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, Dodge Avenger and Pontiac models.

Manufacturer representation

Chrysler

• Dodge Avenger: 2007 - 2010
• Dodge Challenger: 2011 – Present
• Dodge Charger: 2007 - 2010

Ford

• Ford Fusion: 2007 – Present

General Motors

• Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS: 2007-Present
• Chevrolet Impala SS: 2007-Present
• Pontiac: 2007-2010

List of Series Champions

Records

Most Wins

References

External links

• Canadian Tire Series: Official page on NASCAR Home Tracks site
• TSN: Television coverage of the series in Canada