Entering the 2022 season with four runner-up points finishes in the last six seasons, Kevin Lacroix has continued to forge a path that the 33-year-old hopes leads to his maiden championship in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series.
After back-to-back finishes of seventh-place or worse, Friday’s Grand Prix of Toronto brought the Saint-Eustache, Quebec-native’s championship vision back into focus, picking up the victory in the series’ fifth race of the season.
Lacroix’s victory on Friday came in dominating fashion after the driver of the No. 74 Dodge took the top spot away from polesitter Andrew Ranger on lap six, pacing the field for the remainder of the event.
In the closing moments of the event, Andrew Ranger began to apply heavy pressure to the race leader, as the GM Paille Chevrolet Camaro continued to show the spectacular pace that the two-car organization has shown all season.
Lacroix, however, wasn’t shaken by this added pressure, keeping Ranger behind to score his second victory of the season, and the 16th of his NASCAR Pinty’s Series career. Of those 16 wins, 13 have come on road or street courses.
Andrew Ranger would hold on for the runner-up position, marking only his second top-five result of the season to date. LP Dumoulin would round out the podium, with a third-place finish, a season-best for the three-time champion.
Gary Klutt and Alex Tagliani – both championship contenders in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series this season — would round out the top five.
Making his first appearance of the season in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series after running full-time for Rick Ware Racing in 2021, Alex Guenette picked up a sixth-place result for Dave Jacombs Racing.
Part-time drivers Daniel Bois and LP Montour would record solid top-10 results in seventh and eighth-place, while series points leader, Marc-Antoine Camirand, finished in ninth. Treyten Lapcevich, winner at Sunset Speedway earlier this year, completed the top-10.
Exiting Toronto, Kevin Lacroix takes over the top spot in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series point standings, holding a three-point advantage over Marc-Antoine Camirand. Gary Klutt sits third in points, only three points outside of the lead. Alex Tagliani and Treyten Lapevcih round out the top-five.
Next up on the schedule, the NASCAR Pinty’s Series heads to Edmonton International Raceway for the Bayer 300 on Saturday, July 23rd.
