Lacroix Retakes Pintys Points Lead with Toronto Win

The race came down to the final corners.

Late Models

by Racing America on Jul 16, 2022

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He made it look easy.

In a masterclass, Kevin Lacroix dominated the Grand Prix of Toronto, holding off a hard-charging Andrew Ranger in the process, to earn his second win of the season, second ever on the streets of Toronto (the first was 2017) and 16th of his NASCAR Pinty’s Series career.

Lacroix, who started fourth, quickly made his way to the front, taking the lead from three-time Toronto winner Andrew Ranger on a Lap 5 restart into Turn 1 and didn’t look back.

Lacroix suggested the race may have been won on the grid during pre-race festivities.

"Normally, the wait in the car before the start is always gruesome, but this time, that made me win the race," Lacroix said. "I was in my car ready to go on the track, and since I had a lot of time, I took note of my reference points in my mirror, a trivial thing I don't usually do. This exercise on the false grid allowed me to go from 4th to 2nd place during a restart since I didn't hesitate about the space between my competitor and my car."

The win marks Lacroix’s fourth top-five result in five career starts at Toronto and third overall this season. Entering the race 10 points behind then championship leader Marc-Antione Camirand, Lacroix takes hold of the points lead by three, as the No. 96 ran into a myriad of issues throughout the day.

Problems began early, as Camirand was sent to the rear for failing to use his designated qualifying tires for the race itself. From 25th, he quickly made his way up to 13th. But an on-track run-in with Peter Klutt while battling for position saw Camirand sustain major front-end damage and forced him to pit road, losing multiple laps.

Ranger, LP Dumoulin, Gary Klutt and Alex Tagliani rounded out the top five finishers with Alex Guenette, Daniel Bois, L.P. Montour, Camirand and Treyten Lapcevich completing the top 10.

The NASCAR Pinty’s Series heads next to Edmonton International Speedway on Saturday, July 23 for the Bayer 300, the sixth race of the 2022 season.

NASCAR Pintys Grand Prix of Toronto
Streets of Toronto
July 15 2022