Hectic Doubleheader for Paillé Course//Racing in Antigonish - Speedway Digest

Paillé Course//Racing had an eventful day to end its Eastern Canada trip in the NASCAR Canada series, with both drivers Andrew Ranger and Marc-Antoine Camirand having difficult races at Riverside Speedway, on Saturday, in Antigonish, NS.

Both Paillé Course//Racing drivers were hoping to carry their momentum from the last race and aimed for podium finishes for this doubleheader on the 3/8 mile high-banked oval track. But it turned out to be two very animated races for both.

Eight on the starting grid of the first 150-lap race, the Pro-Line 150, Andrew Ranger managed to climb some track positions, not without rubbing tires with other competitors.

“It’s been a very heated race for me and most of the other drivers. With about 50 laps to go, I had extensive damages to the front of my car. I have been called to pits to secure body parts, and the direction of the car was also affected,” told Ranger, who managed to finish in 6th place in the first race.

The second race of the night, the Choko 150, was not less animated for the driver of the GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n°27 Camaro. “Just like in the first race, I had heated battles with some other competitors as well. I had to come down to the pit and got a penalty that made me lose two laps with about 50 laps to go,” explained Ranger, who was given a free pass and finally scored an 8th-place finish with one lap down.

“In the circumstances, I think that this is not too bad that we left with 6th and 8th place finishes and still managed to score good points for the championship. My team did an incredible work in between the two races to fix extensive damages to my car,” concluded Ranger.

Marc-Antoine Camirand also ran two hectic races. Fifth on the starting grid, he managed to stay in the top ten throughout the first race, and was in a heated battle in the top five with about 50 laps to go, when he was hit in the back by another driver and spun.

“It is very difficult to pass on this track, so I tried to gain back as many positions as I could at the end of the race,” said Camirand, who finished the Pro-Line 150 in 7th place.

Sixth at the start of the second race, Camirand was showing great speed and climbing up the field. “With about fifty laps to go, I was trying hard to pass to take the third spot, but then a yellow came out,” said Camirand.

At the restart, the Big One happened when the car in front of Camirand hit the wall in the back straightaway and Camirand couldn’t avoid the collision.

“There is nowhere I could go. I hit pretty hard, and a car behind also hit me in the back before I could come out of the pack. I tried to stay on track, because at first, there was no apparent major mechanical damages. We wanted to finish the race and collect as many championship points as possible.”

However, at the restart, the GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n°96 Camaro had a broken rear suspension that forced Camirand to retire. “We did everything we could, but unfortunately, I couldn’t go back on track. This doubleheader is not what we were hoping for and we have had some hard luck here today, but we will work hard to come back strong,” concluded Camirand, who scored a 11th-place finish in the Choko 150.

Paillé Course//Racing, with Andrew Ranger and Marc-Antoine Camirand, will now head to Ohsweken Speedway, in Ohsweken, ON, for the series only stop on a dirt track this year, on July 11th.

PCR PR