Marc-Antoine Camirand claimed his first NASCAR Canada Series victory of the 2026 season on Sunday in the first half of a Twin 125 at Autodrome Chaudière in Quebec.
The three-time champion outdueled veteran short tracker Donald Theetge through lapped traffic, making the winning pass on Lap 78. It was a respectful battle between two veterans with no bumpers involved.
Camirand worked on completing the pass from the bottom for 10 laps and took 10 more laps to clear him entirely. There was no contact whatsoever. The battle allowed Alex Labbe to close in on both but wasn’t able to make anything of it before a caution on Lap 85 for a stack-up that involved Alex Tagliani and LP Dumoulin.
CAUTION ALERT⚠️
The No. 47 and the No. 3 car make contact in Turn 3 on lap 85 of the Bud Light 125. pic.twitter.com/oFSqd5z5Ud
The three ran nose-to tail for the next 25 laps before another caution involving Dumoulin and Tagliani and then the final run to the green. Will Larue got Labbe for third in the closing laps.
“That wasn’t an easy race and we still don’t know how these (McCreay) tires are going to respond over a long run, with this being the first oval race on them,” Camirand said. “Theetge passed me early and I felt like I had to better car so it was a matter of patience so we’ll see if we can do it again in the next one.”
Camirand finished 10th in the season opener at Mosport and said he needed this one to get back on track.
“We had a fast car but just had some mechanical issues and it was good to get one back here in Vallée-Jonction.
What more did Theetge need?
“The car was better at the start and that’s why we passed him but we just got so tight by halfway so that’s why I couldn’t stay on the bottom,” Theetge said. “I let him go and just was willing to finish second and have a good points day and keep the car healthy for the second race.”
The starting lineup for the second race is determined by fastest laps in the first race. Camirand will lead the field to green ahead of Theeteg, DJ Kennington, Kevin Lacroix and Andrew Ranger.
Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.
