The Stars and Cars of the 2021 NASCAR Pinty’s Series

The NASCAR Pinty’s Series is an entity unto itself.

In other words, there is legitimately nothing like it in stock car competition with a unique driver roster, schedule and race car that reflects it.

First, the Pinty’s Series is the national stock car tour of Canada and was born from the ashes of the Canadian Association of Stock Car Auto Racing … CASCAR … which was acquired by NASCAR in 2006.

COVID-19 notwithstanding, the NASCAR Pinty’s Series traditionally contests over a dozen races per season as far east as Nova Scotia and as far west as the prairies with most events located in Ontario and Quebec.

Half of the schedule takes place on short tracks, a couple more are contested on purpose-built road courses and at least two other prestigious events take place on city streets — typically Toronto and Trois-Rivières

The pandemic has twice delayed it, but a dirt race is still slated for 2022 at Ohsweken Speedway outside of Hamilton, Ontario. The series also twice raced in the United States at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The full-time championship contenders also reflect that diversity, featuring a mix of traditional Late Model graduates, sports car standouts and a pair of former IndyCar Series contenders.

Returning after a one-year hiatus is three-time champion Andrew Ranger, who before winning the Pinty’s crown in 2007, 2009 and 2019, was a Champ Car World Series contender turned NASCAR prospect.

After losing his personal service agreement with Mopar for 2020, Ranger returns to the series in 2021 with Cup Series organization Rick Ware Racing, which will field a Pinty’s Series car in 2021.

L.P. Dumoulin attempted to make it in formula cars and sports cars before finding a home in the Pinty’s Series too. He captured championships in 2014 and 2018 with a team operated in part by hockey great Marc-André Bergeron.

Alex Tagliani, the 2012 Indianapolis 500 pole winner and a Champ Car World Series winner, has raced on the Canadian national tour since 2007 and full-time over the past decade.

Short tracker Jason Hathaway won the six-race Fan Cave Challenge last season, a mini series entirely contested on ovals but will return to a part-time and diver development role within Ed Hakonson Racing this year.

Kevin Lacroix followed the open wheel to stock car path to becoming a Pinty’s Series regular. Brett Taylor has spent time road racing and driving Late Models to become a race winning driver in the Canadian national series.

Then there’s DJ Kinnington, the veteran face of the series, 2010 and 2012 champion and a driver who has contested every race under CASCAR and NASCAR sanctioning since 1998.

The car is best described as the Late Model Stocks With Bad Shocks, a term given the cars by the legendary Ken Schrader. It’s a perimeter rail chassis without bump stops, with big springs, bias ply tires and Watts Links on road and street courses. It’s a 3,000 pound car with just over 500 horsepower and very little in terms of downforce.

It’s a NASCAR stock car.

Every race can be watched live on NBC TrackPass this season in the United States. A quick rundown of the stars and cars can be found below the schedule.

ANDREW RANGER

Andrew Ranger returns to the NASCAR Pinty’s Series after spending the pandemic year without funding and not participating in the Fan Cave Challenge. Thus, in a sense, Ranger is still the defending champion of something resembling a full season but will do so driving a No. 17 entry under the Rick Ware Racing banner.

Ranger, 34, is one of the most successful drivers in the series. He owns series records for wins (22) and poles (22) and won the inaugural NASCAR Pinty’s Series championship in 2007. He is also the all-time championship record holder with three overall. Ranger has also made a handful of starts in the Camping World Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR Cup Series.

L.P. DUMOULIN

The 2021 season marks a decade since WeatherTech Canada joined Louis-Philippe Dumoulin and Dumoulin Competition. Dumoulin has earned two championships in 2014 and 2018 since his 2009 series debut with 10 wins, 58 top-5s and 84 top-10s in 116 races. The 42-year-old was named to the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame over the winter.

His five wins over the past three seasons has made the championship run through his No. 47 team during that time.

ALEX TAGLIANI

Perhaps the driver with the most international fanfare on the tour, Alex Tagliani is in pursuit of his first NASCAR championship this season with the 22 Racing No. 18 colors with financial support from RONA and St. Hubert.

After spending over a decade in Champ Car and IndyCar, Tagliani has reinvented himself over the past decade as a premier stock car driver in his native Canada. While the road and streets have always been his meat and potatoes, Tag has become a player on short tracks too. He spent last season experimenting in anticipation of a full season in 2022. He’s also a fan favorite and a dedicated salesman for his partners.

KEVIN LACROIX

The 32-year-old from Saint-Eustache, Quebec has become one of the most well-rounded drivers in Pinty’s competition over the past half-decade with 13 wins in 63 starts. Two of those wins over the last three years have come on the short tracks, making the former Formula Atlantic driver a complete contender with an average finish to reflect it. There’s very little reason to think the No. 74 won’t again be in the mix this summer.

DJ KENNINGTON

It’s hard to imagine a national Canadian Stock Car tour that doesn’t include DJ Kennington. The 44-year-old driver-owner has made every start in CASCAR and NASCAR since 1998. Across the two divisions, he has two championships 28 wins, 137 top-5s, 202 top-10s and 21 poles in 249 races. With wins in 2018 and 2020, Kennington could be poised to return to the championship mix this season.

TREYTEN LAPCEVICH

The next in the Lapcevich racing heritage, the 16-year-old brother of 2016 Pinty’s champion will make his long awaited full-time run at his own title this year after substituting for Alex Tagliani in the races at Sunset Speedway last year. He finished second in his series debut and fourth in the nightcap after leading 14 laps and that heritage indicates a championship run will be in short order for the 17 year old, too.

The Grimsby, Ontario driver is no stranger to success earning numerous feature-wins between 2015 and 2016 and became the youngest-ever Sunset Speedway Champion and Rookie of the Year in 2015. More recently he finished third in the 2019 APC championship standings claiming three podiums, two of which came at tracks typically featured on the 2021 NASCAR Pinty’s schedule – Jukasa and Sunset. His older brother claims he’s a better race car driver than he is.

THE COMPLETE ENTRY LIST FOR SUNSET