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2026 marks the twentieth season of the Canadian NASCAR championship.
The season opens on May 17 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and fourteen races later, it ends on September 12 at Delaware Speedway.
The cars competing in the NASCAR Canada Series are constructed to specifications and rules common to most stock car series. The chassis is a steel tube frame design covered with a fiberglass body and must weigh no less than 3050 lbs. Body styles are from manufacturers such as Dodge (Challenger), Ford (Mustang), and Chevrolet (Camaro). Engine type and displacement are determined by the vehicle's make and model. The carbureted eight-cylinder motors produce approximately 525 horsepower. Cars are estimated to have a top speed of 160 mph, depending on the gearing. SPECIFICATIONS:
There are some newsworthy items entering the 2026 season:
As has become the tradition, the opening round of the 2026 NASCAR Canada Series was held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Drivers competed on the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course for fifty-one laps in an event titled the CarGurus 200. The contest went into overtime due to several late race cautions. The checkered flag was thrown after fifty-eight laps.
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Thirty-one NASCAR Canada competitors dive into Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s turn one for the start of the CarGurus 200. Leading the pack is the pole-sitter, Gary Klutt, in the No. 71 AutologiQ / Kleen-Flo Dodge Challenger. Immediately behind Klutt is the series' reigning champion and the other front-row qualifier, Marc-Antoine Camirand, driving the No. 96 GM Paillé Chevrolet Camaro. Trailing the leaders are the Chevrolet Camaros of Kyle Steckly and Alex Tagliani. |
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Gary Klutt earned a popular victory in the opening round of the NASCAR Canada Series. Klutt’s first and only win came at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the first race of 2015. He has been the runner-up in the previous three years. Klutt put the No. 71 AutologiQ / Kleen-Flo Dodge Challenger on the pole and led the opening laps. He remained in contention during the race. On the final restart, Klutt was third, but he passed Kyle Steckly and L.P. Dumoulin for the win. |
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L.P. Dumoulin is always a threat to win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The series three-time champion has four victories at the track. Dumoulin was twelfth fastest in qualifying, driving the No. 47 WeatherTech / Omnifab / Bellemere Dodge Challenger. By the mid-point of the race, he caught the leaders. Dumoulin was in a three-way battle for the win during the final laps. He passed Kyle Steckly but could not hold off Gary Klutt and finished second. |
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Successful Late Model racer Kyle Steckly has only competed in fourteen NASCAR Canada events since 2022, yet he is always at the top of the leaderboard. Steckly has a busy 2026 schedule and is competing on both sides of the border. As expected, he was fast in practice and qualified third in the No. 22 Sierra Excavating Chevrolet Camaro. Contact during the race affected the Camaro’s power, and he was unable to challenge Gary Klutt and L.P. Dumoulin and finished third. |
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Almost unnoticed amid all the drama during the contest was Alex Guenette's performance. Guenette won his only series race in 2022 at Trois-Riviers. He drove the No. 39 DLGL / GL Électricité-Automatisations Chevrolet Camaro. During the qualifying session, Guenette recorded the eleventh fastest time. He was able to avoid incidents during the late-race cautions to move up in the order. Unable to challenge Gary Klutt, L.P. Dumoulin, and Kyle Steckly, he finished fourth. |
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The Canadian Tire Motorsport rounds usually include three Klutt entries – the winner, Gary, his father, Peter, and Gary’s brother, Ryan. This year, Ryan was the second Klutt, while Peter did not enter. Ryan piloted the No. 42 Legendary Motorcar / K-Line Dodge Challenger. He was gridded fifteenth for the start of the CarGurus 200. Like most of the top finishers, Klutt avoided the contact during the ‘overtime’ to come home in the fifth spot. In eighteen starts, this was his best result. |
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Darryl Timmers also competes part-time in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. Timmers has entered eight events since 2023, with his best result coming last year at Trois-Rivieres, where he finished sixth. He drove the No. 85 Kendal Hills Supply / Switch Tire Dodge Challenger in the opening. Timmers started twenty-fifth in the thirty-one-car field. During the contest, he advanced eighteen positions to finish seventh and be awarded the Gulf Hard Charger of the event. |
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The reigning NASCAR Canada champion is Marc-Antoine Camirand, who has two additional titles to his credit. Other stats include five victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It was no surprise that he put the No. 96 GM Paillé / Chevrolet Canada Chevrolet Camaro on the front row during qualifying for the CarGurus 200. Camirand led early and was in contention for a win when he was penalized for changing lanes during a restart. He finished tenth. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | SPONSOR / CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Gary Klutt | AutologiQ/Kleen-Flo / Dodge Challenger | 58 | - |
| 2 | 12 | L.P. Dumoulin | WeatherTech/Omnifab / Dodge Challenger | 58 | - |
| 3 | 3 | Kyle Steckly | MBS Mtps/Sierra Excavating / Chevrolet Camaro | 58 | - |
| 4 | 11 | Alex Guenette | DLGL / Chevrolet Camaro | 58 | - |
| 5 | 15 | Ryan Klutt | Legendary Motorcar / Dodge Challenger | 58 | - |
| 6 | 16 | Jean Philippe Bergeron | ERacer/JC Perreault / Ford Mustang | 58 | - |
| 7 | 25 | Darryl Timmers | Kendal Hills Supply / Dodge Challenger | 58 | - |
| 8 | 13 | Connor Bell | Dymon/Sangsin Brake / Chevrolet Camaro | 58 | - |
| 9 | 8 | D.J. Kennington | Castrol/BrimstoneGames / Dodge Challenger | 58 | - |
| 10 | 2 | Marc-Antoine Camirand | GM Paille Chevrolet / Chevrolet Camaro | 58 | - |
| 11 | 20 | Dave Coursol | Carquest / Dodge Challenger | 58 | - |
| 12 | 18 | Simon Charbonneau | TransGestion / Chevrolet Camaro | 58 | - |
| 13 | 21 | Dexter Stacey | Bully's Truck Stop / Chevrolet Camaro | 58 | - |
| 14 | 26 | Ron Tomlinson | Tomlinson Mtps / Chevrolet Camaro | 58 | - |
| 15 | 24 | Josh Hurley | Akers Auto Glass / Ford Mustang | 58 | - |
| 16 | 23 | Domenic Scrivo | Sierra Excavating / Chevrolet Camaro | 58 | - |
| 17 | 9 | Sam Fellows | AER/Novus / Chevrolet Camaro | 58 | - |
| 18 | 7 | William Larue | Larue Industrial / Chevrolet Camaro | 58 | - |
| 19 | 6 | Andrew Ranger | GM Paillé / Chevrolet Camaro | 57 | - |
| 20 | 17 | Mathieu Kingsbury | Duroking/BFL Canada / Chevrolet Camaro | 57 | - |
| 21 | 31 | Jacques Guenette Sr. | DLGL/ViP Software / Chevrolet Camaro | 57 | - |
| 22 | 30 | David Thorndyke | Promotive Racing / Chevrolet Camaro | 53 | - |
| 23 | 19 | Larry Jackson | Superior Propane / Dodge Challenger | 52 | - |
| 24 | 4 | Alex Tagliani | St. Hubert/Bet GRW / Chevrolet Camaro | 51 | Mechanical |
| 25 | 28 | Glenn Styres | GSR/Ohsweken Speedway / Chevrolet Camaro | 48 | - |
| 26 | 27 | Sylvain Oullet | Auto S. Ouellet/Omnifab / Chevrolet Camaro | 22 | Mechanical |
| 27 | 5 | Kevin Lacroix | Carlyle Tools/ / Chevrolet Camaro | 21 | Accident |
| 28 | 29 | Geoff Johnson | Johnson Forest Products / Ford Mustang | 7 | Transmission |
| 29 | 14 | Malcolm Strachan | Curb Records / Ford Mustang | 7 | Electrical |
| 30 | 10 | Tyler Gonzalez | RGR Motorsports / Chevrolet Camaro | 6 | Engine |
| 31 | 22 | Brad Ranson | Wallace Chevrolet / Chevrolet Camaro | 4 | Electrical |
| 32 | 32 | Keith Bean | Bean Chevrolet / Chevrolet Camaro | 0 | Did Not Start |
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