Column By: STEPHEN DURHAM / RPW – LOUDON, NH – When the Pinty Series rolled and took the first green flag of the day it was Cole Powell and Kevin Lacroix bringing the field to the green.
Early on it was Powell out front early on but then began to fade back as Lacroix would take hold of the field. Talking to Powell afterward, he talked about the car getting really loose on him and not handling properly early on. Was able to make some adjustment around the mid-portion of the race under caution and get the car back underneath him, but would still fight handling issues for the rest of the race. Powell was still proud on achieving his first ever pole and getting to be up front.
Once Kevin Lacroix got out front, there was no looking back for the Quebec native. Leading every lap from lap eleven until the checkered flag. Only one caution would come out to give the field another chance on lap 45 for debris.
Once the green came back out, Lacroix was in charge of the field and had the 74 machine looking smooth around the Magic Mile. Lacroix was thankful for the fast car after talking about having issues in practice on Friday. “The car was so good, it was nice not to push hard so we could save fuel and tires and save his stuff up over the length of the race,” is what Lacroix had to say after the race. The win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway marks Lacroix second win of the 2018 campaign.
Finishing runner-up for the inaugural race at the Magic Mile for the Pinty Series was Peter Shepherd III, who came from the ninth starting spot. Shepherd was thankful to be able to get the podium finish and talked about how the car felt better on longer runs and was happy with the long green-flag runs. With a couple laps to go Shepherd was running 3rd to Marc-Antoine Camirand who would run out of gas.
Coming home in third for the Pinty Series was Donald Theetgeout of Quebec. Theetge started 7th and was able to work himself up through the field. The Quebec native said it was nice to have the caution around the midway point to get gas and have the car ready and competitive bring the car home in third place.
The points leader for the NASCAR Pinty Series, L.P. Dumoulin came into the day with a five-point lead over Alex Tagliani. Dumoulin would roll off eighth and battle some handling issues during the race but would bring it home in eight. The championship leader really enjoyed the atmosphere New Hampshire Motor Speedway had and the fans that were there and wants to get the car set up better for next year to come back faster.
While it was the first visit with the NASCAR Pinty Series here in the United States, Alex Tagliani made his return to the Magic Mile and gave his thoughts to Race Pro Weekly at the Magic Mile
His thoughts were on the Magic Mile were “Fantastic and exciting to be here and see what our car has, the track is a different animal for us, it is quicker than the places we are used too.”
