(Press Release from New Hampshire Motor Speedway)
Kevin Lacroix celebrates victory in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series Visit New Hampshire 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Saturday (Photo Alac MacRae/NHMS)
LOUDON, N.H. – Kevin Lacroix held on to an early lead and propelled through a dominating drive to become the very first NASCAR Pinty’s Series winner on American soil in the Visit New Hampshire 100, Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“This is a short track for the Cup guys, but for us, it’s super nice, and it was a great feeling to drive here,” said Lacroix after taking the checkered flag. “We’re not used to getting to high speeds, but after a few laps, I got comfortable in the car, and the bumper-to-bumper car was so good. It was an easy way to victory lane. We had a lot of bad luck this year, but we had good luck on our side today.”
Lacroix, driving the No. 74 Bumper to Bumper Dodge, took the lead in the first few laps of the race and became the driver to catch through the entire race. Unfortunately for the field, no one had enough under the hood to challenge Lacroix.
Peter Shepherd III took second place in the No. 79 National Exhaust/Shelby Roofing Ford.
“I’m really excited,” said Shepherd. “With the kind of year we had, to mix it up with the top three was awesome. I didn’t seem to have grip, but aside from that, it was a great run, and I’m glad to have a second today.”
The 100-lap race was a cleanly run event, with just two brief cautions interrupting what was a smooth Pinty’s premiere event at “The Magic Mile.”
Donald Theetge finished the race in third in the No. 24 Mercedes-Benz St. Nicholas/Circuit Acura.
“I think we had a fast car,” said Theetge. “I was waiting and waiting for the end of the race with brakes, gas and tires, because 100 laps is hard and the car is so loose at the end, but it was a good run for us.”
Rounding out the top five were pole sitter Cole Powell in the No. 3 Copps Buildall/Kubota Chevrolet and DJ Kennington in the No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge.
This series had some cool cars, wish there were more. They reminded me a lot of TransAm TA2 road race cars, especially the Challengers. A lot of the drivers didn’t seem that comfortable, seeming to back off a lot earlier, using less brake, than other series going into the corners.