Two weeks after tackling one of New England’s traditional home town tracks, the Granite State Pro Stock Series presented by Hudson International Speedway welcomes a taste of international flavor for the second consecutive year.
Autodrome Chaudière in Vallée-Jonction, Que. rolls out the red carpet this Saturday for the GSPSS’ second-ever bout in “La Belle Province,” the $10,000-to-win Langis Caron 150.
This year’s cross-border convocation pays tribute to former NASCAR North feature winner Langis Caron, whose career at the wheel predates the very existence of the Beauce region bullring. Two of Caron’s biggest wins came close to his Quebec City roots at the long-defunct Autodrome Val-Bélair.
While Caron never turned a competitive lap around Chaudière, last year’s inaugural Canadian winner has plenty of laps around the tough quarter-mile oval. Alexendre Tardif, from nearby Notre-Dame-des-Pins, capped off the transition from Quebec’s Late Model Sportsman ranks to Pro Stocks with his first career win in his first GSPSS start. Now a winner in the United States as well, “Fireball” will be racing Saturday in memory of longtime sponsor and Quebec racing supporter Dany Lagacé, who passed away on Tuesday.
This time around, Tardif has plenty of local rivals to contend for the big prize. NASCAR national racer and 2017 NASCAR Canada Series champion Alex Labbe, who finished fourth last year, is back to finish the job this time around, in search of his first home-province Pro Stock win in over a decade. Raphaël Lessard, another Beauce region ace who emerged as one of the region’s top Late Model stars after a stint in the NASCAR Truck Series, has followed Tardif’s path to Pro Stocks as well. Lessard has never raced with the GSPSS but hopes to harness Tardif’s beginner’s luck.
Jeff Côté, last year’s breakthrough driver in the local Late Model ranks, plans to make his Pro Stock debut Saturday. Michaël Lavoie, another Late Model regular making the Pro Stock transition, joins William Roberge and Jonathan Desbiens as they test the GSPSS waters for the first time.
Leading the charge for the GSPSS regulars are title contenders Jeremy Sorel and Joey Polewarczyk. “Joey Pole” has been whittling points away from Sorel’s season-long advantage, but the veteran driver has not raced at Chaudière since 2015. Sorel has more recent laps, but both drivers will face an uphill battle against the local experts.
Hudson Speedway winner Jimmy Renfrew, Jr., who finished second to Tardif last year, has a Late Model win at Chaudière in 2023 and will try to do one better this weekend.
Maine’s Jamie Wright leads another group of hungry challengers stalking DJ Shaw in the standings, with title hopeful Evan Beaulieu hunting for shards of luck to salvage his struggling season.
Returning to the GSPSS at Chaudière are Maine’s Nick Jenkins, a regular visitor for the series’ coastal Maine dates, and Andy Gilbert, who made his series debut at Chaudière last year from his Jackman, Me. home.
With big money on the line Saturday evening, the GSPSS continues to build on its presence in Quebec. Will “Fireball” Tardif repeat as home track hero, will one of his countrymen keep the trophy over the international border, or will one of the GSPSS’ regular contenders bring the spoils back home?
The Granite State Pro Stock Series presented by Hudson International Speedway ventures to Canada this weekend for Saturday’s Langis Caron 150 at Autodrome Chaudière. The GSPSS holds court for 150 laps on the high banks, with Chaudière’s weekly NASCAR divisions rounding out an action-packed, 5-feature program. Adult tickets are just 50$CAD with kids’ only 25$CAN each.