VALLÉE-JONCTION, QUE. — For a second straight race, Jimmy Renfrew, Jr. unseated the local favorite to make the most of his sparse appearances with the Granite State Pro Stock Series presented by Hudson International Speedway.
Renfrew topped defending race winner Alexendre Tardif Saturday evening to claim the $10,000 Langis Caron 150 at Autodrome Chaudière, becoming the first American driver to win a GSPSS race north of the border.
Tardif, who dominated last year’s inaugural GSPSS visit to “La Belle Province,” led a strong Canadian contingent aiming to keep the series’ trophy and the big pay day on the Canadian side of the international border.
But Renfrew, a former winner at the Quebec bullring, gave “Fireball” a run for his money in a briskly-paced feature around the high-banked quarter-mile.
The Candia, N.H. pilot prevailed over the long-distance feature, picking up his second straight GSPSS win and the fourth of his career, all coming on quarter-mile ovals.
Tardif, making only his second GSPSS start, held on for second, with fellow Quebecer Alex Labbé coming home third.
Evan Beaulieu ran into mechanical issues even before getting to the track, but the Maine native and his team made the most of an abbreviated practice day to run in the top three through the afternoon before settling for fourth.
Points leader Jeremy Sorel made up ground late in the going to come home fifth, building on his advantage over 2020 GSPSS champion Joey Polewarczyk.
Quebec Late Model standout Jeff Côté was sixth in his own GSPSS debut, followed by former NASCAR Truck Series race winner Raphaël Lessard. Fast qualifier Polewarczyk was eighth, with Canadians William Roberge and Michaël Lavoie rounding out the top ten.
After a busy mid-summer stretch, the GSPSS teams have nearly a month to prepare for back-to-back trips to Speedway presented by Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. The Stan Meserve Classic is scheduled for September 12, giving teams a tune-up before Speedway’s 200-lap season finale in early October. Details on the two trips to Maine will be released shortly.
Results, Langis Caron 150 at Autodrome Chaudière:
1. (00) Jimmy Renfrew, Jr.
2. (21QC) Alexendre Tardif
3. (21L) Alex Labbé
4. (56) Evan Beaulieu
5. (7MA) Jeremy Sorel
6. (51QC) Jeff Côté
7. (48) Raphaël Lessard
8. (97) Joey Polewarczyk
9. (83) William Roberge
10. (56) Michaël Lavoie
11. (17) Andy Gilbert
12. (81) Dan Winter
13. (17B) Marco Gilbert
14. (84) Jamie Wright
15. (83X) Jonathan Desbiens