ST-EUSTACHE, QC – Sylvain Lacombe earned his fourth consecutive St-Eustache 300 victory in the Serie ACT-Castrol Late Model stock car season finale at Autodrome St-Eustache near Montreal on Saturday night. Alexandre Gingras of Val-Belair, QC narrowly clinched his first series championship after a rough outing, finishing 17th unofficially to beat Karl Allard by just three points.
Gingras was running among the lead pack when he suffered a broken right-front wheel hub, just two laps after championship rival Allard lost a lap after spinning his car. Gingras’ SkyJet-sponsored team repaired the car in the pits, losing 11 laps in the process. He limped home running at the finish after losing one more lap on the race track, while Allard finished 8th,
unofficially, the first car one lap behind the leaders.
Lacombe’s victory had several twists, including a lap-94 pit stop for fresh tires, a brief rain delay on lap 110, a flat tire suffered by leader Patrick Laperle during a lap-179 caution period, and a city-mandated curfew that shortened the race to 200 laps. The driver from nearby Terrebonne, QC started on the pole position and led until his lap-94 pit stop. He nosed ahead for the lead on lap 134 before settling in behind Laperle until taking over for the final time with twenty circuits remaining.
Normand Lavigueur of Laval, QC finished second in only his second Serie ACT-Castrol appearance of the season. Laperle, of St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC recovered to finish in third place after passing his cousin, Jacques Laperle with five laps to go. Jacques Laperle, also of St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC, finished fourth over Jean-Francois Dery of Quebec, QC. Martin Goulet of
Montreal finished sixth in his only Castrol race of the year, with veteran Claude Leclerc of Lanoraie, QC seventh. Allard, of St-Felicien, QC was followed, unofficially, by Stephane Descoste of Oka, QC and Stayner, ON teenager Brandon Watson.
Gingras’ final championship point margin was 643-640 over Allard, unofficially. Dery finished third overall at 613 points, followed by Leclerc at 600 in fourth, and Yvon Bedard and Martin Lacombe, tied at 568 each. Gingras will be honored at the Serie ACT-Castrol Banquet of Champions later in the year. For more information, call (802) 244-6963 or visit www.laserieactcastrol.com or www.acttour.com.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – St-Eustache 300
Serie ACT-Castrol – Autodrome St-Eustache – St-Eustache, QC
Saturday, September 20, 2008
(# – denotes rookie)
Pos.-Driver-Hometown
1. Sylvain Lacombe, Terrebonne, QC
2. Normand Lavigueur, Laval, QC
3. Patrick Laperle, St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC
4. Jacques Laperle, St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC
5. Jean-Francois Dery, Quebec, QC
6. Martin Goulet, Montreal, QC
7. Claude Leclerc, Lanoraie, QC
8. Karl Allard, St-Felicien, QC
9. Stephane Descoste, Oka, QC
10. Brandon Watson, Stayner, ON
11. Jacques Poulin, Easf-Broughton, QC
12. # Spencer MacPherson, Carleton Place, ON
13. Jonathan Desbiens, Levis, QC
14. Max Descoste, St-Joseph-du-Lac, QC
15. Jacques Guenette, Mascouche, QC
16. Daniel Bergeron, St-Benoit, QC
17. Alexandre Gingras, Val-Belair, QC
18. Martin Lacombe, Terrebonne, QC
19. Dany Ouellet, La Pocatiere, QC
20. # Patrick Hamel, St-Edouard-de-Lotbiniere, QC
21. # Jonathan Urlin, London, ON
22. Mario Gosselin, Lakes Wales, FL
23. Steven Boissonneault, Lyster, QC
24. Dave Pembroke, Middlesex, VT
25. Yvon Bedard, St-Nicolas, QC
26. Daniel Descoste, St-Joseph-du-Lac, QC
27. Stephane Durand, Quebec, QC
28. Kevin Roberge, Levis, QC
29. Bob Hudon, St-Etienne, QC
30. Steve Cote, Ile-Bizard, QC
31. Pierre Gratton, Mirabel-sur-Jean-Marche, QC
32. Claude Lepage, La Vactrie, QC
33. Sylvain Metivier, Montreal, QC