Joey Doiron: PASS North Series
Autodrome Chaudiere Race Preview
THE STORY
Joey Doiron of Berwick, Maine, heads north of the border for the second straight PASS North Series race, when the series competes in the Habitations Dany Lagace 150 at Autodrome Chaudiere in Vallee Jonction, Que., on Saturday, June 25. The event marks the PASS debut at Chaudiere. Doiron enters the weekend off consecutive Top-10 finishes on the tour, and he will be one of the few drivers in the field with on-track experience on Chaudiere’s high banks. Doiron is ninth in the series standings through three races.
THE FACTS
WHO: Joey Doiron, Berwick, Maine
TEAM: No. 73 JBJ Machine/Dale Shaw Race Cars Chevrolet
CREW CHIEF: John Doiron, Berwick, Maine
BEST CAREER AUTODROME CHAUDIERE FINISH: N/A
LAST RACE AT AUTODROME CHAUDIERE: N/A
WHAT: PASS North Series Habitations Dany Lagace 150
WHERE: Autodrome Chaudiere, Vallee Jonction, Que. (.25-mile banked oval)
WHEN: 9 p.m., Saturday, June 25
PASS North Series
LAST RACE: June 11, PASS 200, Speedway 660, Geary, N.B. (9th)
NEXT RACE: July 2, Firecracker 150, Canaan Fair Speedway, Canaan, N.H. (.333-mile oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 9th
DID YOU KNOW?
Joey Doiron jumped seven spots in the PASS North Series standings, from 16th to 9th in the last two races.
Joey Doiron competed as a rookie on the ACT Late Model Tour at Autodrome Chaudiere in 2009.
Joey Doiron finished 10th at Star Speedway last month and then posted a season-best 9th-place run at Speedway 660 last week.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
JOEY DOIRON, Driver of the No. 73 JBJ Machine/Dale Shaw Race Cars Chevrolet, On heading to Autodrome Chaudiere: “It’s definitely as bullring as you can get. It’s really tight, but it’s got pretty good banking. It’s pretty much a drag strip with two corners at the end.
Whoever can get their car to turn the best will have the best night. Everyone will probably struggle with that a little, so it will probably come down to who has the most horsepower. That might not be so good for us, because we’re taking our crate engine, but at least we know what to expect in terms of handling there. So, that should help us.
“I’m looking forward to going there. When I saw it on the schedule at the start of the year, I circled it as one of the places where we had a good shot at running up front all night. It’s as close to Star as we can get. But at the same time, we can’t afford to have another Star (where the car was severely damaged in a last-lap accident). It’s a Catch-22.”
On whether his Chaudiere experience will be a factor: “I think so. I have more experience than most everyone in the field – Alexandre Gingras has been there, Patrick Laperle might be there, and those guys have a lot of laps there, too. I’m sure a lot of people have tested, but I think with 15-20 cars around you, it’s the kind of place where you can throw that out the window.
“You can worry about things like gearing in the car and baseline setups and all of that beforehand, but once you get out there, you’re not going to able to use the whole race track the way you want. There’s just not enough room.”
On competing at Beech Ridge during the off-weekends: “It was good for us. We ruled out one setup, and got back to having the car run more like it did last year. That’s pretty big strides for us, considering how (Speedway) 660 went.
“It didn’t necessarily look like we were the fastest car ever (at Beech Ridge), but if you look at how the car handled I feel pretty confident that we’re making strides to get back to where we were last year. I think we were a lot more consistent.”
UP NEXT
The PASS North Series races on consecutive weekends for the first time this season with the Firecracker 150 at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, N.H., on Saturday, July 2… Joey Doiron finished 15th in the event in 2010.
Read more on the PASS forum – http://www.neracingforum.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=17