The NASCAR Canada Series will hold its second event of the season this Saturday, June 6, at Autodrome Chaudière in Vallée-Jonction. It will also mark the series’ first 2026 event in Quebec, its first oval-track race of the season, and a doubleheader format featuring two races on Saturday evening. For three-time champion Louis-Philippe Dumoulin, it is always a highly anticipated event.
The driver of the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab car is confident but realistic heading into the weekend: “We had an excellent opening event, finishing second at CTMP (Mosport). We proved that our team did a tremendous job during the offseason, but I don’t want that result to distract us from our main objective, which is to perform consistently throughout the season. We’re heading to Autodrome Chaudière knowing the track and knowing our oval car is competitive, but there are still several unknowns,” explained Dumoulin.
Among those unknowns are the performance of the new McCreary tires being used by all NASCAR Canada competitors this season—making their oval-track debut this weekend—as well as the weather.
A significant chance of rain is currently forecast for the Vallée-Jonction area on Saturday, which could force the event to be postponed until Sunday. “I’m simply hoping that any decision to proceed or postpone is made quickly, out of respect for the work done by all the teams and drivers, but also for the fans. They always turn out in large numbers at Autodrome Chaudière. I love the atmosphere around this track and in the paddock,” Dumoulin added.
Reflecting on the season opener, the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab driver said: “We not only had the speed to contend, but we also executed a strong race strategy. We intend to keep that momentum going.” He continued: “Two 125-lap races are on the schedule this Saturday, which changes the dynamic compared to previous years at this track, where we competed in a single 250-lap event. This time, they’ll be two true sprint races with only a very short break in between. It’s a relatively short oval, with 20 drivers on track, which creates a high risk of incidents. We’ll need to stay out of trouble while being ready to capitalize on every opportunity.”
Over the last four years, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin has recorded three Top-5 finishes at Autodrome Chaudière. “Tire management strategies will be important. It will be interesting to adapt quickly. We’re still early in the season, so we’re continuing to learn how to work with this tire package, but we believe we’ve found a few solutions,” concluded the driver of the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab car.
NASCAR Canada drivers will take part in two practice sessions on Saturday from 11:20 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and from 12:55 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. Qualifying will follow from 4:00 p.m. to 4:20 p.m. The first race is scheduled to start at 6:10 p.m. ET, with the second race set for 8:10 p.m. ET.
LP Dumoulin PR