Boris Said, driving the No. 09 Ford, won a amazingly close race in Montreal, beating Max Papis by inches and local hero at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 in Montreal.
Andrew Ranger, who won the Canadian Tire race hours before, had an accident early in the race and was forced to pull his car in the garage for lenghty repairs. He never came back out, and retired.
Meanwhile, Ambrose led the race from Villeneuve and Edwards.
The early race was marred by a series of full-course cautions.
Most of the front runners pitted in lap 21, except Robby Gordon who started from the back of the field because his car needed repairs after the qualifying session. He gambled on a different pit strategy.
Following the pit stops, Ambrose was down to 14th and Villeneuve was 15th.
Robby Gordon led from Carl Edwards and Boris Said while Ambrose and Villeneuve were making their way through the traffic.
Lap 29, Edwards moved ahead of Gordon at the hairpin.
On lap 30, the order was Edwards, Gordon, Ambrose, Said and Villeneuve, 7.1 seconds back.
On lap 34, Villeneuve moved into 4th place. Meanwhile, Ambrose was up in second place. On lap 36, Ambrose took the lead from Edwards who was running a full second slower than the Aussie.
At the end of lap 40, Edwards motored ahead of Ambrose. Robby Gordon was 3rd, and Villeneuve was fourth, just 3.9 seconds down. On lap later, Gordon had to pit, promoting Villeneuve to third. Patrick Carpentier was fourth, to the delight of the crowd.
On lap 45, Villeneuve passed Ambrose who suddenly started to slow down. The Australian pitted moment later as his car needed very long repairs. Villeneuve pitted also, without a problem, as well all the other runners. Ambrose returned in action for a few laps, and eventually pulled out of the race.
On lap 50, Carpentier stopped with a broken track bar. He was out of the race, sadly.
Out in front, the order was Edwards, Gordon, Villeneuve and Paul Menard, the leaders running almost identical lap times. Lap after lap, the gaps remained unchanged. And time was running out for Villeneuve…
But on lap 65, car No. 15 of Michael Arnett hit the wall, causing a full course yellow. Villeneuve stopped for a splash of fuel four fresh tires. Edwards also pitted but his car needed repairs.
The field got the green, there were contacts and spins all over the place, causing another full course yellow. Villeneuve, the only one on new tires, was now in 4th place. Another carambolage followed soon after and the race was red flagged on lap 73 to clean up the debris.
After the final restart, Gordon’s car ran out of fuel, and Boris Said passed Max Papis under acceleration on the front straight, beating him by just 0.012 second!
Villeneuve arrived home in third place, followed by Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard, Joey Logano, J.R. Fitzpatrick and Parker Kligerman. What a sensational race that was!
Andrew Ranger, who won the Canadian Tire race hours before, had an accident early in the race and was forced to pull his car in the garage for lenghty repairs. He never came back out, and retired.
Meanwhile, Ambrose led the race from Villeneuve and Edwards.
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| Boris Said (photo: Philippe Champoux/Auto123.com) |
The early race was marred by a series of full-course cautions.
Most of the front runners pitted in lap 21, except Robby Gordon who started from the back of the field because his car needed repairs after the qualifying session. He gambled on a different pit strategy.
Following the pit stops, Ambrose was down to 14th and Villeneuve was 15th.
Robby Gordon led from Carl Edwards and Boris Said while Ambrose and Villeneuve were making their way through the traffic.
Lap 29, Edwards moved ahead of Gordon at the hairpin.
 |
| (photo: Philippe Champoux/Auto123.com) |
On lap 30, the order was Edwards, Gordon, Ambrose, Said and Villeneuve, 7.1 seconds back.
On lap 34, Villeneuve moved into 4th place. Meanwhile, Ambrose was up in second place. On lap 36, Ambrose took the lead from Edwards who was running a full second slower than the Aussie.
At the end of lap 40, Edwards motored ahead of Ambrose. Robby Gordon was 3rd, and Villeneuve was fourth, just 3.9 seconds down. On lap later, Gordon had to pit, promoting Villeneuve to third. Patrick Carpentier was fourth, to the delight of the crowd.
On lap 45, Villeneuve passed Ambrose who suddenly started to slow down. The Australian pitted moment later as his car needed very long repairs. Villeneuve pitted also, without a problem, as well all the other runners. Ambrose returned in action for a few laps, and eventually pulled out of the race.
On lap 50, Carpentier stopped with a broken track bar. He was out of the race, sadly.
Out in front, the order was Edwards, Gordon, Villeneuve and Paul Menard, the leaders running almost identical lap times. Lap after lap, the gaps remained unchanged. And time was running out for Villeneuve…
But on lap 65, car No. 15 of Michael Arnett hit the wall, causing a full course yellow. Villeneuve stopped for a splash of fuel four fresh tires. Edwards also pitted but his car needed repairs.
The field got the green, there were contacts and spins all over the place, causing another full course yellow. Villeneuve, the only one on new tires, was now in 4th place. Another carambolage followed soon after and the race was red flagged on lap 73 to clean up the debris.
After the final restart, Gordon’s car ran out of fuel, and Boris Said passed Max Papis under acceleration on the front straight, beating him by just 0.012 second!
Villeneuve arrived home in third place, followed by Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard, Joey Logano, J.R. Fitzpatrick and Parker Kligerman. What a sensational race that was!
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