TROIS-RIVIERES, Quebec — The NASCAR Canada Series returns to the streets of Trois-Rivières this weekend for Le 45 Tours CarGurus as part of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.
More than 30 drivers are expected to compete on the series’ first street circuit of the season, which will also mark the debut of the Sprints Omnifab, two 15-lap Duels to be held on Saturday.
The entire event will be televised live on SPEED SPORT 1.
While qualifying will continue to determine the front row for Sunday’s Le 45 Tours CarGurus, the remainder of the starting lineup will be decided through two 15-lap Duels. The two fastest qualifiers will start first and second, while Duel 1 will establish the inside row of the grid from third position onward and Duel 2 the outside row. The top five finishers in each Duel will also earn championship points, with five points awarded to the winner, followed by four, three, two and one.
Sunday’s Le 45 Tours CarGurus will feature several former winners at GP3R. Defending race winner Andrew Ranger returns after earning his fifth career NASCAR Canada Series victory at Trois-Rivières last season in the No. 27 GM Paillé Chevrolet, extending his record as the event’s winningest driver. Also entered are former GP3R winners Marc-Antoine Camirand in the No. 96 GM Paillé / Chevrolet Canada, Alex Guenette behind the No. 39 DLGL / GL / Electricite-Automatisation Chevrolet, Alex Tagliani in the No. 80 St-Hubert / The UPS Store Chevrolet, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin behind the No. 47 WeatherTech / Bellemare / Omnifab Dodge, Kevin Lacroix driving the No. 74 NAPA Gold Filters / NAPA Racing Chevrolet and D.J. Kennington behind the No. 17 Castrol / Brimstone Games / CIM Metals Dodge.
The Dumoulin brothers, Louis-Philippe and Jean-François in the No. 04 Omnifab / Bellemare / Bernier Crépeau / Trois-Rivières Mitsubishi Dodge, will both compete in front of their hometown fans this weekend.
Local star Raphaël Lessard also returns home to Trois-Rivières for his first NASCAR Canada Series start of the 2026 season in the No. 28 Trois-Rivières Lions / Duclos Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram with DJK Racing while competing in the NASCAR Euro Series. Italian driver Vittorio Ghirelli also returns to GP3R in the No. 50 Rousseau Metal Chevrolet after making his series debut at the event last season. Ghirelli currently leads the V8GP drivers’ standings in the NASCAR Euro Series.
Former NFL player Jared Odrick will make his NASCAR Canada Series debut with the No. 24 BC Race Cars Inc Ford. Odrick, who played for the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars, is scheduled to compete in the remaining road course events on the 2026 calendar.
Championship leader Marc-Antoine Camirand enters the weekend with 397 points, followed by Kevin Lacroix with 343, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin with 334 and D.J. Kennington with 323.
“This race is always one of the highlights of our season,” said Kennington. “The fans at Trois-Rivières are incredible, the atmosphere is unlike anywhere else we race, and this circuit is demanding and surrounded by concrete so there’s no room for error. Adding sprint races this year will take the competition to a whole new level.”
Rookie Connor Bell rounds out the top five in the standings with 301 points and currently leads the JOSTENS Rookie of the Year battle.
Watch coverage of GP3R beginning at 3 p.m. ET on Friday on SPEED SPORT 1. Sunday’s NASCAR Canada finale will be shown live at 2:15 p.m. ET on SS1.