Last year's NASCAR-Canadian Tire Series champ, Quebec's Andrew Ranger, won a hard-earned victory in the recent NAPA 100 on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal last weekend.

Driving a Ford for team owner Dave Jacombs, of Empire Corners, the 21-year old former Champ Car series driver started third in the 23-lap event, and stayed up in the front to take the win. He was followed by Scott Steckly, of Milverton, and Kerry Micks, of Mount Albert, who won this event a year ago.

Former CASCAR Super Series champ, Hamilton's Don Thomson placed fifth in his Chevy, and right behind him was Grimsby's Jeff Lapcevich, making his second appearance of the year behind the wheel of one of the Hamilton-based Fastline Motorsport cars. Lapcevich's brother Jim, of Hamilton, was running a good race and was up to 10th after starting 18th in the 33-car field, but engine woes later in the race kept him out of contention.

Steckly leads the series after seven of 13 races, with Thomson in second. Ranger, who won $4,750 in the Montreal race, is fourth in the standings.

The main event at the track was the NAPA Auto Parts 200, a race in NASCAR's Nationwide Series, and the only stock car race of this stature in Canada.

Mississauga's Ron Fellows, Canada's top road racer today, won the rain-shortened event in his JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The two-time Le Mans class winner opted for rain tires during the event, and the strategy paid off.

Patrick Carpentier, who has gone from open-wheeled competition to stock car racing, placed second in a Dodge. Fellow Quebec racer Jacques Villeneuve also ran on the track named after his late father Gilles, qualified fifth, but was involved in a smash on lap 47 and finished 16th.

Other Canadians in the race included former Cup racers Trevor and Wheeler Boys, who are originally from Alberta, and D.J. Kennington, of St. Thomas. Ranger also competed in the Nationwide race, finishing 28th.

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WEEKEND WINNERS: Mitchell Brown, of Brantford, was the big winner in the annual Art Hill Memorial race for Mini-Stocks at Ohsweken Speedway last weekend. Brown started second in the 42-lap race, the ninth annual race held in memory of Hill, who lost his life racing at the clay oval. James Michael Friesen, of St. Catharines, took the 50-lap Lucas Oil Sportsman feature, followed by Mike Bowman, also of St. Catharines, and Port Colborne's Chad Chevalier ... The TNT Super Series for 10.90 drag racers will hold a race at Dunn Tire Raceway Park in Lancaster, N.Y., tomorrow, and will be at the Cayuga Dragway Sunday for a rescheduled event.

Ray Hughes, of Kitchener, won the Flamboro Speedway round in Canadian Vintage Modified competition last Saturday. Following Hughes and his 1933 Plymouth was Oakville's Ron Easton with his 1931 Chevy ... Burlington's Chris Holman finished fifth in the 22-car field for the Portland, Ore., stop of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup. He's fourth in the standings.

Tim Miller is a longtime motorsports writer and author of several books on the sport.