Schedules set for NASCAR Pinty’s Series and Action Sprint Tour

The NASCAR Pinty’s Series and Action Sprint Tour have announced their 2023 schedules.

Canada’s National Stock Car Series will be busy this year with a record 14 events on the schedule at 11 different tracks across five provinces. Pinty’s cars are the only NASCAR-sanctioned series to race on cobblestone ovals, dirt ovals and road courses.

Highlights from this year include two races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, with dates May 21 and September 3 at the Grand Circuit north of Bowmanville. After a successful and popular inaugural race at Ohsweken Speedway’s dirt oval last year, the teams will return this year with two races on August 14 and 15.

In addition to circuit racing at the CTMP, the cars will compete on the street courses of Toronto on July 14, during IndyCar weekend and the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières on August 6. Teams will also return to Eastbound International Speedway in Avondale, NL on June 24.

The Western Canadian swing includes stops in Alberta and Saskatchewan on July 22 and 26. The Quebec tracks of the Autodrome Chaudière on June 10 and the Circuit ICAR on August 26 are also on the program. The race will begin May 13 at Sunset Speedway just south of Barrie and wrap up September 24 at Delaware Speedway.

The Action Sprint Tour for crate-powered sprint cars kicks off May 13 on the dirt at Brockville Speedway. It’s a big 25-event season, with point pools over $35,000.

The race will be split into three series with eight Pinty’s AST National Series events, eight Surprenant Truck Shop AST East Series events and nine Oakwood Transport AST West Series events. National events are scheduled at the Brockville, Brighton, Ohsweken and Humberstone Speedways. The western series schedule also includes Merrittville Speedway along with Ohsweken and Humberstone, while the eastern series schedule brings Can-Am Speedway in upstate New York into the fold of the AST for the first time, as well as the Cornwall Motor Speedway a little further east on the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence River. There will be championships for the east and west legs of the tour, as well as a national title.

Pit Pieces

More race car news with the inaugural Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout January 26-28 at the half-mile Volusia Speedway Park in Florida. More than 30 pilots from three countries are expected to compete, including five from Canada. Glenn Styres, Liam Martin, Dylan Westbrook and Ryan Turner will represent Ontario, and Jordan Poirier of Quebec will race… After a four-year absence, Targa Newfoundland is back. The six-day event in Canada’s newest province kicks off Sept. 16 in the Avalon Peninsula and wraps up Sept. 21 in the Conception Bay area… The Bridgestone-sponsored Canadian National Superbike Championship Series will add a new division this season called Pro Twins. This new development category will include two-cylinder engines with four manufacturers – Aprilia, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki – agreeing to participate.

MT

Tim Miller is a longtime motorsport writer and author of several sports books.