After competing in Ontario at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in May and in Quebec earlier this month during the doubleheader weekend at Autodrome Chaudière, the NASCAR Canada Series heads to the Maritime provinces this weekend as Riverside International Speedway, located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, hosts the fourth event of the 2026 season.
For Louis-Philippe Dumoulin, driver of the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab car, this is more than simply racing in a third province this season. Family ties connect him to the Maritimes, and the Antigonish oval has been the site of some of his finest NASCAR Canada performances.
After claiming both the pole position and the race victory in 2018, Dumoulin has recorded eight Top-10 finishes in 12 starts at the track. “My mother is from the Maritimes, specifically southern New Brunswick, so this race feels a bit like another home event for me. My wife and our children will once again be making the trip, and I really enjoy Riverside International Speedway. In my opinion, it’s one of the best oval tracks in Canada. It’s a one-third-mile oval where drivers can race side-by-side through several consecutive corners. For the fans in the grandstands, which are often packed, I believe we put on a great show every year,” said the driver of the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab Chevrolet.
For the three-time series champion, NASCAR Canada’s only visit to the Maritimes each season is particularly exciting because the conditions are expected to differ from those of the previous events: “This will be our first night race of the season, and the temperatures should be cool, which will make things very interesting from a setup standpoint. We made several changes to the car after the issues we encountered at Autodrome Chaudière. In addition, the new tire being used in the series this season should perform well on this oval.”
“I enjoy longer races that require strategy. This time, we’ll be changing both right-side tires during the race. There will be two mandatory pit stops for everyone, after laps 100 and 200 of the 300-lap event. That means we need to be aggressive enough to stay on the lead lap during the first two segments, before going all-out for the win in the final third of the race,” concluded the driver of the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab car.
NASCAR Canada drivers will take to the track on Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. ET) for a 30-minute practice session. A second practice session will follow from 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET). The traditional autograph session is scheduled from 4:30 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. (3:30 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. ET), while qualifying is set for 5:50 p.m. (4:50 p.m. ET). The green flag for the Pinty’s 300 is scheduled to wave at 9:10 p.m. (8:10 p.m. ET).
Rain may accompany the drivers on Saturday, but the risk of showers is lower than originally forecast for Antigonish. Event organizers have reaffirmed their intention to present the full program according to the scheduled timetable on Saturday, June 27.