Wins on both ovals and road courses lead to dominant 2009 season for Andrew Ranger

For the second time in three years, Andrew Ranger claimed the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 championship, but beyond the trophy and the ring, his two title-winning seasons were nothing alike.

 

Ranger, 22, is still new to the NASCAR side of the sport having just 43 combined starts between the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Add a CASCAR Super Series start in 2006 along with less than a handful of other events and that is all the stock-car racing experience the product of Roxton Pond, Que., has. So, to have a pair of championships in such a short time against some of the best competition that both Canada and the United States can offer is truly a testament to his ability to handle a race car.

 

“I’ve been racing for a long time and (Ranger), by leaps and bounds, is better than anyone I have ever seen. He’s an amazing talent,” said fellow NASCAR Canadian Tire Series competitor Mark Dilley.

Despite his limited experience in stock cars, his racing résumé is long at a young age. Beginning, like many youngsters, in karting, where he has a litany of wins, titles and championships, Ranger followed in the footsteps of his boyhood idol, and Canadian racing legend, Gilles Villeneuve to the open-wheel racing world. He still carries Villeneuve’s number 27 on his Walmart/Tide-sponsored Ford Fusion.

Ranger number 27 on Jacombs Racing /  Walmart/Tide-sponsored Ford Fusion

After winning top rookie honors in 2004, at the age of 17, in the Atlantic Series, he seized an opportunity to move into the big leagues. Prior to the 2008 reunification of the two premier circuits – Champ Car and IRL – the top level of open-wheel racing was fractured and success was difficult to achieve, but Ranger raced on the Champ Car circuit to solid reviews and good results.

He finished 10th in the point standings for both the 2005 and 2006 seasons and became the youngest podium finisher in series history by turning in a second-place effort on May 22, 2005 in Monterrey, Mexico at the age of 18 years, 183 days. All told, he scored 16 top-10 finishes in 27 Champ Car starts over the two seasons, but the Quebec wunderkind was not happy with the current state of affairs and political upheaval in that portion of the sport leading him to explore his options.

In September 2006 the landscape of stock-car racing in Canada changed with NASCAR moving north of the border with the birth of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. This brought both stability and credibility to the sport there with the already strong foundation laid by CASCAR, the sanctioning body that controlled the foremost stock-car racing series in the country prior to NASCAR coming to town.

The timing could not have been better for Ranger, who was in the market for a new gig.

“The Champ Car and Indy Car thing was a mess,” said Ranger. “I didn’t enjoy it. It was all about the money. It’s a business and I understand that, but no one was willing to commit to anything beyond the next race. NASCAR was much more settled from the top down.”

Indeed it was, and is, less volatile, but switching disciplines meant learning a far different car and sliding down a few rungs on the ladder to compete against seasoned veterans at their game and in their ballpark. The predominance of the open-wheel competition Ranger had done was on road courses while the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series was centered on short-track ovals.

“Not only were the cars very different, but I had never even been to most of the tracks,” said Ranger. “All the other guys knew their cars in and out and the tracks, too.”

The 2007 season schedule worked to his advantage with four of the first eight events coming on road courses – an area where the divide of knowledge wasn’t as wide – and car owner Dave Jacombs along with crew chief Bill Burns were able to coach the youngster through those initial races with great success in the road races and enough to get by on the ovals. Ranger won in his second career series start on the 2.459-mile road course of Mosport International Raceway near Bowmanville, Ont.

It proved to be his only victory en route to the 2007 title, but coupled with runner-up finishes in the other three road-course events on the slate and solid, not great, outings on the ovals, it was enough. With two-thirds of the season in the books he sat atop the point standings which applied a great deal of pressure on the remaining contenders. A couple drivers – DJ Kennington and Don Thomson Jr. – mounted challenges in the final four events, but neither could make up the original difference.

The 2008 season was more of the same – great work on the road courses while the oval program remained a work in progress. Ranger finished fourth in the standings even with skipping the final race of the year to compete in a NASCAR Nationwide Series event.

When the 2009 season got underway no one knew it, but a bomb was set to go off, and the stage was set for a dominating performance – one that history will prove to be one of the best. Ranger was now on as equal footing as he could ever be in terms of knowledge of both the car and the tracks which allowed his gifted abilities to shine.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF A CHAMPIONSHIP

CHAMPION CREW CHIEF PROFILE: Bill Burns

The championship equation in racing includes driver, equipment and crew. Overseeing each of those components is the crew chief. He’s the go-to guy – the coach.

Leading the way for NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 champion Andrew Ranger is crew chief Bill Burns, a position he has held since Ranger made the move from open-wheel racing to NASCAR in 2007.

Having been around racing his entire life, Burns is no stranger to success in Canada’s premier stock-car racing series. He called the shots for the 2001 CASCAR Super Series championship of Don Thomson Jr. The success has continued since joining forces with Ranger and car owner Dave Jacombs as the trio has conspired to win NASCAR Canadian Tire Series titles in 2007 and the just completed 2009 season.

Like Chad Knaus, widely considered to be the single key ingredient in Jimmie Johnson’s three consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships, the soft-spoken Burns has been the steadying influence for the sometimes high-strung Ranger. It is not an uncommon sight on race day to Burns and Ranger walking the track slowly to discuss the preferred line, strategy and other possible eventualities.

“He can get a little hyper in the car,” said Burns. “I just try and get him calmed down and focus on what needs to be done and the things we talked about earlier in the day.”

Every driver says that good communication with the crew chief is essential. The Burns-Ranger duo seemingly has that special relationship. Ranger is able to convey what the car is doing and Burns is able to make the necessary changes that fit his driver’s style. Sounds pretty simple, but it rarely is.

“It’s been an evolution, that’s for sure,” Burns stated. “I think we’re on the same page now. He knows the car and tracks better. That’s probably the biggest key.”

With two titles in three years, the only thing that may derail this train is a move up the ladder to a new series.

CHAMPION CAR OWNER PROFILE: Dave Jacombs

David Jacombs

Many want to say that Dave Jacombs was lucky to find Andrew Ranger, but credit should be given where it is due.

Without question, Ranger has natural abilities and skills behind the heel of a race car. As evidenced up and down the rungs of the NASCAR ladder, it takes time and great communication to translate that talent from open-wheel cars to a stock car.

Jacombs, a competitor in the former CASCAR series, has been able to instruct his 22-year-old driver and instill the subtleties of a new brand of racing, as well as, an entirely different type of car. Further complicating the issue, at least initially, was the occasional language barrier. Having been born and raised in Quebec, Ranger’s primary language is French while Jacombs and the rest of his crew are English-speaking. Like the rest of the hurdles in this venture, this one, too, has been cleared with room to spare.

“There’s no doubt that Andrew has an abundance of God-given ability, but the transition from open-wheel racing to stock cars is not easy,” said Jacombs. “It hasn’t always been easy. Having that kind of talent, however, has made it easier.”

Now, with a pair of championship owner trophies on his mantel, Jacombs has pioneered a new way of doing business for Canadian stock-car racers. For years, drivers owning their own teams were the norm, but a blueprint of success has been authored by Jacombs – one in which the owner employs a driver to race his car.

“Racing up here in Canada, historically, has been a little different than in the States, but we’ve been pretty fortunate,” Jacombs said. “I really think more people will go this route as things settle down economically.”

Luck is a big part of racing, however, more often than not; it is made through hard work and determination. It just doesn’t happen. Yes, Jacombs got lucky, but he earned it.

***

In the season’s third event, to the surprise of nobody, he thoroughly dominated the field – start to finish – at Mosport International Raceway, the site of his first series victory and the springboard to that initial championship, but unlike the 2007 campaign he did not leave there with the points lead.

The true emergence of Andrew Ranger as a stock-car driver occurred in Vernon, B.C., at SunValley Speedway – the fifth race of the year. Not out of the ordinary, he started seventh on the grid, but the fuse on that bomb was lit. He first took over the race lead on Lap 89 and went on to lead 207 of the final 218 laps of the event. In the process, he lapped every car in the field except that of Scott Steckly en route to his first win on an oval track – his 20th series start on an oval.

“That performance was amazing,” said Jason White, who was competing on his home track. “I’m fighting my way all the way around that place and he passed me with ease. Sure, some of that is the car, but not all of it. He’s that good.”

Getting that first win on an oval, even though it may not have needed it, legitimized him as a stock-car racer, but it was of great significance to Ranger.

“It was a huge relief,” he stated. “We’d been close before, but it never worked out. I wasn’t sure it was ever going to happen.”

The victory at SunValley set off a streak that saw Ranger win four of five races including another oval-track triumph – this time on the half-mile Mosport Speedway just down the hill from the road course where he collected his first NASCAR victory.

Not to be lost in the hoopla surrounding his new-found success on the circle tracks was Ranger’s dominating prowess on the road courses. In that streak of four wins in five races, two came in road races – Rexall Speedway in Edmonton, Alberta and Circuit de Trois-Rivieres in Quebec.

Andrew Ranger celebrating his Trois-Rivières victory

 He now had won the first three of four road-course events on the 2009 slate. A win on Montreal’s legendary Circuit Gilles Villeneuve would give him an unfathomable grand slam.

As fate would have it, the road-course sweep would not come to fruition as Ranger finished second to JR Fitzpatrick, but there was something else in store for the young Quebecer on that Sunday afternoon in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event.

Driving the No. 11 Ridemakerz Toyota out of the CJM Racing stable, Ranger started ninth before quickly moving to the front of the field to battle with the likes of Carl Edwards, Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch. Some of the most compelling action throughout the race was between Ranger and Edwards on the 11 double-file restarts. The two bumped and banged all around the 2.71-mile temporary road course in pursuit of race leader Ambrose. In the end, Edwards was able to capitalize on a last-lap bobble by Ambrose to collect the win while Ranger finished an impressive third behind the two series regulars.

Particularly impressed with Ranger’s ability and performance was Edwards.

“He’s unreal. It took both sides of my race car and about all of my talent to get by him. He definitely did a good job. He has a very high skill level,” Edwards stated.

There was little time to revel in his performance in Montreal. Three races remained on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule and there was second championship hanging in the balance.

After a season-worst finish – if it can be termed as such – of ninth at the always-challenging Barrie (Ont.) Speedway, Ranger dashed any hopes of a late-season charge by anyone with a victory – a single-season series record sixth – at Riverside International Speedway in Antigonish, N.S., giving him a nice, neat package of three road-course and three oval-track triumphs on the year.

“Both championships are special, but I think this one was more complete,” he said. “It was just a fantastic year. I can’t thank Dave Jacombs and Billy Burns enough. They gave me great cars every race. And, of course, I can’t forget the kids. Everything we do is for them.”

The “kids” are children across Canada in hospitals fighting illnesses for whom the Victory Lap Charity Program was instituted. Since its inception in 2002, over $800,000 has been raised for the Children’s Miracle Network and Opération Enfant Soleil. Ranger serves as the spokesperson for the program put together by Tide and Walmart.

Not only does he make numerous visits to hospitals throughout the year, but also often times hosts children at the track on race day. Organized under the guidance of the program organizers, these special days give these children an exceptional day at the track and a behind-the-scenes look on how a race team prepares for an event.

“All of these kids are the winners here,” said Ranger. “Anything that we can do to make their life better or find cures for their sicknesses is why we do what we do.”

The sky truly is the limit for Ranger with two NASCAR championships under his belt at the tender age of 22. Regardless of where his career goes, look for Ranger at the front of the field and a bunch of kids cheering him on.

source: Shon Sbarra, NASCAR