Crédit photo :Don Simpson A Time to celebrate for Justin Lalancette
Consistency wins the day for Justin Lalancette who was crowned the 2017 Cornwall Speedway’s Sportsman Modified Championship at the recently held champions banquet.
This honour does not come easy in most cases and, for Justin, it came down to the last race of the season, with the young 23- year-old taking the 98H car into the winner’s circle.
The Championship road actually began back in 2000 when Justin began racing Karts at the age of six. Being exposed to the racing world by his father, Luc Lalancette, who runs Total Race Supply, a successful racing parts business, gave Justin the drive to get into the driver’s seat at such a young age.
For the next 9 seasons, this young hard charging racer would compete in the various Kart classes at Can Am Speedway along with Route 58 Speedway near Governor, NY. Later Justin would begin racing at the Cornwall Speedway and Brockville Speedway Kart tracks once the Kart programs got up and running. From time to time the family would travel down to Paradise Speedway near Rochester, NY, and compete.
Over those years, Justin racked up 151 wins along with 95-second place finishes and 38 third places finishes.
This experience gave the young driver from St- Andrews, Ontario, the knowledge and skills needed to advance from Kart racing to full Dirt track racing.
In the early days of the 2009 season, while Justin was still racing karts, Eric Gauvreau asked him to try out his mod lite car at the Edelweiss Speedway. That night, Justin would start dead last, but raced his way through the pack to pick up his first win out of the kart racing ranks. Later that year, he would get a second opportunity to race a full-size race car at a Sportsman event held at the Drummondville Speedway during the Labour Day weekend.
This time, Justin would pilot the 95 back-up car of Alex Boisvert in the 100 Lap Sportsman main event. Once again Justin’s talent at driving a race car shined through. Starting dead last, Justin by lap 80 was up to third. However, the 95 Team had not registered Justin as their driver; therefore, race officials stopped the race on lap 81. Justin was presented the black flag and removed from the race. This definitely was not the way the young driver wanted to end the year, but the car owner did witness Justin’s driving skills that would come back in favour for this rookie driver from St-Andrews.
Photo credit: Don Simpson
In 2012, the plan was similar to 2011 -- gathering a bit more experience behind the wheel along with car set-up. However, the motor broke early on, ending his summer for racing. The team later decided to purchase the damged 358 motor and have it rebuilt over the winter.
For the 2013 season, the team again got some help from Troyer and HBR with a brand new chassis. It was, however, a frustrating year for the young driver once again as the motor was just not up to standard in technology and would once again fail early in the year. “You can only do so much with an engine that has been damaged,” Luc explained. The lack of power clearly frustrated Justin and with the motor failing again this disappointed him to the point where he considered leaving racing altogether by the end of the 2013.
Photo credit: Don Simpson
For the next season, Justin was back in true form at the Cornwall Speedway. The car was good and by mid season, the 98H team found itself in second place in the points standings. He also got his first feature win at the Cornwall Speedway on July 26th. Unfortunately once again, bad luck put the season in jeopardy with Justin involved in a freak accident breaking his collarbone in August. The year definitely looked as though it had come to an end, but Justin had another plan. He convinced his dad that he could take the required green flag and complete one lap under Dirtcar rules in order to stay in the point’s race. They asked race officials at the track and he was allowed to take the green, along with the required one lap. Unfortunately, Justin had to have surgery, sidelining him, putting the last two races out of reach for taking the green flag. The team would ultimately finish sixth in points that year.
In the first feature race of 2016, a huge wreck ended his night on the flatbed, setting the stage for the rest of the season. It was an “up and down” year of racing for the 98H Team and things just didn’t go as planned. By the later part of summer, things had improved. Justin was starting to be more consistent and captured a number of top 10 finishes, ending the year in sixth place in points. This set the stage for the 2017.
Photo credit: Don Simpson
With the constant results at the end of 2016, Justin continued this momentum and was the most consistent driver throughout 2017 in the Sportsman class at the Cornwall Speedway. Over the season, he captured eight top ten finishes, including a nail biter first place finish at the last race of the year, allowing him to clinching the track Championship. Justin raced the season with thought and skill, picking his moments to pass, and staying out of trouble on the track. These skills guided Justin to a well-deserved Championship, endorsed by fellow racers and fans -- a truly banner year for this young driver.
For 2018, Justin along with his crew “Mom and Dad” will be back at the Cornwall Speedway to defend his title, with the same plan as last year -- consistency wins the day.
Photo credit: Rick Young
A jump in 358 Modified
In 2010, Justin was given a race car from Troyer and HBR racing in order to get his feet wet in a few 358 Modified Races through out the summer. That same year, he also had a deal set where he would drive a Sportsman car for the 2010 season at the Cornwall Speedway. The Sportsman deal, unfortunately, fell through. He would only compete in a few races early on that year in the 358 Modified, deciding to finish the season motocross racing. Mid-way through the dirt bike season, Justin crashed heavily during a race, badly breaking his upper arm, sidelining the young driver for a few months. In October, he attempted to qualify at the Brockville Falls Nationals in the 358 class; clearly a good way to get himself back in the drivers seat after his big crash. 2011 was Justin’s first full race season in the 358 class with the help from Alex Boisvert. Alex would supply the 358 motor and a crew who maintained the car weekly at his race shop in Quebec. The team then decided to race at Granby RPM and Drummondville for the enter season. It was a busy year of racing in his rookie year of 358s but he came away from it with a better knowledge of what it takes to compete in this very competitive class. There were a few good accomplishments that year: a sixth place finish in his first 100-lap Canadian National Race at the Cornwall Motor Speedway and a 2nd place finish (July 16th) in the 40-lap feature at RPM.Photo credit: Don Simpson
In 2012, the plan was similar to 2011 -- gathering a bit more experience behind the wheel along with car set-up. However, the motor broke early on, ending his summer for racing. The team later decided to purchase the damged 358 motor and have it rebuilt over the winter.
For the 2013 season, the team again got some help from Troyer and HBR with a brand new chassis. It was, however, a frustrating year for the young driver once again as the motor was just not up to standard in technology and would once again fail early in the year. “You can only do so much with an engine that has been damaged,” Luc explained. The lack of power clearly frustrated Justin and with the motor failing again this disappointed him to the point where he considered leaving racing altogether by the end of the 2013.
A return to his roots
But for 2014, the plans had improved. Luc and Justin decided to buy a new Sportsman crate motor. They decided over the winter months to race in the Sportsman ranks with all new equipment and this move was the only way for the team to move forward with a limited budget. They also decided to campaign the car only at their local home track of Cornwall Speedway. This shift back to the Sportsman ranks proved to be the right decision, finishing sixth in points at the Cornwall Speedway. He also raced one event in St-Guillaume, Québec, where he drove his way into the winner’s circle by winning the two 40-lap feature events that night.Photo credit: Don Simpson
For the next season, Justin was back in true form at the Cornwall Speedway. The car was good and by mid season, the 98H team found itself in second place in the points standings. He also got his first feature win at the Cornwall Speedway on July 26th. Unfortunately once again, bad luck put the season in jeopardy with Justin involved in a freak accident breaking his collarbone in August. The year definitely looked as though it had come to an end, but Justin had another plan. He convinced his dad that he could take the required green flag and complete one lap under Dirtcar rules in order to stay in the point’s race. They asked race officials at the track and he was allowed to take the green, along with the required one lap. Unfortunately, Justin had to have surgery, sidelining him, putting the last two races out of reach for taking the green flag. The team would ultimately finish sixth in points that year.
In the first feature race of 2016, a huge wreck ended his night on the flatbed, setting the stage for the rest of the season. It was an “up and down” year of racing for the 98H Team and things just didn’t go as planned. By the later part of summer, things had improved. Justin was starting to be more consistent and captured a number of top 10 finishes, ending the year in sixth place in points. This set the stage for the 2017.
Photo credit: Don Simpson
With the constant results at the end of 2016, Justin continued this momentum and was the most consistent driver throughout 2017 in the Sportsman class at the Cornwall Speedway. Over the season, he captured eight top ten finishes, including a nail biter first place finish at the last race of the year, allowing him to clinching the track Championship. Justin raced the season with thought and skill, picking his moments to pass, and staying out of trouble on the track. These skills guided Justin to a well-deserved Championship, endorsed by fellow racers and fans -- a truly banner year for this young driver.
For 2018, Justin along with his crew “Mom and Dad” will be back at the Cornwall Speedway to defend his title, with the same plan as last year -- consistency wins the day.
Photo credit: Rick Young