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LP Dumoulin and the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare team honoured at NASCAR banquet of Champions

december 10, 2018

Trois-Rivières driver Louis-Philippe Dumoulin and his #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare Team were honoured by NASCAR at the 2018 NASCAR Banquet of Champions, an emotional event for all team members present last Friday, December 7th, in Charlotte (NC). NASCAR feted all the drivers and teams who accumulated prizes and championships over the 2018 season.

2014 and 2018 Champion

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin's first championship, in 2014, was won with the support of an experienced team led by Mario Gosselin. It was essentially based on Louis-Philippe Dumoulin's ability to learn about working with a professional team, race strategies, and delivering on all this work done by the team while fighting against experienced drivers.

The second championship is very much about the Dumoulin Compétition people, who have gained some experience and knowledge over the first two years together and now had to step up to the top level as a team. "This is their title and I am proud to 'give' it to them," concluded the double champion of the NASCAR Pinty's Series.

LP Dumoulin and #47 team awards

  • A second NASCAR Pinty's driver Championship;
  • The Dodge Quick award;
  • The Goodyear Tire award;
  • Crew Chief of the year award to Robin McCluskey;
  • Partner of the year award to WeatherTech Canada;
  • Car owner of the year award to Marc-André Bergeron.

The 2018 season: evolution towards the championship

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin is now recognized as an elite driver in the NASCAR national series, a position attained through dedication, professionalism and hard work, as well as through the growing confidence that he and his team are building as a winning combination. Great portions of their off-track time is spent preparing themselves physically, mentally and on a simulator.

Dumoulin Competition was created in 2009. In order to better control the preparation of cars, they created their own shop "in house" in 2016, accumulating cars, tools and equipment along the way. Dumoulin Competition has gone from strength to strength over the intervening seasons, a result of some incredibly hard work.

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin and the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare team had a career-changing season in 2018, after two years putting in place the elements needed to produce race-winning cars. That accumulated knowledge brought the team to the 2018 season better prepared that they even thought they were, and with the real potential to move to the top of the NASCAR Pinty's Series team hierarchy. This positive evolution triggered by the victory during the opening race of the season (May 20, 2018) was easily seen by specialists and others.

Team partners also played a part in that great season, as WeatherTech Canada demonstrated their confidence in the team by extending the partnership by three years last July. "When you combine passion with excellence, the results speak for themselves. We couldn't be more proud of Louis-Philippe and the entire Dumoulin Competition team for their hard work, both on and off the track, and their accomplishment as 2018 NASCAR Pinty's Series Champions." added WeatherTech Canada business owners Tony Page and Joe Magri.

"We started the season with good confidence in our winter development and prep work. Our real challenge was to continue to learn from every race, to make the car, the team and our race craft better every time out. Continued improvements over the whole season is what makes championships, so we all knew we had to do it. Avoiding race damage all year made life easier for our team members and certainly made a difference in our final performance" added a very satisfied Louis-Philippe Dumoulin.

The team's results do not lie: three victories, seven podium, eight Top-5 and twelve Top-10 finishes in the 13 races. Louis-Philippe Dumoulin led 423 (21%) of the total 2022 race laps over the season and finished on the lead lap in 12 of the 13 races. He also led the championship standings after the first, third and fourth races, and from race 7 to the last one (race 13). His record shows the competitiveness of the series won by Louis-Philippe Dumoulin with only seven points ahead of the runner-up (523 against 516).

The entire team got involved from the first to the thirteenth race. The team's engines, developed by André Marchand, were equal and often better than the competition. And to make things even better, a winning race strategy devised for each race by crew chief Robin McCluskey and analyst Benoit Laganière always got the best out of the car, the team and the driver. In addition, all team members delivered faultless races, with top performance during pit stops.

"Needless to say, we will tackle 2019 even stronger than last season," says the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare driver still thrilled about the exceptional season that the team has lived.

The Dumoulin Competition family wishes you a very Happy Holidays
See you in May 2019
"Passion - Performance - Partnerships"

Photo : Scott Hunter

ABOUT PARTNERS

WeatherTech designs, develops and produces high quality, digitally custom fit automotive accessories; including FloorLiners, All-Weather Floor Mats, Cargo Liners, TechLiners and No-Drill Mudflaps. Engineers use the newest technology available to measure the geometric complexity of the vehicle ensuring a constantly perfect fit. WeatherTech… Where Technology and All Weather Protection meet! weathertech.ca

Groupe Bellemare: Competitive and dynamic, Thomas Bellemare's innovative and growing family team is ready to take on any challenge. With support from senior members and a qualified team of managers, the third-generation Bellemares are reaching new heights. Built upon a solid past, the company moves forward with an exceptional team of experts and seeks a select group of clients. Our clients continue to benefit from our wide variety of services that target a large number of sectors. As a result, our visibility is constantly on the rise. Working with the Bellemare team has become a measure of success. Start off right by choosing a winning team! groupebellemare.com

Summary - Highlights in Louis-Philippe Dumoulin's career

  • 2018 NASCAR Pinty's Series Champion: 7 podium finishes including 3 wins and 8 top-5 finishes in 13 events. First championship with cars entirely prepared by Dumoulin Competition;
  • In 2017, he finishes the NASCAR Pinty's championship in fourth place (3 podiums and ninth top-5s in thirtheen events.);
  • In 2016, he finishes the NASCAR Pinty's championship exequo with the fourth position (top-5 six times in 12 events);
  • In 2015, he finishes the NASCAR Pinty's championship in fourth place (2 podiums and six top-5s in eleven events);
  • 2014 champion of the NASCAR Pinty's series: 5 podiums and 2 victories, as well as 9 top-5s in eleven events. It is the first time that a team made up entirely of Quebecers wins this championship. (Prep. team: King Autosport, managed by Martin Roy);
  • Won the Gilles Villeneuve Trophy in 2014 and 2001. This trophy symbolizes the fighting spirit and on-track excellence of a Quebec-native driver throughout the season that just ended. It is the first time that a recipient of the Trophy wins it twice throughout their career;
  • Won, in 2013, the only Ontarian event to this day made up of an all-Quebecer podium (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - NCATS series);
  • The only Canadian who climbed on the podium in 2012 during the prestigious event of the 12 hours of Sebring (2nd place - American Le Mans Series - GT3 Cup - WeatherTech Racing Team);
  • Won the title of rookie of the year in 2011 in the NASCAR Canadian Tire series despite having only participated in 8 races out of 13 (scoring four top-10s and two top-5s);
  • Crowned Canadian champion in Formula Ford 1600 in 2002;
  • He still owns the record in Formule Ford 1600 for the highest amount of victories and pole positions in one season (2002).

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