Marc-Antoine Camirand made NASCAR history this season by becoming the first driver to win consecutive NASCAR Canada championships. He now has three overall titles (2022, 2024-25), but by no means is he complacent.
He’s already looking at his next challenge, one that would mean so much more on a personal level.
“We are thinking to try to tie Scott Steckly for the most championships in NASCAR Canada Series,” Camirand told FanBuzz during a recent sitdown. “Scott’s got four right now. So that’s maybe our next goal.
“To try to beat that legend of NASCAR Canada Series. I raced for Scott Steckly in 2018 when I started my NASCAR career. I was running for him. I have a lot of respect for Scott Steckly. And to try to beat his record for the fourth championship, that’s our kind of goal.”
What gives Camirand the confidence that he can achieve this feat? The biggest reason is his team. They build fast race cars, and they avoid mistakes during pivotal races.
The other reason is the man calling the shots each week of the season. His crew chief won two championships before helping build the Paillé Racing team. He has since added three more while guiding this history-making group.
“I have the best, I think, in my opinion, the best crew chief in the field — Robin McCluskey,” Camirand said. “I’m pretty damn sure that that guy could tomorrow be a crew chief in the Truck Series or Xfinity, whatever.
“But that guy is really, really good. He built the entire team in 2022 when we started the team with GM Paillé and JC (Jean-Claude) Paillé. He built the chassis and everything.”
Camirand said that McCluskey is already working on the 2026 season and how the team can improve. This is the way to nail down the little details as they pursue a record-tying fourth NASCAR Canada championship.
Photo credit: Matthew Manor
Still, Camirand knows capturing this title will not be an easy task. After all, the NASCAR Canada Series features tight championships battles due to the level of competition.
This season served as a fitting example. Camirand entered the final race of the season at the Autodrome Montmagny short track with four wins, but he did not have a large advantage in the season standings.
DJ Kennington and Andrew Ranger both remained in contention for the title, especially if they could rack up the bonus points for leading a lap and for leading the most laps. To keep them at bay, Camirand had to deliver a clean day and something around a top-10 finish.
“I was like trying to finish around DJ Kennington because that was the closest guy in the championship,” he said. “I got like 14 points ahead of him before the last race.
“So the plan was try to stay around (third) or fourth place, didn’t need to win because the pressure was on DJ at that time. He needed to win and lead the most laps and everything.”
He also had to avoid on-track incidents, something that became increasingly difficult during the second half of the season finale. Multiple cars spun to bring out the caution flag, and one driver even hit the wall directly in front of Camirand.
The No. 96 Paillé Racing team avoided disaster during this pivotal championship race, and they actually took advantage of Camirand saving his equipment.
The Quebec native had the opportunity to go out and pull away from the competition in the final seven-lap dash to the checkered flag. He built up a lead of .742 seconds as the field went two- and three-wide behind him, and he cruised to win No. 5 on the season.
Photo credit: Matthew Manor
“It was really special,” Camirand said about the championship celebration. “It’s good because the last race the last two years, the race is in Quebec. So, as you know, it’s not too far away from the shop.
“So, it was really fun to have my father and all family around the last two championships because my dad put a lot of money on that, on my racing career, a lot of time too, because he was kind of a guy to prep all the race cars I drove before. So, yeah, that was pretty amazing to do some party with all the family and the entire team also.”
The celebration is behind Camirand, and the focus remains on the 2026 season. The team has lofty goals, and it continues to work in pursuit of them.
However, the veteran racer also has goals involving the national NASCAR series. He continues to work on putting together a deal to do at least one race in either the Truck Series or Xfinity Series.
Camirand has already spoken to his sponsor Paillé about taking on a national series race. He has also spoken to a Truck Series team about putting together a deal. This hasn’t happened just yet, but 2026 remains an option considering how NASCAR has shifted the schedule and the date of Camirand’s preferred track.
“I’m more like a road course guy, I love doing go-karts,” he said. “I’m more a go-kart, road course guy. I would like to go back to Watkins Glen. I raced there in the past when I was racing in the Rolex Series back in a few years. …I’ve never been back since they repaved it. So I would like to go there and put myself in a better position.
“…But Watkins Glen, it’s always the same weekend as GP3R (Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières) here in Quebec. It’s the biggest race for us. I think next year they move that race in May at Watkins Glen, so maybe for next year, if we don’t have like a race together, a conflict or something, that would be interesting.”