Photo credit: Don SimpsonFrom idea to reality... Stéphane Lafrance follows his dream
Since childhood, Stéphane Lafrance dreamed of living at high speed. The son of DIRT Hall of Fame inductee Marcel Lafrance grew up in the racing world. The summer months were marked with racing, car repairs and modifications. Stéphane learned a lot of his trade by watching and helping his father. Over time, Stephane spent much of the summer traveling and being part of racing legend Bob McCreadie's team. Through the countless races he attended in the pits, he was influenced by some great drivers, such as Bob and Jimmy Shampine. One character stood out to everyone he had met, a driver and automaker named Dexter Door in Albany, New York area. "Dexter me inspired me to pursue my dreams, and allowed me to learn the essentials to perform in this very competitive sport. So in 1985 Stephane took the leap and built his first race car to compete in the Street Stock class. This car number 115 is beige in color, the same color as his famous father's car number 15 for much of his career. In 1988, Stéphane joined his father in the Modified division and built two cars, one for Marcel and the other for himself. From the first race the cars were very competitive with Marcel winning 12 races that year and Stephane with the 115 car coming second in many of those races. Stéphane remembers: “It was a big competition year against my dad, and I had built the two base cars. It was during this great season that I validated all my work and my ideas. In the early 90s, Stephane found confidence and great satisfaction racing in the Sportsman class. At the same time he was concentrating on building his TRICK Race Parts business. In 1997 Stephane returned to the modified ranks and would prove to be a dominant force on some occasions on some of the toughest tracks on the DIRTcar tour. Driving a home-built car, integrating his engineering as well as his driving skills, he received recognition from many racing enthusiasts. was during this great season that I validated all my work and my ideas.” In the early 90s, Stephane found confidence and great satisfaction racing in the Sportsman class. At the same time he was concentrating on building his TRICK Race Parts business. In 1997 Stephane returned to the modified ranks and would prove to be a dominant force on some occasions on some of the toughest tracks on the DIRTcar tour. Driving a home-built car, integrating his engineering as well as his driving skills, he received recognition from many racing enthusiasts. was during this great season that I validated all my work and my ideas.” In the early 90s, Stephane found confidence and great satisfaction racing in the Sportsman class. At the same time he was concentrating on building his TRICK Race Parts business. In 1997 Stephane returned to the modified ranks and would prove to be a dominant force on some occasions on some of the toughest tracks on the DIRTcar tour. Driving a home-built car, integrating his engineering as well as his driving skills, he received recognition from many racing enthusiasts. At the same time he was concentrating on building his TRICK Race Parts business. In 1997 Stephane returned to the modified ranks and would prove to be a dominant force on some occasions on some of the toughest tracks on the DIRTcar tour. Driving a home-built car, integrating his engineering as well as his driving skills, he received recognition from many racing enthusiasts. At the same time he was concentrating on building his TRICK Race Parts business. In 1997 Stephane returned to the modified ranks and would prove to be a dominant force on some occasions on some of the toughest tracks on the DIRTcar tour. Driving a home-built car, integrating his engineering as well as his driving skills, he received recognition from many racing enthusiasts.
Photo credit: Don SimpsonIn 2009, Stéphane decided to take a year off from racing to put all his energy into running his business. Things had escalated so much that he couldn't find the time or resources to both drive a race car and properly run his parts business. At the end of 2009, Stephane got back behind the wheel of his 115 car. With a bit of ingenuity and hard work, Stephane completely redesigned the car. It was different from all the other cars in the pits. It was clear that this new design was going to be a dominant force from the start of the 2010 season. Stephane claimed 11 wins, in addition to the track championship at Edelweiss Speedway as well as the DIRTcar Series regional championship in 2010. The success of 2010 would continue with the following season, winning the 2011 track championship at Cornwall Speedway. He continues to be a regular in the winner's circle at Cornwall and Brockville Speedways to this day. 
Photo credit: Don SimpsonYes, there have been some ups and downs along this journey, but Stephane does things his own way. Engineering and building his own cars in-house with suspension and driving with Tran parts was demanding work, but very rewarding at the same time. There are very few drivers who have achieved this success today because almost all drivers buy a complete car from one manufacturer. Stéphane always wanted to take care of the design and manufacture himself. Racing is also about bringing its own ideas and designs to the sport.
Photo credit: Don SimpsonIn 2009, Stéphane decided to take a year off from racing to put all his energy into running his business. Things had escalated so much that he couldn't find the time or resources to both drive a race car and properly run his parts business. At the end of 2009, Stephane got back behind the wheel of his 115 car. With a bit of ingenuity and hard work, Stephane completely redesigned the car. It was different from all the other cars in the pits. It was clear that this new design was going to be a dominant force from the start of the 2010 season. Stephane claimed 11 wins, in addition to the track championship at Edelweiss Speedway as well as the DIRTcar Series regional championship in 2010. The success of 2010 would continue with the following season, winning the 2011 track championship at Cornwall Speedway. He continues to be a regular in the winner's circle at Cornwall and Brockville Speedways to this day. Photo credit: Don SimpsonYes, there have been some ups and downs along this journey, but Stephane does things his own way. Engineering and building his own cars in-house with suspension and driving with Tran parts was demanding work, but very rewarding at the same time. There are very few drivers who have achieved this success today because almost all drivers buy a complete car from one manufacturer. Stéphane always wanted to take care of the design and manufacture himself. Racing is also about bringing its own ideas and designs to the sport.
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