The inaugural season began on 26 May 2007 at Cayuga Motor Speedway, where Don Thomson Jr. won the first race in a close battle. Andrew Ranger, competing in his first year of stock-car racing after a career in open-wheel, won the second race at Mosport International Raceway, took over the points lead, and never relinquished it to claim the first series championship. The opening season saw five races decided on last-lap passes, immediately establishing the competition's intensity.
Canadian Tire became the founding title sponsor alongside a television contract with TSN that brought select races to a national audience. Three venues — Edmonton, Toronto, and Montreal — regularly drew crowds in excess of 50,000 fans.
Scott Steckly dominated the 2008 season, winning three of the first four races and holding the points lead throughout to set a series record of four victories. Andrew Ranger returned in 2009 to win his second championship in three seasons, setting a single-season record of six race victories — three on road courses and three on ovals — as he applied his open-wheel road-course background to the mixed schedule.
D.J. Kennington took the 2010 title on five wins, nine top-fives, and eleven top-ten finishes, in a season-long battle with J.R. Fitzpatrick that saw the two swap the points lead an unprecedented five times.
Steckly recaptured the championship in 2011, taking three wins and the runner-up finish four times. Ranger continued to star at the series' showcase events, winning dominant victories at Montreal and Toronto. Kennington won a record seven races in 2012, including five consecutively, to claim his second title.
Steckly won his third championship in 2013 by just two points over Kennington. Louis-Philippe Dumoulin won his first career series championship in 2014, edging Fitzpatrick by three points. Steckly added a fourth title in 2015, making him the most decorated champion in series history with four championships.
Canadian Tire did not renew its series sponsorship after 2015. In December 2015, Pinty's Delicious Foods signed a six-year agreement to become title sponsor from the 2016 season onward.
The 2018 season included the series' first race in the United States, held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In 2019, Continental AG replaced Goodyear as the exclusive tire supplier through its General Tire brand, and all races became available live in the United States through fanschoice.tv.
The COVID-19 pandemic reduced the 2020 season to six races across three venues — Sunset Speedway, Flamboro Speedway, and Jukasa Motor Speedway — under the name the Pinty's Fan Cave Challenge. In November 2023, NASCAR announced the series would be renamed the NASCAR Canada Series, with Pinty's and Evirum serving as presenting partners.
The series uses steel tube-framed silhouette stock cars powered by carbureted V8 engines producing 525 horsepower. The cars weigh a minimum of 3,050 lb (1,380 kg). Rules prioritize parity over development, meaning manufacturer involvement is largely limited to supply arrangements for crate motors and branding on standard bodywork.
Manufacturer representation has included the Ford Mustang, Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Impala, and Dodge Challenger. The series was the last NASCAR division to receive factory support from both Dodge and Pontiac, with Pontiac exiting when General Motors entered bankruptcy in 2010, and Dodge factory support ending before the 2020 season. Toyota does not participate in the series.
The field draws veteran Canadian drivers, regional American competitors gaining experience on Canadian tracks, and former open-wheel racers. Drivers with significant open-wheel and road racing backgrounds who have raced in the series include Jacques Villeneuve, Max Papis, Alex Tagliani, and Patrick Carpentier. American NASCAR regulars who have appeared include Tony Stewart, Dave Blaney, and Austin Dillon.
Andrew Ranger demonstrated the series' pathway function by competing in the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series event in Montreal, finishing third after battling eventual winner Carl Edwards. Several series regulars including Scott Steckly, D.J. Kennington, and Andrew Ranger have competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
On 2 June 2019, Julia Landauer became the first woman in series history to lead a lap, leading lap 72 of the APC 200 at Jukasa Motor Speedway. On 15 August 2022, Aaron Turkey became the first indigenous driver to win in the series, at the first-ever series dirt race at Ohsweken Speedway. In 2011 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a record three female drivers — Maryeve Dufault, Caitlin Johnston, and Isabelle Tremblay — attempted the event simultaneously.
The NASCAR Canada Series preserved top-level Canadian stock-car racing through the transition from the CASCAR era and established a competitive national series drawing large crowds at iconic venues including Toronto's Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. With Scott Steckly holding the record of four championships and Andrew Ranger holding the single-season wins record of six, the series produced its own generation of stars while also serving as a competitive home for international visitors and a proving ground for drivers aspiring to NASCAR's top-tier American series.
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