TORONTO, ON – This Saturday, the CASCAR Super Series returns to action in Ontario with a stop at Mosport Speedway, near Bowmanville, ON. Over the years, the half-mile oval has been the site of some of the most entertaining and competitive CASCAR races in series history.
Last year, Castrol Dodge driver DJ Kennington won his third Super Series feature in a row with a spectacular late-race pass on leader Don Thomson Jr. (Home Hardware Chevy), with just two laps to go.
Back in 2004, Don Thomson emerged victorious in the Mosport Speedway 200, putting an end to a two-year winless streak, and moving him into the points lead en route to his fourth National title.
And who could forget the 2003 edition of this mid-summer classic, when championship rivals Don Thomson and Kerry Micks swapped the lead 11 times, before Micks powered ahead for keeps to take the checkered flag? No other racer led during the 200-lap head-to-head battle, which is widely considered to be one of the best CASCAR races of all time. Fans attending the Aug. 12 Mosport Speedway 200 should expect more of the same.
And while many of the contenders for victory in 2006 will be familiar to the fans – drivers like Thomson, Kennington, Micks, Peter Gibbons, Mark Dilley, Dave Whitlock and Ron Beauchamp Jr. – a new breed has come to the fore in 2006, refusing to back down to the established giants of Canadian stock car racing.
Leading the upstarts is Thomson’s Fitzpatrick Motorsports teammate J.R. Fitzpatrick. After demonstrating so much potential in his first two seasons on CASCAR’s elite tour, the #84 Milwaukee Tools Chevy Monte Carlo driver has been the man to beat in the first half of the schedule.
Just last month, the Cambridge, ON youngster broke through to victory lane winning his first Super Series feature in the MOPAR Canada Day 300 at Barrie Speedway. The second-generation racer finds himself atop the points chase heading to Mosport, and has demonstrated clearly that he’s a serious championship contender.
Scott Steckly and Brad Graham are two other CASCAR veterans who have broken through to victory lane for the first time in their Super Series careers in 2006. Steckly took advantage of the big horsepower under the hood of his ERB Dodge Charger in the season opener at Barrie, while Graham got the monkey off his back at Vernon, BC’s Sun Valley Speedway, in July, when he survived a late-race challenge from Kennington to guide his Challenger / Logel’s Dodge Charger to its first-ever feature win.
While drivers like Fitzpatrick, Steckly and Graham have had the skill and equipment to win races for the past few years, they’ve taken their games to the next level in 2006 and have added to an already entertaining show by becoming serious contenders in every race. Appin, ON racer Jason Hathaway is the leading rookie on the Super Series tour and has put his years of experience in stock car racing to good use en route to several solid finishes in his Snap On Dodge Charger.
But in the end, the big question on the minds of the fans in the stands on August 12 at Mosport Speedway will be whether or not one of the proven veterans or the surging youngsters will be capable of dethroning five-time and current Super Series champ Don Thomson Jr.
Thomson is coming off his first win of the season, on the streets of Trois-Rivières, and has narrowed young Fitzpatrick’s points lead down to just 15 markers, after six events. Any way you look at it, Thomson finds himself in a dogfight with his teammate, and several other contenders, to retain his crown. The Mosport Speedway 200 will go a long way toward determining whether or not he is ultimately successful.
Time trials for the Mosport Speedway 200 start Saturday at 4:45 p.m. and will be followed by the Driver Autograph Session on the front-straight. The green flag on the 200-lap feature race is scheduled for 7 p.m.
SCHEDULE: MOSPORT SPEEDWAY 200 (Bowmanville, Ontario)
CASCAR Super Series
SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2006
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. CASCAR Super Series practice session
4:45 p.m. CASCAR Super Series time trials
5:45 p.m. CASCAR Driver Autograph Session
6:35 p.m. Super Series Driver Introductions
6:55 p.m. National Anthems
7:00 p.m. START: MOSPORT SPEEDWAY 200
POINT STANDINGS
CASCAR Super Series (As of August 7, 2006): 1. #84 J.R. Fitzpatrick (1064 pts.); 2. #4 Don Thomson Jr. (1049); 3. #22 Scott Steckly (1029); 4. #02 Kerry Micks (1013); 5. #39 Dave Whitlock (988); 6. #19 Brad Graham (979); 7. #9 Mark Dilley (963); 8. #17 DJ Kennington (962); 9. #60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (954); 10. #1 Peter Gibbons (950); 11. #10 Doug Brown (949); 12. #25 Jim Lapcevich (941); 13. #3 R Jason Hathaway (910); 14. #11 Ron Van Es (822); 15. #09 Kent Nuhn (810)
CASCAR Flo~Pro.Com Western Series (As of August 7, 2006): 1. #36 Jim White (878 pts.); 2. #35 Kevin Dowler (850); 3. #30 Derek Pollack (831); 4. #71 Daryl Harr (784); 5. #6 Todd Nichol (780); 6. #2 Carl Harr (765); 7. #26 Shaun Polack (746); 8. #21 Jason White (739); 9. #79 Wade Lee (730); 10. #86 Shawn Press (706); 11. #24 Scott Dennis (694); 12. #96 Norm Hunger (478); 13. #87 James Ward (468); 14. #76 Dale Biesick (458); 15. #42 Lyle Paulson (443)
CASCAR Sportsman Series (As of July 11, 2006): 1. #77 Dion Verhoeven (165 pts.); 2. #32 Mike Alguire (164); 3. #00 Steve Munro (154); 4. #81 Shawn McGlynn (150); 5. #11 Cole Weber (147); 6. #95 Ron Lethbridge (140); 7. #20 Dave Didero (136); 8. #67 Scott Mitchell (136); 9. #82 Dave Connelly (136); 10. #48 R Doug Cathcart (135); 11. #36 Alan Lebert (133); 12. #07 R Joey McColm (127)
CASCAR ON TV: Catch replays of the Griddly Headz 100 from the G.P. of Edmonton Saturday, August 12 on SPORTSNET at: 1 p.m. (EAST & ONT) and 9 p.m. (WEST & PACIFIC). For information regarding initial airings and replays of Super Series races, please check your local listings or visit http://www.cascar.ca/schedule/tv_schedule.html.
WESTERN SERIES: Last weekend, Jim White won the Canadian Forces 200 CASCAR Flo~Pro Western Series race at Auto Clearing Speedway, in Saskatoon, SK. The MOPAR-sponsored Dodge Charger driver leads the points chase following his win in the 200-lap race at the new 3/8-mile oval. The Kamloops, BC racer led the first 131 laps of the race and 149 in all en route to his first-ever CASCAR feature victory. Five-time Western Series champion Kevin Dowler finished second in Saskatoon, ahead of hometown racer Chris Shirley. The next Flo~Pro Western Series race takes place Aug. 19 at Edmonton Int’l Raceway, in Wetaskiwin, AB.
Contact CASCAR’s Toronto Office at (416) 531-4714 or visit www.cascar.ca
Prepared by Inside Track Communications.
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