honda indy toronto

Jarrad Whissell Excited About Oval Racing

July 19, 2011 By Todd Lewis

July 19, 2011. Calgary, Alberta’s Jarrad Whissell and the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford team will begin a new chapter in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series this weekend at Motoplex Speedway near Vernon, BC. After competing in fifteen road course events in the series, Whissell will make his first ever start on an oval track in a full sized stock car.

The bold move by Whissell and the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford team has been in the works for months. “We’re excited about it” said Whissell. “We purchased an oval car earlier this year and Bill Burns has been getting it ready for us. We wanted to be able to race in front of our western fans and with no road courses in the west this year, it’s what we had to do” he added.

The #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford team has battled mechanical issues in their first couple of outings this year but hopes to have put those issues behind them. “We had a locker fail in Toronto and also struggled with the brakes” said Whissell. “But we’re looking at this as a fresh start for us” he added.

The beautiful half-mile Motoplex Speedway track just outside Vernon, BC is a fun and fast race track for drivers. “Goal number one is to finish the race and get as much experience as possible” said Whissell. “We’re also scheduled to run the event in Saskatoon four days later so it’ll be important to stay out of trouble” he stated.

Whissell and the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford team will have plenty of supporters in the stands rooting them on in Saskatoon next week. “Husky Energy will be coming on board for us in Saskatoon and they’ve got a large group coming to the race and so does SMS Equipment” he stated.

Whissell is once again racing this season for a good cause. This season half of the prize money Whissell collects from his race events is donated to charity, this year’s cause is the Racing for Kids program which benefits the Children’s Miracle Network. “We’ve raised just under $2,000 so far” said the driver. “And we’ve had fans wanting to get involved too which is great. They can make a donation by going to the website www.helpmakemiracles.ca and clicking on the racing for kids link. We’ve been getting such tremendous support from all of our sponsors for this program and we’re happy that it’s working out so well for this great cause” he added.

This season Jarrad Whissell will participate in four NASCAR Canadian Tire Series road course events at Mosport Raceway, the Toronto Indy, Grand Prix of Trois Rivieres and the Montreal Nationwide weekend. In addition he will also take part in the two western Canada stops at Motoplex Speedway near Vernon, BC & Auto Clearing Speedway in Saskatoon, SK. Follow the progress of the team and help support the Children’s Miracle Network through the team website www.jarradwhissell.com and race fans are invited to follow him on twitter, @jarradwhissell You can watch all of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races again this year on TSN.

Filed Under: honda indy toronto, jarrad whissell, motoplex speedway, Nascar, nascar canadian tire series, ncts

Lessons Learned For Dowler In Toronto

July 16, 2011 By Todd Lewis Leave a Comment

July 11, 2011. Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Noel Dowler returned to action in round number five of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series this past weekend on the streets of Toronto. As part of the Toronto Indy weekend Dowler looked to continue his growth and gain more experience at the wheel of the #5 EMCO Dodge on the temporary street course.

Dowler is still getting used to the handling characteristics of these nearly 3,000 pound stock cars and learned the hard way that it’s extremely difficult to slow and stop the cars from about 150 mph on the long lakeshore road straightaway during the only practice session. “I was going too quickly into corner number three and the car went through the corner and into the run off area” said Dowler.

Sadly there was extensive damage to the #5 EMCO Dodge and the team would be forced to spend the rest of the afternoon making repairs and miss the qualifying session. “It’s not so much that we didn’t get to qualify” explained Dowler, “but I really wanted to get as much time on the track as possible” he stated.

Dowler would start the #5 EMCO Dodge at the tail end of the field for the 100km with the mission of finishing the race and absorbing as much information as he could. “I just wanted to watch the experienced drivers and learn from them and improve with each lap” said Dowler.

As the race progressed Dowler did exactly that. He showed racing smarts to never put the #5 EMCO Dodge into an uncomfortable position and continued the learning process. Noel Dowler also had the opportunity to learn from a familiar coach. His father Kevin Dowler was asked to relive another injured driver during the race and Noel was able to watch the savvy veteran. “It was really great” said the younger Dowler. “I got to follow him for quite a few laps and really learned a lot about how to handle the car” he stated.

The next event of the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule for Noel Dowler takes place Saturday July 23rd at Motoplex Speedway near Vernon, BC. Dowler will participate in a total of five road and street course events, along with the two oval track races at Motoplex Speedway in Vernon, BC and Auto Clearing Speedway in Saskatoon for a total of seven races. All of the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races will be broadcast on TSN. Check local listings for times in your area. For more information about Noel Dowler Jr. log onto www.apollomotorsports.ca

Filed Under: honda indy, honda indy toronto, Nascar, nascar canadian tire series, ncts, noel dowler

Lessons Learned For Dowler In Toronto

July 16, 2011 By Todd Lewis

Filed Under: honda indy, honda indy toronto, Nascar, nascar canadian tire series, ncts, noel dowler

Broken Shock A Handful For Thorndyke

July 16, 2011 By Todd Lewis

July 10, 2011. David Thorndyke and the #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet team came looking for another solid effort during round number five of the NASCAR Canadian Tire series in Toronto this past weekend. The 100 km stock car race was part of the Toronto Indy weekend the team looked to back up their strong showing at Mosport two weeks earlier.

The plan for the #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet was simple during practice. Make sure the car was working well, and stay off the concrete walls that line the track. “I just tried to get used to the track again” said Thorndyke “and we did that” he added.

The #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet did not have a great qualifying run and Thorndyke would start the race from the thirtieth position. “Our plan for the race is always the same” explained Thorndyke. “Take it easy, let the race sort itself out and just run our race, don’t worry about the other guys” he stated.

As the race progressed Thorndyke’s plan was working well. “The race was going pretty well” he stated. “I’d gained a few positions and wasn’t really pushing the #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet too hard” he added.

With the race laps ticking away Thorndyke had moved the #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet forward about ten positions and appeared headed for another very good finish. It was during these late stages that he felt the handling change dramatically. “It wasn’t too bad on left hand corners, but on the right handers it would wheel hop, so I dialed some more rear brake into the car but couldn’t go too far” explained the diver.

Thorndyke would take advantage of a late race caution to make a pit stop to have the problem checked. He brought the #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet to pit road and the crew determined it was a broken left shock. Thorndyke returned to the race and nursed the wounded car home to a twenty third place finish. “Considering the handling of the car it wasn’t too bad” said Thorndyke. “We gained seven spots during the race and the car is in good shape except for that left front shock” he added.

David Thorndyke and the EVT Chevrolet team are next scheduled to race during the Grand Prix of Trois Rivieres the weekend of August 6 & 7th. For more NASCAR Canadian Tire Series information log onto www.nascar.ca and to learn more about the #67 Thorsons EVT/iRacing.com Chevrolet team go to www.promotiveracing.com

Filed Under: david thorndyke, honda, honda indy, honda indy toronto, Nascar, nascar canadian tire series, ncts

Top Five For Kennington In Toronto

July 16, 2011 By Todd Lewis

July 10, 2011. DJ Kennington’s push toward the top of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Championship standings continues. Following a fifth place finish in race number five on the streets of Exhibition Place in his #17 Castrol Edge Dodge Kennington moved from up to second in the championship.

Action began for the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team on Friday with practice on the 1.755 mile temporary street circuit. Kennington set about his usual routine to make sure the set up on the car was right for the conditions. “The team did a great job and we were up near the top the time sheets” said Kennington.

Kennington backed up his practice performance with a strong sixth place qualifying effort. “I didn’t want to overdo it and the track had changed a little but I was happy with how the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge performed” he stated.

As the green flag waved Saturday afternoon Kennington expected plenty of action during the race. “With a large field of 33 cars and a few part time racers I just wanted to make sure we had another good finish” said Kennington. The Castrol Edge Dodge would run inside the top ten for the entire race.

Kennington was running fifth as the laps wound down but then was passed and dropped back one spot. A late race caution flag set up a green, white, checker dash to the finish. On the final restart Kennington took advantage of the bunched up field and regained the spot with an aggressive pass. “I knew things would be pretty wild at the end and fortunately the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge had plenty of horsepower left and I made the pass” explained the driver.

The fifth place result also moved Kennington up to second place in the overall championship. “I’m glad we moved up a spot” said Kennington “but we’ve still got some work ahead of us. We head out to the west now and we’ve had wins at both Vernon and Saskatoon and we’ll be expecting good runs from the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge at the next two races” he added.

DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team will next be in action during the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Western swing on Saturday July 23rd at Motoplex Speedway near Vernon, BC. Once again this year fans will be able to watch all twelve races on TSN.

Race fans are encouraged to keep up to date with the latest team news in several ways. Race fans should bookmark the team website www.djkracing.ca and follow them on twitter, www.twitter.com/djkracing and look for the new DJK Racing Fan Page on Facebook.

Filed Under: dj kennington, honda indy toronto, Nascar, nascar canadian tire series, ncts