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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

Whissell Gains Tens Positions in Toronto

July 16, 2011 By Todd Lewis

July 10, 2011. Calgary, Alberta’s Jarrad Whissell and the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford had a tough start to the weekend during round number five of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series this past weekend in Toronto. On the city streets during the Toronto Indy weekend Whissell would give all he could following a number of setbacks and be rewarded for his hard charge during the race.

During the practice session Friday afternoon Whissell had his hands full with the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford. “It was very strange” he explained. “First the car was loose, then it was tight and it was very difficult to get a handle on things” he stated.

With the qualifying session only a couple of hours after qualifying the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford team could only make limited changes. “Unfortunately the car still wasn’t right during qualifying we paid the price for it” said Whissell.

Following qualifying the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford team went to work determined to correct the problems and give Whissell a better handling car for the 100km race. They were not completely successful Whissell battled some brake issues early in the race and ran into difficulty. “I was racing with the #50 car and approaching a part of the track that gets a little wider” explained Whissell. Unfortunately I pushed him a little bit wide before the track widened out and he hit the wall. I’m sorry about that it was totally unintentional” he added.

Still with a loose race car Whissell did begin to make progress in the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford. “I had to just do the best I could with what I had” said Whissell. And with a determined effort he managed to begin moving forward in the field.

In the closing laps Whissells effort had him within sight of a top ten finish. Still with a loose handling race car he would spin late in the race and it would cost him several positions. Still with an ill handling car he gained ten positions during the race and finished fourteenth. “With the kind of car we had today I guess it’s not bad to go from twenty fourth to fourteenth” he said. “We’ll be digging a little deeper into the car to determine the cause of those brake issues, nothing was immediately visible after the race” 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, jarradd whissell, Nascar, nascar canadian tire series, ncts, toronto

Tickets to Honda Indy Toronto 2011 now on sale

November 25, 2010 By Press

Fans invited to celebrate 25 years of racing

November 25, 2010 (Toronto) – Tickets to the 2011 Honda Indy Toronto are now on sale to the general public, a full eight months before the flagship event is set to take place. Owners of the event, which marks the 25th year of Indy car racing on the streets of Toronto, wanted to afford customers the chance to purchase tickets well in advance for special occasions, birthdays, milestones or as a holiday gift.

“We’re focused on making the Honda Indy Toronto accessible, entertaining and sustainable,” said Kevin Savoree, co-owner of the Honda Indy Toronto. “The Honda Indy Toronto is a must-attend event that provides memories for life. Offering tickets and race details in advance will help people make plans around the event.”

The event takes place from July 8-10, with prices ranging from $30 for Saturday general admission to $423 for gold seating in the Lake Shore Lounge for the entire weekend. For a full list of prices, or to purchase tickets, visit hondaindytoronto.com/tickets or call 1-877-503-6869.

Celebrating 25 years of racing

The 2011 edition of the Honda Indy Toronto will mark 25 years of racing on the streets of Toronto. In 2009, Honda Canada Inc. took on title sponsorship of the event, marking a racing renaissance in Toronto, however the city has seen the world’s best drivers compete on the 11-turn, 2.84km street circuit at Exhibition Place since 1986. Many accomplished drivers have raced in Toronto, such as Bobby Rahal, winner of the inaugural race; Michael Andretti, all time race win leader with seven victories at Toronto; and Paul Tracy, hometown hero and two-time winner at Toronto.

New branding

The Honda Indy Toronto revealed today a commemorative logo to celebrate 25 years of racing in Toronto. The new logo was voted on by fans online through the event’s website, hondaindytoronto.com. In early October, organizers of the event posted four variations of the logo online and called upon its website visitors to vote on their favourite. The commemorative logo features the traditional Honda Indy Toronto branding alongside a graphic of the monumental Princes’ Gates at Exhibition Place with the words “Celebrate 25 Years of Racing” inscribed underneath.

“The fans have spoken and we feel they made the right decision,” said Charlie Johnstone, vice-president and general manager of Honda Indy Toronto. “This logo embodies the spirit of the race and we hope it will help get fans excited for the upcoming event.”

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