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Cascar - Whitlock Motorsports - Ste. Croix Report

8 June 1999

A spin and a flat leave Whitlock fifteenth at Ste. Croix PETROLIA, ON - 

The CASCAR Castrol Super Series made its first of two visits to Quebec, 
on Saturday night (June 5), for the season's third Eastern tour event of the 
summer. Reigning National champion Dave Whitlock had a contending car, 
but was involved in a number of incidents which dropped him to 15th at the 
end of the 200 lap race at Circuit Ste. Croix, near Quebec City.

Whitlock's Ford Quality Care Taurus started third in the AutoPLACE 200, but
was caught up in another driver's spin and got turned around on the
backstraight of the 5/8-mile oval. The Petrolia, ON racer was able to
recover from that incident, but a flat tire later in the race spoiled his run.
"We didn't have a good race. We started near the front and the car was
running really well. But on an early restart, Kelly Williams was on the
outside of me. She didn't mean to get into the side of me, but she got off
the track on the backstretch - kind of lost it - and she came back on and
caught me in the right rear wheel. I spun around and got about four feet up
in the air," Whitlock continued.

"We got a flat tire, but the car wasn't hurt too badly. We had to pit,
though, and went to the back. We came back to about ninth and got another
flat tire, under green. We had to come in again and that cost us two laps."
After three events, the three-time National champ is currently sixth in the
Eastern standings and has been pleased with his car's performance in each
outing.

"The car was strong all race long, even with the things that happened. We
were down, but still one of the quicker cars at the end. We're optimistic,
but it's disappointing. We've had two flats under green so far this year.
Hopefully, we'll get them out of the way by August. On the bright side, we
qualified strong, were running well - even after getting smacked - and
we'll just try to get 'em in two weeks at St. Eustache."

The seventh-place result by Whitlock's teammate, Mark Dilley, was a
surprise to the NTN Bearings / Herbrand Tools Ford Taurus driver. Like
Whitlock, Dilley was caught up in an early-race skirmish that affected his
car's handling.

"We broke something on the first lap; the car wouldn't turn," said Dilley,
after the race. "I figured we'd finish about 30th. The car's been great,
but I hit someone with the right front wheel and after that, it wouldn't
turn. We're amazed that we finished seventh.

"That tells you what kind of night it was for everyone else, too, that we
finished that high with the way the car was running. It just wouldn't stop
pushing."

But again, looking on the bright side, Dilley is happy that his UltraMotorsports 
team car is performing well and up in the points.

"We're seventh in the standings, and that's not bad. We didn't finish where
we wanted in the first race, but that's racing. We'll just keep chipping
away." As for his return to CASCAR, Dilley is enjoying the ride. "I like
the racing. We're having some fun out there. The car has been good, the
team has been good and we're happy."

The next event on the team's schedule is the Autodrome St. Eustache race on
June 19. 

Race Summary: Peter Gibbons won the Ste. Croix CASCAR race in dominant
fashion. Second place was went to DJ Kennington, ahead of Neil Fair.