Exide Batteries / Nat'l Fast Freight - Vanderwyst Toronto Indy Report

#99 Exide Batteries / National Fast Freight Pontiac Grand Prix
Pete Vanderwyst / Castrol Super Series team

For immediate release: July 17, 2001

Vanderwyst ninth at Toronto Indy

TORONTO, ON - On Saturday, Pete Vanderwyst returned to the site of one of 
his best Castrol Super Series performances - the Toronto Molson Indy - and 
posted a respectable ninth-place finish. Just one year after finishing 
second in what is one of the biggest races on the annual CASCAR schedule, 
the Exide Batteries / National Fast Freight Pontiac driver started 15th in 
the 2001 edition of the Toronto street race. Vanderwyst climbed to as high 
as sixth place before over-shooting a turn late in the chase and eventually 
finishing ninth in the 38-car field.
	The Indy race weekend allows precious little track time for the CASCAR 
competitors to perfect their car setups, and a failed clutch and broken 
motor prior to taking the green flag on Saturday afternoon presented an 
incredible challenge for the Exide / National Fast Freight team.
	"I was extremely happy. Yesterday [Friday], we had a clutch that went bad 
two laps after taking to the track, so we didn't get any practice time. We 
changed that last night and first things this morning - three laps into the 
qualifying session - we broke the cam shaft in the motor and we spent today 
swapping in a new engine to get ready for the race.
"We had a decent time this morning - we started 16th - and we just tried to 
save the car as much as we could at the end. We got up to sixth but went 
into turn 3 a little too hot at the end of Lakeshore [Blvd.] and got it 
sideways, letting three guys underneath me. At that point, there were only 
three laps left and I rode around after that. The car came home in one 
piece and we're very happy."
	One scary moment for the St. Thomas, ON racer occurred just a few laps 
into the race when several cars were involved in a multi-car pileup at a 
high-speed stretch of the long, Lakeshore Blvd. straightaway. Vanderwyst 
was able to take evasive maneuvers to keep the Exide Batteries Pontiac 
Grand Prix out of the melee.
	"We were extremely lucky not to get into that one. All I saw was smoke. I 
hit the brakes as hard as I could and the back end would wiggle around, so 
I had to let off before I could brake again. I was on and off the brakes a 
couple of times trying to miss the wreck and keep control. It was great 
that we didn't get involved in that. It was a clean first lap but I wish we 
hadn't had that caution. The car was good for the long haul - it was a 
little tighter than what we raced here last year - which was good."
	Compared to the 2000 Toronto Indy race, in which Vanderwyst's car appeared 
to be all over the track due to a loose setup, this year, the Exide / Nat'l 
Fast Freight Pontiac was much more controlled.
Asked about how his team improved their setup without the benefit of much 
track time during the weekend, Vanderwyst replied, "We just used our heads 
and put a slightly tighter setup into the car than the one we used last 
year. We were a little down on power today, though. We broke our main one, 
so we had to use our old motor. We're just happy that we could bring the 
Exide / Nat'l Fast Freight Grand Prix in ninth place and put on a good show."
	A big part of the Molson Indy weekend is made of social events. "Exide 
Batteries had a hospitality tent behind the grandstand so we met a lot of 
their people and customers," said Vanderwyst, who was also busy after the 
race, helping race fans get behind the wheel of the #99 Exide Pontiac.
	Considering the technical glitches prior to race-time, Vanderwyst was 
happy with the result that moved him into a 10th-place tie in the overall 
Castrol Super Series point standings. "I have to thank my guys for the 
effort they made this weekend. They changed a motor this afternoon and that 
was after working to midnight last night trying to find out what was wrong 
with the clutch to make sure we had one that wouldn't cause any problems 
today. Once again, we proved our prowess on the road courses, coming from 
16th at the start and making it to sixth before having a little setback. 
Hopefully, this is the turning point for our season. We've had some bad 
luck late in the races and if we have our way, that's behind us now."
	Robin Buck won the Toronto Indy CASCAR race for the second time in three 
years. Don Thomson and Al Turner joined him on the podium. Vanderwyst's 
next race is July 28 at Montreal's Autodrome St-Eustache.

For more information, contact Pete Vanderwyst at (519) 652-3900, ext. 222
Prepared By Inside Track Communications.
Attached Photo: Pete Vanderwyst signs autographs in the CASCAR garage 
following his ninth-place finish at the Toronto Indy.