Ford QC / Apollo Motorsports - Peterborough

Ford Quality Care / Apollo Motorsports
For immediate release / May 28, 2002

DOWLER BUMPED TO 9TH WITH THREE LAPS TO GO AT PETERBOROUGH
Taurus driver's bid for a top-five result ended with a 'bang' on lap 195

PETERBOROUGH, ON - Kevin Dowler saw a hard-earned fifth-place result 
disappear on lap 197 of the 200 lap CASCAR Super Series race at 
Peterborough Speedway on Sunday afternoon, the result of a bumper tap that 
knocked him up and out of the racing line.
	By the time the Ford Quality Care / EMCO Taurus driver was able to recover 
and get back on the throttle, he'd lost several positions and came home 
ninth. "It's too bad that happened," said Dowler. "The Ford Quality Care 
Taurus was running great today. We were going on a 'no-stop' strategy, 
hoping to preserve track position, which, as everyone who has ever been to 
Peterborough knows, is critical. The top two cars [Kennington and Steckly] 
didn't stop and it was our plan to stay with them."
	Dowler's Taurus lined up 12th in the field of 29 starters for the race and 
worked his way forward to eighth in the first 10 laps. By lap 52, the 
Edmonton, AB resident was running fourth and was poised to challenge for 
the win.
	For much of the race, Dowler found himself involved in a spirited battle 
with Al Turner and Kerry Micks. The trio ran together for extended periods 
and Dowler admitted, after the race, to having a good time trying to get 
around the outside of Micks.
	"I tried as hard as I could to get around Kerry [Micks] on the outside, 
but there was no going there. I tried for at least 40 laps. We just 
couldn't finish it that way, but there was a lot of good racing going on."
	Unfortunately for Dowler, his hopes for a top-five finish on the 
Peterborough bullring were dashed when he was nudged in the rear bumper, as 
the leaders made their way through turns 3 and 4, with just a few laps 
remaining.
	"If Donnie [Thomson] hadn't given me that little shot at the end, I'm sure 
we would have finished in the top five, which is our goal. Even at these 
little bullrings. But we're taking a straight car home, in one piece, and 
heading to St-Eustache next weekend. I'm excited about that because I think 
our team is working very well together," continued Dowler who is ninth in 
the points after two events.
	Looking ahead to this Saturday's race at Montreal's unique Autodrome 
St-Eustache, Dowler is hoping that he's able to get a better handle on the 
flat, 4/10-mile oval. "The track is pretty new to me. I've only been there 
once, so hopefully, this time we'll have a little better setup." Although 
some of the competitors approach the flat surface like a road course 
outing, Dowler feels it's more challenging than that. "You'd like to think 
it was like a road course, but the track actually has negative camber. But 
we'll get things together by then and come out strong."

RACE SUMMARY: DJ Kennington made amends for letting the victory slip 
through his fingers, last year, at Peterborough Speedway. The young racer 
started third in this year's 200-lap event and assumed the lead when 
Delaware event winner Robbie Thompson suffered a flat tire, while leading, 
on lap 137. Kennington came home ahead of the consistent Scott Steckly and 
Mark Dilley, who recovered after spinning on oil, early in the race. It was 
Dilley's second-straight third-place result. Following two events, 
Kennington leads the CASCAR Super Series point standings. "I'd like to 
congratulate DJ Kennington," said Dowler. "It was a well-deserved win, 
especially at such a tough track. When you win here, you've earned it."