Ford QC / Apollo - Mosport Oval Report

Ford Quality Care / Apollo Motorsports

For immediate release / June 24, 2002

Dowler earns top-10 result on the Mosport oval
Ford Quality Care racer maintains fifth-place standing after five events

MOSPORT, ON - Kevin Dowler is an eternal optimist. Choosing to group the 
results of the two most recent CASCAR Super Series races together, the Ford 
Quality Care Taurus driver has an interesting perspective on Rounds #4 and 
#5, both of which were held on grounds of the multi-purpose Mosport facility.
	"Taking the two Mosport races into consideration, we look at it like we 
finished fifth. We won on the road course [Mosport Int'l Raceway], and came 
home 10th on the oval [Mosport Speedway]."
	Still smiling after his win on June 16, Dowler viewed his 10th place 
finish in Saturday night's 250-lap race as a victory in itself. The Ford 
Quality Care Taurus pilot qualified 21st in the field of 33 and worked his 
way through the field throughout the night, eventually cracking the top 10 
by the time the checkered flag was displayed to end the affair. Following 
the first five races of the 2002 season, the Edmonton, Alberta resident is 
fifth in the CASCAR Super Series points, just 71 markers back of series 
leader Don Thomson Jr., who won Saturday night's race on the half-mile 
speedway.
	Although he was pleased with his 10th-place finish at Mosport, Dowler did, 
however, have one regret. "I let Steve Robblee go at about lap 120 and that 
ended up being a mistake. I should have hung on, because we wouldn't have 
lost that lap. Once that happens, it becomes a matter of respect for the 
rest of the guys. You have to let the people on the lead lap race for the 
win, without getting in their way."
	Commenting on Thomson's dominant performance, Dowler said, "Nobody was 
even close to the #4 car tonight... nobody. But at the end of the night, we 
were as fast as the rest of the cars we were running with. Don Thomson has 
led more laps at this track than I've raced here, so we just have to get 
some more experience."
	Part of improving is taking lessons from one's experiences. Dowler 
believes he continued that process at Mosport. "Getting out of turn 4 was 
probably my biggest issue tonight. We were fine in [turns] 1 and 2, but it 
took a while to figure what we needed to do to make it work. This was the 
first real race that this car has ever had. And we're bringing it back to 
the shop clean, in one piece, so we can't complain."
	Looking ahead to the next race on the schedule, the CASCAR Super Series 
heads to Cayuga Speedway (June 30) for a special race involving six NASCAR 
stars. "We're really looking forward to the race next Sunday night at 
Cayuga," continued Dowler. "We've got Matt Kenseth jumping into one of our 
cars for the event, which is exciting. It's going to be a blast." Always 
looking at things from a larger perspective, Dowler feels the Cayuga race 
is going to be a milestone for the series.
	"A few years ago, people said that the Molson Indy was the best thing to 
happen to CASCAR. But what the guys at Cayuga have put together is really 
something special. I hope it goes off without a hitch, because this is a 
great thing for the series. I was talking to them on Friday and they have 
500 seats left. They've sold 15,500 seats so far, plus some VIP suites... 
CASCAR needs a big event like this. There's a really good chance that a lot 
of those people will become followers of the series and we'll be seeing a 
lot of them the week after at the Molson Indy [Toronto]."

APOLLO NEWS: Apollo Motorsports' CASCAR Western Series racer, Wade Lee, 
guided his Ford Quality Care Taurus to victory lane on Saturday night at 
Calgary's Race City Speedway.

Prepared by Inside Track Communications (416) 962-7223.