Apollo Motorsports Update

July 3, 2002

Dowler looks for his second win on the streets of Toronto
Ford Quality Care racer sixth in points heading into second half of the season

LONDON, ON - Although he finished a disappointing 32nd in the 'Canada Day 
Shootout' at Cayuga Speedway on Sunday evening, Kevin Dowler was still 
impressed with the event that significantly raised the profile of the 
CASCAR Super Series. The Ford Quality Care Taurus racer started 25th in the 
field of 44, but handling troubles frustrated the Sherwood Park, AB racer 
throughout his 50-lap sprint race, as well as in the 100-lap feature event.
	"It was a tough outing for us at Cayuga. We're working on a few things to 
improve for our next oval race, in Calgary. We just missed the setup for 
practice, and we never found it, in spite of our best efforts. In fact, we 
changed everything but the driver during practice, and we just couldn't get 
it any better. I've never worked so hard - to go nowhere - in my entire life."
	But there were several silver linings to the event. Dowler's Apollo 
Motorsports team also prepared the Taurus that was driven to victory by 
visiting Winston Cup racer Matt Kenseth. "I'm really proud of a couple of 
things our Apollo Motorsports team has achieved this season," continued 
Dowler. "We really delivered the goods for Matt on the weekend, giving him 
a piece of equipment he could really shine in. My driver [Kenseth] had an 
excellent racecar and he did his thing in it. At this point in the season, 
Apollo Motorsports has two CASCAR Super Series wins and one CASCAR Western 
Series win."
	Like most of the CASCAR racers in the field, Dowler enjoyed the 
interaction of racing with a half-dozen of the world's best stock car 
drivers. And according to Dowler, the respect went both ways. "I was 
talking with Matt [Kenseth] about the series and he said, 'you guys are 
really racing out here. Nobody gives an inch. It's a great series and don't 
lose my phone number when you want to do it again.'
	"Matt Kenseth is a racer's racer... and he's not afraid to move the 
numbers around on the door. He had Randy Slack crewing for him, and between 
Randy and our team - and guys like my old crew chief John Cramps - they 
really did a great job. When Matt's clutch blew during practice, they were 
right under it, getting it fixed in no time. Once the car was right, Matt 
hunted around for a line until he found the winner. After that, everyone 
else was an 'also ran'."
	Discussing the 'Canada Day Shootout' and its impact on the series, Dowler 
said, "Everybody did a great job. CASCAR is a wonderful series. The NASCAR 
guys did their thing and the CASCAR drivers showed what they're capable of 
doing. And the people at Cayuga put on a show like none I've ever seen 
before, anywhere. To hear 15,000 fans screaming their support, was really 
something. If anybody left that place without a big smile on their face, 
then they really didn't want to be there."
	Looking ahead to this weekend's race at the Toronto Indy, Dowler - who won 
the event in 2000 - is confident that he has a strong chance of returning 
his Ford Quality Care Taurus to victory lane. Reached on Tuesday at his 
London, ON area racing shop, Dowler - who has remained in Ontario this week 
to prepare for the Toronto Molson Indy - said, "We're just finishing our 
Toronto car right now. We're going to go test on Wednesday to make sure 
everything's in good shape. But it's the Taurus that won on the road course 
at Mosport, so we're feeling pretty good about our chances. It's do-able 
[winning at the Indy]... I need to be able to run with Peter [Gibbons] on 
the straights. And I know [Robin] Buck is going to be strong there, as 
always. There are so many more who will be in contention, but we'll be 
there, too." The CASCAR race at the Indy takes place Saturday afternoon.