CASCAR - Vancouver Indy Summary & Results
CASCAR Super Series July 27, 2002 Buck victorious in CASCAR Vancouver Indy Overcomes transmission and engine troubles, in qualifying, to win VANCOUVER, BC - Robin Buck learned a lesson during the recent Toronto Indy that served him well in this afternoon's CASCAR Super Series outing on the streets of Vancouver. The NAPA Pontiac racer started fifth in the second annual stock car event on the 12-turn Concord Pacific Place circuit, and took the lead with just five laps remaining when the first and second-place drivers came together and spun out of contention. Once out front, the Campbellville, ON resident was able to hold off the Raceline / Fastline Chevy of Jim Lapcevich, to take his first win of the season, and his third career 'Molson Indy' victory. Buck already had two Toronto Indy wins to his credit. Two-time National champion Peter Gibbons overcame handling problems that dogged his Canadian Tire Chevy throughout the two days of CASCAR Super Series action, to take third. Until lap 29, the weekend appeared to belong to Ford Quality Care Taurus driver Kevin Dowler. The Edmonton, AB racer won the pole for the 35-lap chase, and led the first 29 laps, until Jeff Lapcevich - who was running second at the time in his Crime Stoppers / Fastline Chevy - attempted a bold pass under braking. In the middle of the turn, Dowler and Jeff Lapcevich made contact and spun together. Dowler was able to resume after dropping more than a dozen spots, and eventually finished seventh. Lapcevich limped back to the pits and was scored in 25th. In terms of Buck's weekend at the Vancouver Indy, only the final result gave him cause for celebration. A broken transmission spoiled Friday's qualifying session, and a disturbing sound in the engine, following Saturday morning's qualifying run, caused the team to swap engines prior to lining up for the feature race. Buck had less power under the hood of his NAPA Pontiac than he did in the Toronto event, in which he wore out his tires and fell to third at the finish, after leading most of the race. In Vancouver, therefore, he made a conscious decision to run a steadier pace, and even let Jeff Lapcevich past him at one point, while saving his car and tires for the end. Intrepid drivers Ron Beauchamp Jr. (Mopar Intrepid) and last year's Indy winner Al Turner (Blue Streak Intrepid) were fourth and fifth, respectively. Series points leader Don Thomson Jr. encountered mechanical troubles and completed just 21 laps, which dropped him to 28th in the 32-car starting field. DJ Kennington came home eighth today and cut heavily into Thomson's lead, with just three events remaining. PHOTO: (l to r) Peter Gibbons (3rd), Robin Buck (1st) and Jim Lapcevich (2nd) celebrate their podium finishes in the CASCAR Super Series race at the Vancouver Indy, on Saturday. CREDIT: Greg MacPherson / Inside Track Motorsport News CASCAR Super Series Results: CASCAR Molson Indy Vancouver Round #9 // July 27, 2002 // Concord Pacific Place // Vancouver, BC FIN ST # DRIVER (HOMETOWN) SPONSOR / MAKE TIME / KM/H 1 5 15E Robin Buck (Campbellville, ON) NAPA Pontiac Grand Prix 35 2 4 25 Jim Lapcevich (Hamilton, ON) Raceline Radio / Fastline Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35 3 7 1 Peter Gibbons (Stouffville, ON) Canadian Tire Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35 4 10 60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (Windsor, ON) Mopar Performance Parts / Mr. Sub / Exide Intrepid 35 5 11 76 Al Turner (Barrie ON) Blue Streak Hygrade Motor Products Intrepid 35 6 13 3 Bill Rowse Jr. (Uxbridge, ON) Snap-on Tools / Canadian Forces Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35 7 1 35 Kevin Dowler (Edmonton, AB) Ford Quality Care Ford Taurus 35 8 9 17 D.J. Kennington (St. Thomas, ON) Castrol SYNTEC / Kleen Flo / Team Truck Intrepid 35 9 19 22 Scott Steckly (Milverton, ON) AW Millwrights / ERB / CPL Sys. Pontiac Grand Prix 35 10 16 64 Mark Dilley (Barrie, ON) NTN Bearings Ford Taurus 35 11 6 02 Kerry Micks (Mt. Albert, ON) UFCW Canada Ford Taurus 35 12 17 71 Daryl Harr (St. Albert, AB) Westworld Computers Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35 13 22 33E Neil Fair (Ancaster, ON) Skoal Inc. / Mac's Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35 14 23 30 Chris Fowler (Stouffville, ON) Snap-on Tools / Canadian Forces Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35 15 27 33W Don Sales (Quesnel, BC) Skoal Inc. / Shell Select Pontiac Grand Prix 35 16 14 39 Dave Whitlock (Petrolia, ON) Fast Lane / Ford Motor Company Ford Taurus 35 17 20 93 Joe Goncalves (Concord, ON) D.T. Powersports Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35 18 25 12 Ron Larson (Quesnel, BC) Turtle Wax Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35 19 18 99 Pete Vanderwyst (St. Thomas, ON) Exide Batteries Pontiac Grand Prix 35 20 30 85 Kenny Forth (Lynden, ON) Labour Ready / Rockton Berry Farm Ford Taurus 34 21 31 0 Joe Plazek (Caistor Centre, ON) R Playstation2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 34 22 32 81 James Ward (Kelowna, BC) Lordco Ford Taurus 34 23 28 6 Todd Nichol (St. Albert, AB) Pennzoil Chevrolet Monte Carlo 33 24 26 19 Brad Graham (Glencoe, ON) Challenger Motor Frt. / Volvo Trucks Pontiac G.P. 31 25 8 23 Jeff Lapcevich (Hamilton, ON) Crime Stoppers / Fastline Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo 29 26 29 9 Robbie Thompson (Southampton, ON) Shear Metal Products Intrepid 29 27 3 21 Wade Lee (Calgary, AB) BC Ford Dealers Taurus 21 28 2 4 Don Thomson Jr. (Hamilton, ON) Home Hardware Chevrolet Monte Carlo 19 29 21 14 John Fitzpatrick (Ayr, ON) Cambridge Rigging Chevrolet Monte Carlo 12 30 24 24 Cole Pearn (Mt. Brydges, ON) R Kubota Canada Pontiac Grand Prix 12 31 12 2 Carl Harr (St. Albert, AB) GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo 2 32 15 88 Dave Jacombs (Mt. Hope, ON) Speedy Auto Service / FAG Automotive Taurus 1 33 33 50 Wheeler Boys (Calgary, AB) Owens-Corning Insulation Intrepid DNS R after the hometown denotes Rookie contender. MARGIN OF VICTORY: .516 seconds // AVERAGE SPEED: 97.351 km/h // TIME OF RACE: 1 hour, 1 minute and 49.40 seconds // CAUTIONS: 2 for a total of 8 laps // LAP LEADERS: #35 Kevin Dowler (1 - 29) and #15 Robin Buck (30 - 35).