CASCAR - Kawartha Summary & Results
CASCAR Super Series August 18 , 2002 Thomson wins at Kawartha, again CASCAR Super Series points leader is a step closer to another title PETERBOROUGH, ON - Defending CASCAR Super Series champion Don Thomson took a big step toward another National title on Sunday afternoon at Kawartha Speedway when he won the Kawartha Racetrack Slots 200 at the Peterborough, ON area speedway. The Hamilton, ON resident also won last year's inaugural CASCAR race at Kawartha. Thomson started on the pole in his Home Hardware Chevrolet and led until almost the halfway point of the race before he was passed by fellow front-row starter Peter Gibbons (Canadian Tire Chevy). Gibbons, Thomson and most of the other front-runners pitted for a new right-side tire following a red flag stoppage at lap 115. The race was halted by a heavy impact, in turn 1, by Thomson's teammate John Fitzpatrick, who emerged shaken but unhurt from the scary looking wreck. Scott Steckly (ERB / AW Millwrights Pontiac) and Kevin Dowler (Quality Care Taurus) stayed out and moved into the top two positions, but would pay the price later in the 200 lap race, when their older tires wore out. Steckly led from laps 116 to 157, until he was passed by Gibbons, who won the race off pit road involving those who came in for a new right-side Goodyear tire, on lap 115. With less than 50 laps to go, Gibbons appeared set to make his first trip of the season to victory lane, but a cut tire dashed his hopes for the win. On lap 168, the two-time National champion slowed dramatically because of the flat. Steckly, who was still second at the time, was forced to jump on the brakes to avoid hitting Gibbons, which opened the door for Thomson to charge into the lead. From there, Steckly would eventually have his own flat tire to contend with, while Dowler held on for sixth. Al Turner (Blue Streak Intrepid) and Ron Beauchamp (Mopar Parts / Mr. Sub Intrepid) were involved in some of the most competitive racing throughout the event, and progressed to take the second and third spots, respectively, at the finish. The final CASCAR Super Series race weekend takes place at the end of September at Delaware Speedway, near London, ON. CASCAR ON SPORTSNET: Racing fans will have an opportunity to watch CASCAR's finest compete against six of NASCAR's top racers when SPORTSNET airs the 'Canada Day Shootout, presented by Dodge', starting Tuesday night (Aug. 20). The race, which took place at Cayuga Speedway in front of 15,000 fans, will have its initial airings on SPORTSNET WEST and PACIFIC on Tuesday (Aug. 20) at 3:00 p.m. Viewers who watch SPORTSNET EAST will see it Wednesday (Aug. 21) at 7:00 p.m., while those in ONTARIO can catch the action Wednesday (Aug. 21) at 9:00 p.m. Please check cascar.ca for the times of subsequent airings of this event. PHOTO: (L to R) Al Turner (3rd), Don Thomson (1st) and Ron Beauchamp (3rd) took the top three spots in Sunday's Kawartha Racetrack Slots 200 at Kawartha Raceway. The event was the next-to-last CASCAR Super Series race of the season. CREDIT: Greg MacPherson / Inside Track Motorsport News CASCAR Super Series Results: Kawartha Raceway Slots 200 Round #11 // August 18, 2002 // Kawartha Speedway // Peterborough, ON FIN ST # DRIVER (HOMETOWN) SPONSOR / MAKE LAPS 1 1 4 Don Thomson Jr. (Hamilton, ON) Home Hardware Chevrolet Monte Carlo 200 2 7 76 Al Turner (Barrie ON) Blue Streak Hygrade Motor Products Intrepid 200 3 11 60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (Windsor, ON) Mopar Performance Parts / Mr. Sub / Exide Intrepid 200 4 16 9 Robbie Thompson (Southampton, ON) Shear Metal Products Intrepid 200 5 4 64 Mark Dilley (Barrie, ON) NTN Bearings Ford Taurus 200 6 17 35 Kevin Dowler (Edmonton, AB) Ford Quality Care Ford Taurus 200 7 3 22 Scott Steckly (Milverton, ON) AW Millwrights / ERB / CPL Sys. Pontiac Grand Prix 200 8 9 02 Kerry Micks (Mt. Albert, ON) UFCW Canada Ford Taurus 200 9 10 99 Pete Vanderwyst (St. Thomas, ON) Exide Batteries Pontiac Grand Prix 200 10 12 17 D.J. Kennington (St. Thomas, ON) Castrol SYNTEC / Kleen Flo / Team Truck Intrepid 199 11 14 25 Jim Lapcevich (Hamilton, ON) Fastline Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo 198 12 24 15 Robin Buck (Campbellville, ON) NAPA Pontiac Grand Prix 198 13 20 56 Doug Brown (Brantford, ON) Trailers by Jim Bray Chevrolet Monte Carlo 197 14 5 39 Dave Whitlock (Petrolia, ON) Fast Lane / Ford Motor Company Ford Taurus 196 15 2 1 Peter Gibbons (Stouffville, ON) Canadian Tire Chevrolet Monte Carlo 196 16 26 71 Bryan Cathcart (Peterborough, ON) APX Racing Gear Chevrolet Monte Carlo 196 17 27 82 Steve Munro (Carp, ON) Tide (Procter & Gamble) Chevrolet Monte Carlo 194 18 25 23 Jeff Lapcevich (Hamilton, ON) Fastline Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo 194 19 15 19 Brad Graham (Glencoe, ON) Challenger Motor Frt. / Volvo Trucks Pontiac G.P. 194 20 28 43 Bob Merrifield (Belle River, ON) Remax Preferred Realty Intrepid 193 21 19 93 Joe Goncalves (Concord, ON) Chevrolet Monte Carlo 192 22 21 6 Howie Scannell (Milton, ON) Hobby House / Scannell Moving Chevrolet Monte Carlo 189 23 29 69 Scott Watkins (Milton, ON) Rigo-Tec / Johnny Bower Goaltending School Pontiac Grand Prix 186 24 8 24 Cole Pearn (Mt. Brydges, ON) R Kubota Canada Pontiac Grand Prix 132 25 22 0 Joe Plazek (Caistor Centre, ON) R Playstation2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 130 26 23 14 John Fitzpatrick (Ayr, ON) Cambridge Rigging Chevrolet Monte Carlo 114 27 30 44 Marv Wilder (Toronto, ON) Longbow Freight Systems Ford Taurus 99 28 18 3 Bill Rowse Jr. (Uxbridge, ON) Snap-on Tools / Canadian Forces Chevrolet Monte Carlo 77 29 13 33 Neil Fair (Ancaster, ON) Skoal Inc. / Mac's Intrepid 56 30 6 88 Dave Jacombs (Mt. Hope, ON) Speedy Auto Service / FAG Automotive Taurus 43 31 31 91 Doug Day (Kitchener, ON) Auto Sense Chevrolet Monte Carlo 1 R after the hometown denotes Rookie contender. MARGIN OF VICTORY: 5.542 seconds // AVERAGE SPEED: 60.451 km/h // TIME OF RACE: 1 hour, 26 minutes and 21.023 seconds // CAUTIONS: 2 for a total of 15 laps // LAP LEADERS: #4 Don Thomson Jr. (1 - 93), #1 Peter Gibbons (94 - 115), #22 Scott Steckly (116 - 157), #1 Gibbons (158 - 167) and #4 Thomson (168 - 200).