CASCAR: Preview: Cayuga Canada Day Shootout
CASCAR Super Series Preview: ATTO Canada Day Shootout For more information contact CASCAR at (519) 641-1214 For immediate release / June 30, 2004 Busy weekend ahead as Cayuga 2000 Speedway hosts the 3rd Annual ATTO Canada Day Shootout LONDON, ON - Cayuga 2000 Speedway will be alive with the sounds of racing and Country Music this weekend during the ATTO Canada Day Shootout. The main event of the holiday long weekend is Sunday’s 200-lap CASCAR Super Series feature race; the fifth of the 2004 season. In the lead-up to that event, the 5/8-mile Cayuga oval will feature Saturday night’s 100-lap CARQUEST Series race, a full under-card of Thunder Car and Vintage Modified action, and an all-star Country Music concert. Heading into the ATTO Canada Day Shootout, Peter Gibbons leads the CASCAR Super Series points chase. The Canadian Tire / Monroe Brakes Chevy driver is enjoying the best start to the racing season in his lengthy CASCAR career. After coming out of the gate with back-to-back wins at Delaware and Cayuga, the Stouffville, ON racer added a fifth and a second at Peterborough and Mosport Int’l Raceway, respectively, to build a 28-point lead (641 to 613) over three-time National champion Dave Whitlock following the first third of the 2004 schedule. Just four points back of Whitlock’s Avenue / NMT Dodge is three-time Super Series champ Don Thomson Jr., driver of the Home Hardware Chevy. Thomson has started on the pole in three out of the four races contested so far in ’04 (all except Peterborough) yet despite his points success, is searching for his first Super Series race win since August 18, 2002 at Kawartha Speedway. On Saturday night, Cayuga 2000 Speedway will host the season’s fourth CARQUEST Series race of the season. Jason Hathaway of Appin, ON will enter the event in search of his third consecutive victory after heading to victory lane at Mosport Speedway and Quebec’s Circuit Ste-Croix. But it’s indicative of the extremely competitive nature of the CARQUEST Series that the E.L. Fordham / TSC Stores Chevy driver finds himself in third place in the points on the eve of the series’ fourth race of the season. Leading the way are CARQUEST Chevy driver André Coursol and Carp, ON racer Steve Munro, both of whom have been very consistent in the first three races of the season. Coursol leads the CARQUEST Series points by a single point over Munro (258 to 257), with Hathaway ready to pounce (253 pts.). CASCAR NOTEBOOK: Camping sites with water and hydro are available on a first come, first served basis at Cayuga… Saturday night’s Country Music concert at Cayuga features Jason McCoy, Julian Austin, and John Landry. The concert is free for all event ticket holders to enjoy… The CASCAR EMCO Western Series is back in action this weekend at Vernon, BC’s Sun Valley Motor Speedway with its own version of the Canada Day Shootout. Saturday’s feature race at Sun Valley will include NASCAR legend Geoffrey Bodine, while Sunday’s concert will be headlined by the group 54:40… Rob Graham of Bothwell, ON is the top rookie driver on the Super Series tour, after four events. Graham is 12th in the overall point standings… ATTO CANADA DAY SHOOTOUT SCHEDULE (JULY 3-4, 2004): SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2004 10:00 a.m. Spectator Gates Open 11:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m. Rotating Practice CASCAR Late Model & CARQUEST Series 1:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. Rotating Practice Thunder Cars, Vintage Modifieds 3:15 p.m. 3:45 p.m. CARQUEST Series Qualifying 3:45 p.m. 4:30 p.m. CASCAR Super Series Qualifying 4:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. Thunder Car and Vintage Modified Heats & Features 6:40 p.m. CARQUEST Series Driver Introductions 7:00 p.m. START: CARQUEST 100 CARQUEST SERIES RACE 8:00 p.m. Country Music Concert SUNDAY, JULY 4, 2004 10:00 a.m. Spectator Gates Open 12:00 p.m. 1 p.m. Super Series Driver Autograph Session 1:15 p.m. Driver Introductions / Anthems / Invocations 2:00 p.m. START: ATTO CANADA DAY SHOOTOUT SUPER SERIES RACE SUPER SERIES POINT STANDINGS: AFTER 4 of 12 EVENTS (top 20): 1. #1 Peter Gibbons (641 points); 2. #39 Dave Whitlock (613); 3. #4 Don Thomson Jr. (609); 4. #23 Jeff Lapcevich (571); 5. #02 Kerry Micks (570); 6. #60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (550); 6. #22 Scott Steckly (550); 8. #64 Mark Dilley (548); 9. #19 Brad Graham (534); 10. #25 Jim Lapcevich (496); 11. #17 DJ Kennington (493); 12. #55 R Rob Graham (482); 13. #10 Doug Brown (476); 14. #50 R Pete Shepherd (471); 15. #88 Dave Jacombs (462); 16. #84 R J.R. Fitzpatrick (454); 16. #3 Mark Swain (454); 18. #86 Kenny Forth (438); 19. #42 Sean Stafford (432); 20. #11 R Ron VanEs (376) // R denotes Rookie. CARQUEST SERIES POINT STANDINGS: AFTER 3 of 7 EVENTS (top 18): 1. #18 André Coursol (258 points); 2. #00 Steve Munro (257); 3. #76 Jason Hathaway (253); 4. #6 Brad Graham (244); 5. #80 Mike Hryniuk (229); 6. #36 Ken Grubb (227); 7. #16 Paul DeJong (216); 8. #7 Jerry Marinuk (215); 9. #09 R Kent Nuhn (209); 10. #02 R Scott O’Connor (202); 11. #66 R Josh Wood (201); 11. #12 Mark Patrick (201); 13. #8 R Michael Wagner (196); 14. #5 Jay Christie (68); 15. #80 Jesse Kennedy (65); 16. #46 Kevin Trevellin (64); 17. #43 Bob Merrifield (62); 18. #81 Chad McGlynn (61); 18. #67 Scott Mitchell (61) // R denotes Rookie. CLARINGTON 200 TELEVISION BROADCAST: The Clarington 200 CASCAR Super Series road course race at Mosport Int’l Raceway will air on SPORTSNET on Monday, July 5 (EAST / WEST / PACIFIC) at 7:00 p.m., and on Tuesday, July 6 (ONTARIO) at 7:00 p.m. Check your local listings and http://www.cascar.ca/schedule/tv_schedule.html for subsequent airings. Contact CASCAR at (519) 641-1214 or visit www.cascar.sympatico.ca Prepared by Inside Track Communications. // Contact: Greg MacPherson (416) 561-2320 (cell). Comments regarding additions to or deletions from this mailing list should be sent to: greg@insidetracknews.com