CASCAR - N#12 - Kawartha Preview

CASCAR
Super Series / PowerWater Series
Kawartha Speedway Weekend Preview

Don Thomson is poised to earn his fifth consecutive Super Series National 
championship this weekend at Kawartha
LONDON, ON - Don Thomson Jr. is heading to this weekend’s CASCAR Super 
Series season finale at Kawartha Speedway in a familiar position. This 
Sunday’s ‘Dodge Ram Tough 250 presented by the Dodge Dealers of Ontario’ 
will mark the fifth consecutive time that the #4 Home Hardware Chevy driver 
will take to the track for the final race of the season as the points leader.
         So far, the Hamilton, ON racer is four-for-four in terms of 
closing the deal. And all indications are that by Sunday evening, Thomson 
will have been successful in his ‘Drive For Five’ that started back in May 
at Delaware Speedway.
         The veteran Fitzpatrick Motorsports racer is going to Kawartha  a 
place where he’s won twice in the past  with a commanding 89-point lead 
over Peter Gibbons. The Canadian Tire Chevy driver has won the last two 
Super Series races (at Delaware and Cayuga), but has done little to cut 
into Thomson’s significant points lead during that time. Thomson was the 
runner-up in both events and scored bonus points for earning the pole and 
leading the most laps at Cayuga, thereby preventing Gibbons from picking up 
even a single point on the championship leader at Cayuga.
         Thomson’s current 89-point comfort margin is the biggest he has 
ever taken into the season finale; another statistic that doesn’t bode well 
for Gibbons’ hopes of winning his third Super Series National title. In 
2003, PowerWater Taurus driver Kerry Micks narrowed Thomson’s winning 
margin from 55 to 39 points in the final race of the campaign, at Cayuga 
2000 Speedway, to narrow the gap by 16 points. That effort by the Mt. 
Albert, ON racer was the most that any championship challenger has ever 
carved into Thomson’s lead in the final event. In fact, on two occasions 
(in 2001 and 2004), Thomson padded his lead by an additional 50 and 35 
points, respectively, in the championship determining race.
         In spite of his enviable position, Thomson isn’t taking anything 
for granted. Rather, he says he is hoping to improve his car for the Dodge 
Ram Tough 250 so that he can make amends for a few of the potential wins 
that slipped through his fingers in 2005. “We’re feeling pretty good about 
our chances going to Kawartha,” said Thomson, who won two CASCAR Eastern 
Series titles immediately prior to starting his domination of the National 
championship, in 2001. “Last year, we went there [Kawartha] with only a 
17-point lead, so this feels better. We’re definitely going to give it a 
shot to win this weekend. I gotta get the car a little better because it 
seems to be getting consistently loose at the end of the race on these 
tires. Hopefully, I can drum up something a little different so that it’s 
strong at the end.”
         The upcoming weekend will be a busy one at Kawartha Speedway. On 
Friday evening, the track will host the “Summer Sizzler” featuring 
triple-50s for the Late Models. On Saturday (Sept. 17), the CASCAR 
PowerWater Series will conclude its season with a 100-lap feature, leading 
up to the Super Series season finale on Sunday afternoon.

KAWARTHA NOTES: Don Thomson won at Kawartha Speedway in the Super Series’ 
first two visits to the Peterborough-area oval, in 2001 and 2002. The tour 
returned to the track in 2004 after a year off the schedule in ’03. Kerry 
Micks won last year’s season finale at Kawartha by mastering the high-line 
around the 3/8-mile oval… Thomson won the pole for last year’s race at 
Kawartha… A lucky fan at this weekend’s races at Kawartha can win 
$10,0000!. Kawartha Speedway is once again holding its popular Crossover 
Draw that gives race fans a chance to walk away with $10,000! Visit 
www.kawarthaspeedway.com for more details.

POWERWATER SERIES FINALE: Dion Verhoeven leads the CASCAR PowerWater 
Sportsman Series points chase heading into this Saturday’s sixth and final 
race of the 2005 season. The Kerwood, ON racer has a narrow, 12-point lead 
over former Super Series racer Mike Alguire, who hails from London, ON. 
Reigning Sportsman champ Brad Graham is a close third in the points and 
will be doing double duty this weekend at Kawartha as he will start 
Sunday’s Super Series closer in seventh-place in the points in his 
Challenger / Logel’s Dodge Charger.

OUT WEST: Kevin Dowler earned his fifth CASCAR Western Series championship 
on Sunday afternoon at Sun Valley Speedway, in Vernon, BC. Dowler’s EMCO 
Taurus moved to the front prior to the halfway point of the Lordco Auto 
Parts 200 and never looked back.

CASCAR ON TV:  Catch the APC 300 Great Canadian Race from Delaware Speedway 
starting Saturday afternoon (Sept. 17) at 2:30 p.m. For information 
regarding initial airings and replays of Super Series races on SPORTSNET, 
please check your local listings or visit 
http://www.cascar.ca/schedule/tv_schedule.html.

SUPER SERIES POINT STANDINGS: Top 15 after 11 events. Unofficial as of 
September 10, 2005: 1. #4 Don Thomson Jr. (2055 pts.); 2. #1 Peter Gibbons 
(1966); 3. #17 DJ Kennington (1894); 4. #39 Dave Whitlock (1861); 5. #60 
Ron Beauchamp Jr. (1845); 6. #02 Kerry Micks (1835); 7. #19 Brad Graham 
(1815); 8. #9 Mark Dilley (1810); 9. #84 J.R. Fitzpatrick (1776); 10. #88 
Dave Jacombs (1695); 11. #10 Doug Brown (1649); 12. #22 Scott Steckly 
(1614); 13. #11 Ron VanEs (1582); 14. #37 Tara MacLeod (1558); 15. #3 Stu 
Robinson Jr. (1500)

SCHEDULE: KAWARTHA SPEEDWAY (Peterborough, Ontario)
CASCAR Super Series & Power Water Series
Dodge Ram Tough 250, presented by the Dodge Dealers of Ontario

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2005

1:00 p.m.       CASCAR PowerWater Series Time Trials
1:30 p.m.       Kawartha Home Class Heats and Features
3:00 p.m.       START: CASCAR POWERWATER SERIES 100 LAP FEATURE RACE

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2005

12: 30 p.m.     CASCAR Super Series Time Trials
1:30 p.m.       Driver Autograph Session
2:10 p.m.       Super Series Driver Introductions
2:30 p.m.       START: DODGE RAM TOUGH 250 PRESENTED BY THE DODGE DEALERS 
OF ONTARIO

Contact CASCAR at (519) 641-1214 or visit www.cascar.ca
Prepared by Inside Track Communications. // Contact: Greg MacPherson (416) 
561-2320 (cell).
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