CASCAR: MOPAR Canada Day Weekend @ Barrie Speedway
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CASCAR: Barrie Speedway // MOPAR Canada Day Weekend, presented by the Dodge
Dealers of Ontario - Preview
For more information contact CASCAR's Toronto office at (416) 531-4714
For immediate release / June 28, 2006
CASCAR's Super Series & Sportsman Series will be in action during the MOPAR
Canada Day Weekend at Barrie Speedway
TORONTO, ON - For the second year in a row, CASCAR will be at Barrie
Speedway for the MOPAR Canada Day Weekend, presented by the Dodge Dealers
of Ontario. Sunday afternoon's 300-lap feature race will be the focus of a
busy three-day festival of motorsports at the speedway, as well as in
downtown Barrie.
And while it will be the Super Series' second visit of the season
to the 1/3-mile tri-oval, located just north of Barrie, ON, the setting
will be very different from the May long weekend when CASCAR held its
season opener at the popular speedway.
For starters, the May event was held during winter's last gasp in
the Central Ontario region. And in the time since the May 22 opener, track
owner Brad Moran has completed extensive work on the facility, which
included building up the banking in turn 4 and laying down a high-tech
asphalt surface around the entire speedway.
Former Super Series champion Mark Dilley won last year's MOPAR
Canada Day 300 at Barrie Speedway and he's excited to be returning,
especially under warmer conditions and with work on the new track layout
complete. The Barrie, ON resident recently had an opportunity to test the
reworked configuration. "We put on a racing school up there since the track
was re-done, so I had a chance to do quite a few laps at Barrie. The track
feels good and I'd really like to do well there again, since it's my
hometrack." The Dodge Charger driver continued, "We're really excited about
the MOPAR Canada Day 300 at Barrie Speedway. It's a great race and
hopefully we can be as good as we were last year."
But Dilley is not the only one who is enthused about returning to
Barrie. Scott Steckly broke through to CASCAR's victory lane for the first
time in his career during the May race and he's looking forward to
continuing his strong start in 2006. The ERB Dodge Charger racer came home
third in Race #2, on the road course at Mosport Int'l Raceway on Father's
Day, and is currently second in the points.
The man they will all be chasing in the MOPAR Canada Day 300 is
Ford Taurus driver Kerry Micks, a former CASCAR champion who is riding high
after his win at Mosport. Micks hails from Mt. Albert, ON and he holds a
four-point lead over Steckly in the championship chase.
Incidentally, this will be the first race since June 2, 2005 at
Autodrome St-Eustache that a driver other than Don Thomson Jr. has led the
points heading into a Super Series race weekend. MOPAR Dodge Charger driver
Ron Beauchamp Jr. led after two events last season. But in every race
since with the exception of this year's season opener at Barrie Thomson
has entered the race as the points leader. This weekend, however, the
five-time and current National Champion finds himself in fourth, in the
standings, following his 23rd-place finish at Mosport.
The CASCAR Sportsman Series will also be in action this weekend at
Barrie Speedway. Hometown favourite Ron Lethbridge won last year's Canada
Day Weekend Sportsman race at Barrie en route to capturing the Rookie of
the Year Award. The MOPAR 100 Sportsman Series feature event is slated to
start at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, while the MOPAR Canada Day 300 is
scheduled to commence at 3:30 p.m on Sunday. Additional festivities include
the $1,000-to-win MOPAR Pit Stop Challenge in downtown Barrie (on Lakeshore
Dr.) at 6:00 p.m. on Friday evening, while the Super Series Time Trials and
Twin 50 Sprint Races will be the focus on Saturday evening at Barrie Speedway.
NEW PROMOTIONAL PARTNER: Last week, Headz Gamez Enterprises Int'l and
CASCAR jointly announced a new promotional partnership that will see the
company's 'Griddly Headz' brand take a prominent position in the 2006
CASCAR Super Series Championship. The CASCAR race at the Grand Prix of
Edmonton will be named the 'Griddly Headz 100', while the Labour Day event
at Cayuga Int'l Speedway will be the 'Hot Head Henry 200, powered by
Griddly Headz'. For more information, visit www.griddlyheadz.com.
SCHEDULE: BARRIE SPEEDWAY (Barrie, Ontario)
CASCAR Super Series // MOPAR Canada Day 300
FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2006
10:00 a.m. 10:00 p.m. Promenade Days at Downtown Barrie
5:30 p.m. 5:45 p.m. Barrie Speedway Parade
6:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. MOPAR Pit Stop Challenge (Lakeshore Drive)
SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2006
3:30 p.m. Spectator Gates Open
6:30 p.m. CASCAR Super Series Time Trials
7:30 p.m. 8:45 p.m. Barrie Speedway Home Track Feature Races
9:00 p.m. 10:30 p.m. CASCAR Super Series Twin 50 Sprint Races
SUNDAY, JULY 2, 2006
11: 00 a.m. Spectator Gates Open
12:15 p.m. 12:30 p.m. CASCAR Sportsman Series Time Trials
12:45 p.m. 1:30 p.m. CASCAR SPORTSMAN SERIES MOPAR 100 FEATURE RACE
2:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. CASCAR Super Series Driver Autograph Session
3:00 p.m. 3:30 p.m. Driver Introductions
3:30 p.m. START: MOPAR CANADA DAY 300 CASCAR SUPER SERIES FEATURE
CASCAR ON TV: Catch the MOPAR Canada Day 300 presented by the Dodge Dealers
of Ontario from Barrie Speedway on Saturday, July 15 on SPORTSNET. For
information regarding initial airings and replays of Super Series races,
please check your local listings or visit
http://www.cascar.ca/schedule/tv_schedule.html.
MEDIA INVITATION: Members of the media are invited to attend the MOPAR Pit
Stop Challenge on Friday afternoon at 6:00 p.m., and the MOPAR Big Block
Party on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. at The ROXX, on Dunlop St. in Barrie.
POINT STANDINGS: CASCAR SUPER SERIES: After 2 Events: 1. #02 Kerry Micks
(394 pts.); 2. #22 Scott Steckly (390); 3. #84 J.R. Fitzpatrick (374); 4.
#4 Don Thomson Jr. (364); 5. #10 Doug Brown (364); 6. #39 Dave Whitlock
(354); 7. #17 DJ Kennington (350); 8. #23 Jeff Lapcevich (350); 9. #1 Peter
Gibbons (343); 10. #19 Brad Graham (337); 11. #25 Jim Lapcevich (337); 12.
#9 Mark Dilley (330); 13. #14 John Fitzpatrick (319); 14. #3 Jason Hathaway
(318); 15. #60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (314); 16. #77 Derek Lynch (309); 17. #93
Joe Goncalves (288); 18. #11 Ron Van Es (281); 19. #9 Kent Nuhn (271); 20.
#88 Dave Jacombs (201)
POINT STANDINGS: CASCAR FLO~PRO.COM WESTERN SERIES: After 2 Events: 1. #35
Kevin Dowler (325); 2. #36 Jim White (320); 3. #71 Daryl Harr (307); 4. #30
Derek Polack (301); 5. #6 Todd Nichol (290); 6. #87 James Ward (278); 7.
#21 Jason White (275); 8. #2 Carl Harr (268); 9. #26 Shawn Polack (264);
10. #79 Wade Lee (262); 11. #96 Norm Hunger (254); 12. #48 Chris Dennis
(252); 12. #42 Lyle Paulson (252); 13. #24 Scott Dennis (247); 14. #11
Marty White (244); 14. #86 Shawn Press (244); 14. #76 Dale Biesick (244);
14. #31 Shawn Maltman (244)
Contact CASCAR's Toronto Office at (416) 531-4714 or visit www.cascar.ca
Prepared by Inside Track Communications. // Contact: Greg MacPherson (416)
561-2320 (cell).
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should be sent to: greg@insidetracknews.com
