Van Es Racing - Barrie Speedway NASCAR Report
For Immediate Release // July 3, 2007
Driver: Ron Van Es // NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Team #11
Contact Jolene Convery at Van Es Racing (800) 263-4884
RON VAN ES BATTLES TO AN 11TH-PLACE LEAD LAP FINISH AT BARRIE SPEEDWAY
STONEY CREEK, ON – Barrie Speedway is widely considered to be one of the
toughest short tracks on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule.
Following Sunday night’s MOPAR 300 at the high-banked Central Ontario
track, Ron Van Es can confirm the track’s reputation.
The driver of the #11 Van Es Racing Chevy qualified
eighth-fastest in the field of 20 for the 300-lap race around the
challenging 1/3-mile tri-oval, but was involved in an incident prior to lap
100 which adversely affected the handling of his car for the rest of the event.
Determined to soldier on, Van Es battled the rest of the way
to finish on the lead lap, in 11th-place. “It was a really, really tough
night,” said Van Es, following the race. “But through adversity, we turned
‘nothing’ into something. My team never gave up. I never gave up. And I
drove my backside off for them.”
In a predictably physical race at the Barrie ‘bullring’, Van Es – like most
others – was involved in his fair share of contact. Unfortunately for the
Stoney Creek, Ont. racer, the lap 89 incident he was caught up in rendered
his car virtually undriveable.
“We got mixed up in an accident early and that messed up the handling of
the car. After that, it drove like a dump truck. The ‘toe’ was knocked out
and I couldn’t even turn the wheel to the right, which you need to do to
warm up the tires and clean them off before restarts.
“We stuck it out and came home 11th. That’s mostly thanks to a lot of
attrition, but we never got lapped on the racetrack and never needed to use
the ‘lucky dog’ rule to get back on the lead lap. There were a lot of
slower cars who got their laps back thanks to all the cautions, so by the
end of the race, almost everyone was back on the lead lap which meant you
really had to race hard to pick up some spots.”
Sunday provided a mix of highs and lows for the #11 team as
they overcame mechanical issues with their car in the lead-up to a solid
qualifying performance. “We missed the first hour of practice to an issue
with the car,” continued Van Es. “We got it fixed for the second practice
and improved our times, but it really hurt to miss the whole first hour.
Alex Nagy [the team’s crew chief] made some great adjustments to the car
for qualifying and it made a huge difference. I think there was actually
more speed there, but I didn’t know what I had. It was nice to start eighth
and that definitely helped our night.”
After participating in the first three NASCAR Canadian Tire
Series races, the #11 Van Es Racing team is going to skip the next two
events. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have to miss the two races out west
(Vernon, BC and Edmonton, AB),” said Van Es. “They’re two great events, but
unfortunately, we have budget considerations that won’t allow us to make it
to those races. We’re going to focus on getting ready for the second half
of the schedule, which is pretty intense, starting with the NASCAR Busch
Series weekend in Montreal in early August.”
BARRIE RACE SUMMARY: DJ Kennington won Sunday’s MOPAR 300 at Barrie
Speedway. At the end of 300 laps, he came home just over a second in front
of Barrie, ON racer Mark Dilley. Five-time CASCAR National champion Don
Thomson Jr. rounded out the podium finishers. The race was slowed by 16
cautions for a total of 101 laps and featured 13 lead changes among six
different drivers. Series points leader Andrew Ranger continued to impress
in his first season of stock car racing with a fifth-place finish. Twenty
drivers took the initial green flag for the third of 12 NASCAR Canadian
Tire Series races on the 2007 schedule.
Prepared by Inside Track Communications. For more information about Van Es
Racing, contact Jolene Convery at Van Es Racing at (800) 263-4884. For more
information about the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, visit www.nascar.ca
