CASCAR Castrol Super Series - Weekend Wrap
29 June 1999
NELLES CORNERS, ON Kerry Micks returned to victory lane by winning the Cayuga 250 CASCAR Castrol Super Series East race at Cayuga Speedway on Sunday afternoon. The Ford Fast Lane Taurus racer is a former National series champion, but hasn’t won a Super Series race in a couple of seasons. That streak came to an end, however, as the Mt. Albert, ON racer started 10th in the field of 38 and progressed via a combination of quick driving, crafty race strategy and some speedy pit work to take the lead on lap 135 of the 250 lap event. Micks pitted earlier than many of the other front-runners and was in position to advance when those leaders eventually made their own stops. Once out front, Micks’ Ford was more than capable of cutting through traffic and holding the lead. “We didn’t have to pass a lot of cars after we went back out [after pitting],” said Micks. “All the cars that were ahead of me after we pitted went in themselves for the next yellow. When they stopped, I probably went from eighth to first and didn’t have to pass those cars.” Finishing second was Newmarket, ON racer Derrick Tiemersma. Driving his Pontiac Grand Prix, Tiemersma came from 12th on the grid and moved to second by lap 156. He was able to get close to Micks on several occasions especially following some of the restarts but the day clearly belonged to Micks. “It was awesome,” beamed Tiemersma after posting the best finish of his CASCAR career. “We came up one short, but it was a good race. After one caution, we reeled him [Micks] in really good... enough to hit him a couple of times. The next one, he pulled away. I was hoping to get him near the end, but over the last 10 laps, a slower car got into me and that was it... I lost him.” Another driver who posted his career-best finish at Cayuga on Sunday was Ted McIntyre. Driving the Mopar Accessories Dodge, the Windsor, ON racer started the race in 20th place and progressed steadily throughout the event. The points chase was altered somewhat following the Cayuga race as leader Don Thomson came back down to earth with a 21st-place finish. The Home Hardware Chevy driver has been virtually bulletproof so far in ’99 but an electrical problem left him five laps behind the leaders at the finish. After five Eastern events, seven drivers find themselves within 92 points of Thomson, who still holds a healthy 54 point lead over second place Neil Fair. POINT STANDINGS: (As of June 27, 1999 / After 5 events): 1. #4 Don Thomson Jr. 816 pts. (Chevrolet) 2. #33 Neil Fair 762 (Chevrolet) 3. #1 Peter Gibbons 758 (Chevrolet) 4. #02 Kerry Micks 754 (Ford) 5. #17 DJ Kennington 744 (Dodge) 6. #98 Dave Whitlock 742 (Ford) 7. #67 Derrick Tiemersma 728 (Pontiac) 8. #4 Mark Dilley 724 (Chevrolet) 9. #77 Pete Vanderwyst 710 (Chevrolet) 10. #14 John Fitzpatrick 676 (Chevrolet) 11. #31 Kelly Williams 670 (Ford) 11. #60 Ron Beauchamp Jr 670 (Dodge) 13. #51 Al Long 644 (Chevrolet) 14. #25 Jim Lapcevich 638 (Ford) 15. #52 Bill Rowse Jr. 626 (Chevrolet) 15. #8 Ted McIntyre 626 (Dodge) 17. #90 Brad Jacques 602 (Dodge) 18. #04 Andy Farr 586 (Dodge) 19. #5 Nik Lapcevich 572 (Chevrolet) 20. #66 Robin Buck 544 (Pontiac) 21. #22 Scott Steckly 542 (Pontiac) 22. #97 Rob Neely 540 (Dodge) 23. #76 Al Turner 534 (Dodge) 24. #99 Scott Watkins 506 (Pontiac) 25. #28 Steve Robblee 494 (Ford) 26. #94 Mark Graham 492 (Chevrolet) 27. #57 Joe Gonsalves 482 (Chevrolet) 28. #6 Ron VanEvery 420 (Chevrolet) 29. #93 Alex Nagy 378 (Chevrolet) 30. #96 Bill Darmon 340 (Pontiac) Bumper to Bumper 150 / Hythe, AB HYTHE, AB The CASCAR Castrol Super Series West was back in action on Saturday night, at Hythe Motor Speedway, for its third race of the season. The Bumper to Bumper 150 was held at the track which bills itself as ‘North America’s Fastest 3/8-mile oval’. As it has on the previous three CASCAR visits, the facility was the site of the first career CASCAR win for one Western series regular. Calgary’s Kim Richard started fifth in the field of 18 starters and progressed to the front of the pack in short order. Driving the Cdn. Properties Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Richard took the lead from polesitter Charlie Kirton on lap 7 and never looked back in what was a thoroughly dominant performance. With the win, Richard made up some ground on points leader Dan Shirley (NTN Bearings Chevrolet), who was second at Hythe. Third went to first-time podium finisher Fred DelPero (Trader Pubs. / Ital Motors Ford Taurus). Several regular front-runners suffered mechanical woes at Hythe, which juggled the point standings, somewhat. Round #2 winner Kevin Dowler had a broken rad hose, while fast qualifier Wade Lee had transmission trouble. They finished 15th and 14th, respectively. POINT STANDINGS: (As of June 26, 1999 / After 3 events): 1. #46 Dan Shirley 548 pts. (Chevrolet) 2. #20 Kim Richard 482 (Chevrolet) 3. #5 Steve Jefferson 480 (Dodge) 4. #35 Kevin Dowler 476 (Ford) 5. #79 Wade Lee 472 (Chevrolet) 6. #44 Fred DelPero 452 (Ford) 7. #4 Daryl Harr 450 (Chevrolet) 8. #2 Carl Harr 444 (Chevrolet) 9. #12 Ron Larson 434 (Chevrolet) 10. #33 Don Sales 432 (Chevrolet) 10. #93 Charlie Kirton 432 (Chevrolet) 12. #15 Mike Browne 426 (Pontiac) 13. #6 Todd Nichol 394 (Chevrolet) 14. #45 Darren Swerid 366 (Pontiac) 15. #70 John Restemeyer 346 (Chevrolet) 16. #14 James VanDomselaar 248 (Pontiac) 17. #09 Trevor Seibert 168 (Ford) 18. #9 Russ Anderson 138 (Pontiac) 18. #13 Bobby Joe Wilson 138 (Chevrolet) 18. #74 Dennis Masse 138 (Dodge) CASCAR Notes: The Cayuga 250 marked the return, of sorts, of Al Turner to the ranks of CASCAR’s top contenders. The Blue Streak Dodge driver won the pole at Cayuga by just .003 seconds and led several times during the race until an electrical gremlin knocked him from contention. The Barrie, ON racer switched from Chevrolets to Dodges prior to the start of ’99 and had struggled since making the change. Following the race, Turner was relieved to have his operation back on track...
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