CASCAR: Whitlock Motorsports - Cayuga 250 report
30 June 1999
PETROLIA, ON - The Whitlock Motorsports team was 'hot' on the weekend, but not in a way they liked. Run under sweltering conditions, many drivers who competed in the Cayuga 250 were left feeling the effects of the heat and humidity as they battled for 250 laps at Cayuga Speedway, on Sunday afternoon. Ford Quality Care Taurus driver Dave Whitlock came home in 10th place after struggling to find a contending setup on the 5/8-mile oval. Teammate Mark Dilley required driver relief - in the form of Robin Buck - to go the distance in the NTN Bearings / Herbrand Tools Taurus. Dilley's in-car liquids ran out - literally - early in the race and left him dehydrated and tired near the end of the event. Nonetheless, Dilley and Buck combined for a respectable 13th-place result in the field of 38 starters. In addition to the heat, Whitlock was hampered by a nagging injury. "My back was bothering me a bit. I had a herniated disk three years ago and it really tightened up during the race. I wasn't overly hot after the race, but it was hot enough and I wanted to get out of it [the car]. The guys just gave me a bit of help and after that I was OK. It was a pretty humid day." As for the on track performance, Whitlock is still looking for the answers to some handling problems that have dogged the team in '99. "We had a kind of off day. We didn't qualify that well and started 19th, which is deeper than we usually like," continued the Petrolia, ON racer, who sits sixth in the Eastern standings after five events. "And after that, lapped traffic made it hard to make progress. We couldn't make our way up through the pack. Every time we'd get a stretch of green flag racing going, we'd end up behind some cars and get stuck. And when we did get by, we just couldn't make up ground on the leaders. It wasn't what we wanted. The car wasn't perfect and we just have to work on our setup a little bit. With an eye to getting back to the front of the pack, Whitlock has a couple of practice outings planned for the next few weeks. "We plan to go out this Friday night at Delaware for some practice, before the regular Sportsman races. I'm going to try some new things and if I need to, we'll go back next Friday, too. The three-time and defending National champion has an idea as to what the dilemma might be. "The tires are a fair bit different than they were last year. We just haven't figured out the exact spring and shock combinations to find what the cars 'want'. That's the biggest thing. It's frustrating because we didn't want to take this many races to figure things out, but we're covering a lot of bases with the two cars, so we'll figure it out eventually. For his part, Mark Dilley physically drained after the Cayuga 250. The Barrie, ON racer had a long day on the track and was showing the effects of the extreme heat and the handling problems caused by the leaking fluid container. "It was a long, hot day. The drink system went out early and started leaking on the right rear tire. That sent the back end all over the place. It wore me out and I ended up coming out near the end because I'd had it. Robin Buck subbed for me that last stint and thanks to him for that." Dilley is eighth in the Eastern standings. Race Summary: Ford Fast Lane Taurus driver Kerry Micks won the Cayuga, in solid fashion. The Mt. Albert, ON racer took the lead just past the halfway point of the 250 lap event and led comfortably the rest of the way. Derrick Tiemersma and Ted McIntyre were second and third, respectively. It was the best CASCAR finish for both of these young lions. The next CASCAR Castrol Super Series East race is the July 10-11 CDS Tech 200 on the oval at Mosport Speedway. In other team news, Dave Whitlock would like to welcome Lincoln Electric of Canada as an associate sponsor of Whitlock Motorsports. Lincoln Elec. is an international company, based in Cleveland, OH, with manufacturing locations in 14 countries, including Canada. They design and manufacture arc welding products and robotic welding systems, as well as plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment.
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