CASCAR: 'Long day' in Edmonton, but Vanderwyst still 4th in Nat'l points
21 August 1999
EDMONTON, AB - Racers know that sooner or later, they're going to have 'one of those days'. Pete Vanderwyst came to Sunday's CASCAR Castrol Super Series National road race event in Edmonton, AB in second place in the National standings. But after sliding on water and crashing into a water barrier while running second, early in the race, Vanderwyst's day quickly deteriorated. A blown radiator and troubles with his braking system made for a long afternoon in the 250 km race. The Loctite team thrashed in the pits, but the damage was too extensive and despite their best efforts, the #77 Loctite Chevy fell off the pace. In the end, the St. Thomas, ON driver finished 19th in the field of 29 competitors and now sits fourth in the National rankings following the two Alberta events. "We were running second when we hit water in the chicane and had no warning," said the Loctite Chevrolet Monte Carlo driver. "After I got through there, I was just trying to hang on and hit a water barrier. It blew the radiator out and the whole front end of the car. It also took out the brake canister that holds the fluid for the front brakes. After that, we just drove around all afternoon." The result was disappointing for Vanderwyst and his team, but they were still encouraged following their first ever CASCAR Super Series win, at Calgary's Race City Motorsport Park, just one week earlier. "It's a shame, because we had such a great car. Loctite had a big contingency of people out at the races today and it's just unfortunate because we were running second and pulling away from the guys behind us. The car was really good... it was a rocketship. We were gaining a half a second each lap on [the leader] Peter Gibbons. Maybe he wasn't going all out, because he was leading by a long way, but we were definitely in good shape for an excellent finish." But like all racers, Vanderwyst realizes that situations will occur that will be beyond his control. The team has to recover from Sunday's Edmonton race and continue forward in their quest for the National and Eastern championships. "Hopefully, this is our 'bad' one. If it was my mistake, I'd be really hard on myself right now, but there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it. It's just a raw deal. We've got two weeks before Mosport, so we'll get the car back in shape and try to get back on track there." Western Notes: Although the team didn't get the result it was looking for in Sunday's 250 km race at the Edmonton City Centre Airport, Vanderwyst's weekend did have some bright spots. The Loctite Chevrolet Monte Carlo lined up sixth on the grid for the race, on the strength of Vanderwyst's third place finish in Saturday's timed sprint heat race... The next event for the Loctite Chevrolet is the Aug. 27-29 road race at Mosport Int'l Raceway. The National tour concludes the week after at Delaware Speedway Park. CASCAR Castrol Super Series - National Points Standings: After Round #2 of 4 / As of August 15, 1999: 1. #4E Don Thomson Jr. (978 points / Chevrolet); 2. #1 Peter Gibbons (970 / Chevrolet); 3. #17 DJ Kennington (944 / Dodge); 4. #77 Pete Vanderwyst (912 / Loctite Chevrolet); 5. #79 Wade Lee (910 / Pontiac); 6. #35 Kevin Dowler (904 / Ford); 7. #02 Kerry Micks (884 / Ford); 7. #76 Al Turner (884 / Dodge); 9. #33W Don Sales (848 / Chevrolet); 10. #2 Carl Harr (844 / Chevrolet)Editors Note: For hundreds of hot racing photos and racing art, be sure to visit The Racing ImageGalleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.