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CASCAR: Whitlock Motorsports ready for CASCAR's eastern Nationals

26 August 1999

PETROLIA, ON - DaveWhitlock and Mark Dilley have returned from the opening
rounds of the CASCAR Castrol Super Series National championship in Alberta
and are looking forward to the final two events, in Ontario.

	A conservative strategy of timing and waiting was paying off late in the
Aug. 8, 300 lap race at Calgary's Race City Motorsport Park as Whitlock and
Dilley were on a mission and headed to the front - until unrelated part
failures stopped both cars, almost simultaneously. 

Prior to the late-race trouble, Dilley's NTN Bearings / Herbrand Tools Ford
Taurus had climbed to fifth in the field, by lap 85. Forty laps later,
Whitlock's Ford Quality Care Service Taurus joined the fray and was on his
teammate's bumper.

Both drivers pitted on lap 180, with Whitlock returning to the track in
11th place, one spot ahead of Dilley. With open track in front of them, the
leaders got away after the restart. The race was slowed by two more
cautions - and on the third at lap 244 - both drivers pitted again, and
gave up their spots in the top 10.

Following that final late-race 'tweak', both drivers came forward with a
vengeance; their cars were perfect for the final run. Just laps before
Dave's incident on lap 285, Mark was up to fifth and closing fast on the
top four, with Dave close behind.

After Whitlock's spin, the Petrolia, ON driver could barely keep his car
running and coasted across the finish line. It later turned out that the
culprit was an internal part in the fuel pump of the three-time CASCAR
National champion's #98 Ford.

And just when Dilley was planning his restart attack on the leaders for the
final 16 lap shootout, he was forced to the pits when his engine faltered,
because of low fuel pressure caused by a cracked pick-up hose inside the
fuel cell. 

In the end, it was two rare and unrelated part failures that ruined a great
run for both drivers. On the bright side, they did serve notice that both
cars were definitely in contention and heading to the front. But Whitlock
left the first National race of the year with a 16th-place result, while
Dilley finished 22nd.

	"We were running well with about 40 to go, but then it fell apart," noted
Whitlock who was running seventh, just behind Dilley, on lap 261 when the
Petrolia, ON racer's car got clipped coming off turn 2 on the high banked,
half-mile oval. "We got a push from western Ford driver Kevin Dowler after
the car died and that got us going again, but we were out of the running at
that point."

	During qualifying heat races, the day before (Aug. 7), Whitlock was fourth
in his 100 lapper, while Dilley came home sixth after an exciting race-long
battle with several competitive cars.

National Round #2: Edmonton
	
The second National championship round was held on Aug. 15 at the Edmonton
City Centre Airport. Contested on several runways of the still-active
airport, the road course event is one of the most popular fan events on the
CASCAR schedule. It doesn't hold the same charm, however, for Mark Dilley.
His NTN Bearings Ford started ninth on the 28 car grid but suffered more
engine trouble early in the 250 km race. His day ended on lap 48 of the 87
lap event. With the CASCAR National tour heading to the legendary Mosport
road course for Round #3 (Aug. 27-29), Mark is looking beyond that race to
the Labour Day oval event at Delaware Speedway Park.

	"There was smoke in the car after we dropped a valve. We got stuck out on
the far end of the course and that was the end of the day. What else can
you say? It's just been a bit of bad luck. The motor got hurt and we were
done. It made for a long day. We'll just head to Mosport and then, we're
looking forward to Delaware and New Brunswick. I can't wait to get back on
the ovals."

 	Whitlock, the three-time and back-to-back defending National champion
started 23rd in Edmonton and finished a solid ninth. Considering he had
powerplant troubles of his own during his Saturday heat race and had to
change the engine of the #98 Ford Quality Care Taurus the night before the
main event, Whitlock was satisfied with the result.

	"The Edmonton race was a little bit better than how we've been doing the
past few races," said Whitlock. "It's been a frustrating few months. Going
into today's race, we haven't finished five of the last six times we
started, so we just wanted to finish. Over the course of the day, we moved
up from 23rd to ninth. It's not a bad day, but it wasn't what we wanted.
The car was just a little too tight to be up in the top five.

"We didn't get to run the whole qualifying race, so we didn't get a good
indication of what the car would be like today. We just missed the setup a
little bit. We worked half the night putting a new motor in the car for the
race, so we didn't have much time to worry about the chassis. I guess we
have to take the ninth and be happy today."

	As for the rest of the season, Whitlock is looking forward to racing in
Ontario again. And like Dilley, he's anticipating returning to Delaware on
the Labour Day weekend. Although he hasn't given up on winning a third
consecutive National title, he knows it's a longshot at this point and his
goal now is to put a win in the books for '99.

	"I want to get back east. We're still going to try to get a win out of the
season, yet. We're not totally out of the points chase yet, but it's going
to be a pretty uphill battle. The leaders are getting further and further
away on us every race. I really want to win at Delaware. We've set that as
a goal since the start of the year and everyone on the team is pretty
pumped about doing well there.

"We had a good car in Calgary, but just had problems near the end of the
race, so we know we have a good oval setup and we'll take that to
Delaware." After two National rounds, Whitlock sits 12th in the National
rankings, while Dilley is 20th.
Whitlock tests at Delaware

Back in Ontario, Whitlock visited Delaware Speedway Park on Aug. 20 and
participated in several hot lap sessions prior to the start of the
evening's racing schedule. According to the defending National champion,
the car performed superbly and he feels confident for the CARQUEST 300 on
Sept. 5.

"We had the car out to test some things and it went very well," said
Whitlock. "We're fairly happy with the car and didn't make any big changes.
It sure hasn't been our year so far but we're motivated to do well in the
Labour Day race at Delaware."

Race Summaries: Pete Vanderwyst of St. Thomas, ON won his first ever CASCAR
feature with a daring late-race pass on Al Turner in the Calgary National
race on Aug. 8. The Edmonton event (Aug. 15) went to Eastern and National
points leader Don Thomson on the strength of a steady pace and some crafty
fuel management.

	The July 24 Ford Quality Care 250 at Cayuga Speedway was won by Ford Fast
Lane driver Kerry Micks. Dilley and Whitlock came home 25th and 30th,
respectively, in that race.

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