CASCAR: Whitlock Motorsports looks for Delaware redemption
2 September 1999
PETROLIA, ON - When it comes to reminiscing about the majority of the CASCAR Castrol Super Series races he's taken part in so far this season, Dave Whitlock would be the first to tell you that he'd rather forget about most of them. With one race remaining on the National and Eastern schedules, the Ford Quality Care Service Taurus driver sits 10th in the National standings and seventh in the Eastern point rankings. Those aren't bad stats, but when you're the back-to-back defending National champion, those figures are nothing to write home about. Another championship is all but impossible in '99. However, Whitlock does have one goal that he can do something about in his final two outings. The Petrolia, ON racer would like to put a notch in the 'win' column before the season is done and he's looking forward to the CARQUEST 300 at Delaware Speedway Park, this weekend (Sept. 4-6), as the race in which to get the job done. The road course race at Mosport Int'l Raceway on Sunday afternoon turned into another frustrating afternoon for the Ford driver and his teammate, Mark Dilley. Whitlock finished 12th, while Dilley ended up 19th. "We had a spin early in the race; about three laps in," said Whitlock. "There was a bit of oil or water in Moss Corner and everybody started locking the brakes up in front of me. It was a chain reaction with everyone on the brakes. The rear end broke loose and I spun around. The car was still good after that. We went on after that for a fairly long stretch." And although he was running as high as eighth (laps 4-11), trouble with tires once again bit the three-time CASCAR champ. "We pitted early and put on four tires and took fuel. But then, pretty soon after, we had a flat up front. And then, we had a rear flat tire. So, after so many flats and pitting three times, it just put us behind the eight-ball. Whitlock, who was sixth in his qualifying heat race on Saturday, continued, "We got it home in one piece. But it wasn't what we wanted. We just have to admit that it's not our year. We're not running badly, but it just seems to be one thing or another that's been getting us. We even broke a sway bar in practice, just before qualifying." As for NTN Bearings / Herbrand Tools Taurus driver Mark Dilley, he's just happy to have all of the road course races behind him for the summer. The Barrie, ON resident makes no bones about his preference for the ovals. "I just dropped a wheel off in [turn] 2. Some stuff got bent up and we went down a couple of laps," said Dilley, who managed to limp back to the pits after the incident, which occurred near the two-thirds point of the race. "After that, we just wanted to protect the car because we have to race it at Delaware next weekend. The car was running good; I was being smooth, trying not to push anything and take it easy." Coming Up... This weekend, the CASCAR Castrol Super Series returns to Delaware Speedway Park for the final National championship points race of the season. Last year, the CARQUEST 300 was the setting as Dave Whitlock's captured his record third career Castrol Cup. In comparison to the winning seasons of '97 and '98, the current campaign has been a frustrating one for the Petrolia, ON racer. But that won't stop Whitlock in his quest for victory in Canada's biggest, richest and oldest stock car race. Many of Canada's most successful oval racers have tasted victory in the race and this year - in the 18th edition of the Labour Day classic at Delaware Speedway Park - Whitlock plans to add his own name to that illustrious list. Qualifying for the race starts Friday evening (Sept. 4) with the time trial session. It will be followed, at 8 p.m. by the first of two 100-lap heat races. The Final Qualifiers' race is scheduled for Saturday night at the Delaware half-mile, and will set the remainder of the starting grid for Sunday's feature race. Following pre-race activities, the CARQUEST 300 will commence at 2:15 p.m. Mosport Race Summary: Peter Gibbons of Stouffville, ON won the UAP NAPA Presents the C.A.G. 250 km road course CASCAR race at Mosport Int'l Raceway on Sunday afternoon. And for the second year in a row, Robin Buck finished second. DJ Kennington of St. Thomas, ON claimed the final podium position. - 30 -
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