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CASCAR: Gibbons wins CARQUEST 300 and Castrol Cup

9 September 1999


KOMOKA, ON - On Sunday afternoon at Delaware Speedway Park, Peter Gibbons
won Canada's biggest, oldest and richest stock car race - the CARQUEST 300
- for the second time in a row. On top of that, the native of Stouffville,
ON walked away with Canada's most prestigious stock car trophy; the Castrol
Cup.

	The trophy is symbolic of supremacy on the CASCAR Castrol Super Series
National tour, and Gibbons and his Canadian Tire / Slick 50 Chevrolet Monte
Carlo team are deserving National champions. The '97 Eastern series titlist
won the final two 'National' events of the season - on the road course at
Mosport Int'l Raceway (Bowmanville, ON) and on the half-mile oval at
Delaware Speedway Park (London, ON) - to demonstrate his versatility and
dominance of the National races in '99.

	On Sunday, Gibbons pitted near the midway point of the 300 lap race and
went on to a comfortable 2.5 second win over Kerry Micks (Ford Fast Lane /
Mt. Albert, ON), who was followed by Pete Vanderwyst (Loctite Chevrolet /
St. Thomas, ON); the third place finisher.

	The winning pass occurred on lap 258 when Gibbons' Chevy powered around
the second-running Dave Whitlock and leader Don Thomson Jr. - in the same
turn - to claim the lead in dramatic fashion. From there, he never looked
back and won the championship with a decisive 84 point margin over Thomson.

	"The car worked just great today," said Gibbons, after emerging from his
car. "The guys on the team worked so hard for this and we're glad to win
the race and be the National champion. I felt good making the pass the way
we did. We're here to go for it, and that's what we did."

	With Gibbons' win, the two-year reign of Dave Whitlock as the champion of
Canada's elite stock car tour comes to an end. Thomson was involved in a
late-race tangle with Whitlock when the latter driver was a split-second
slower in reacting to a caution light on the backstretch. The contact sent
Thomson spinning and Whitlock was assessed a stop and go penalty. In the
end, however, everything that happened behind Gibbons was incidental. On
the strength of his two National wins and a victory in one of the Eastern
races (that contributed to his overall points total), Gibbons was truly the
class of the field in the hunt for the most prestigious CASCAR crown.

CARQUEST 300 Notes: The record Sunday attendance for the CARQUEST 300 was
13,221, which brought the total for the three-day weekend to 21,975... Ford
Quality Care Taurus driver Kevin Dowler was the top finishing Western
series regular in the final National Super Series point standings. The
Edmonton, AB resident was sixth in the final tally and captured the
checkered flag in Saturday night's Final Qualifiers' race... Dave
Whitlock's appearance on the pole for the CARQUEST 300 was the first time
since the season finale at New Brunswick Int'l Speedway in the fall of '97
that he's lined up on the inside of the front row... Heat race wins on the
Friday night of the CARQUEST 300 went to Gibbons and Rob Neely (Champion
Dodge / Milton, ON)... Finishing fourth in the Labour Day classic at
Delaware Speedway Park was Alex Nagy (Charlie's Soap Chevrolet), a former
winner of the CARQUEST 300. The Brantford, ON resident has made limited
appearances on the Super Series tour and is hoping to secure sponsorship
that will allow him to compete on the full Eastern and National tour in
2000... Six-time Delaware CASCAR Sportsman champ Steve Robblee put on a
superb show in his Fram-sponsored Ford Taurus, at his hometrack. The former
CASCAR Super Series champion was making the first of three '99 appearances
with his new sponsor and was up to fourth before being sidetracked by
mechanical problems, late in the 300 lap affair.

***

National Points Standings after Round #4 of 4 / As of September 5, 1999: 1.
#1 Peter Gibbons (Stouffville, ON / 1654 points / Chevrolet); 2. #4E Don
Thomson (Hamilton, ON / 1570 / Chevrolet); 3. #17 DJ Kennington  (St
Thomas, ON / 1564 Dodge); 4 #77 Pete Vanderwyst (St Thomas, ON / 1518 /
Chevrolet); 5. #O2 Kerry Micks (Mt Albert, ON / 1486 / Ford); 6. #35 Kevin
Dowler (Edmonton, AB / 1430 / Ford); 7. #98 Dave Whitlock (Petrolia, ON /
1422 / Ford); 8. #76 Al Turner (Barrie, ON / 1406 Dodge); 9. #66 Robin Buck
 (Oakville, ON / 1386 / Pontiac); 10. #33E Neil Fair  (Ancaster, ON / 1366
/ Chevrolet); 11. #4W Daryl Harr (St. Albert, AB / 1340 / Chevrolet); 12.
#64 Mark Dilley (Barrie, ON / 1338 / Ford); 13. #2 Carl Harr (St. Albert,
AB / 1312 / Chevrolet); 14. #31 Kelly Williams (Inglewood, ON / 1288 /
Ford); 15. #60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (Windsor, ON / 1282 Dodge); 16. #5E Nik
Lapcevich (Hamilton, ON / 1240 / Chevrolet); 17. #14E John Fitzpatrick
(Ayr, ON / 1228 / Chevrolet); 18. #88 Dave Jacombs (Mt. Hope, ON / 1116 /
Ford); 19. #79 Wade Lee (Calgary, AB / 906 / Pontiac); 20. #O4 Andy Farr
(Chesterfield,MI / 880 Dodge); 21. #33W Don Sales (Quesnel, BC / 848 /
Chevrolet); 22. #20 Kim Richard (Calgary, AB  / 820 / Chevrolet); 23. #52
Bill Rowse Jr (Corunna,ON / 812 / Chevrolet); 24. #46 Dan Shirley
(Saskatoon, SK / 806 / Chevrolet); 25. #44 Fred DelPero (Edmonton, AB / 802
/ Ford); 26. #67 Derrick Tiemersma (Newmarket, ON / 784 / Pontiac); 27. #25
Jim Lapcevich (Hamilton,ON / 768 / Ford); 28. #12 Ron Larson (Quesnel, BC /
758 / Pontiac); 29. #93 Charlie Kirton (Saskatoon, SK / 758 / Chevrolet);
30. #6 Todd Nichol (St. Albert, AB / 754 / Chevrolet)

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