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CASCAR: Tough night leaves Vanderwyst 17th at Mosport Int'l Speedway

20 June 2000

ST. THOMAS, ON - If points were given for determination, Pete Vanderwyst
would have been near the top of the pack after Saturday night's 200 lap
CASCAR Castrol Super Series race at Mosport Int'l Speedway. The Loctite
Chevrolet Monte Carlo driver posted the 13th-best time trial effort in the
afternoon, but ran into mechanical trouble during his heat race which
knocked him back to 33rd in the field of 38, for the start of the race.
Just 18 laps into the event, the #77 Loctite Chevy was tagged in the
rear-end and sent for a loop, leaving Vanderwyst one lap down on the
leaders. Undeterred, Vanderwyst fought - over the course of the next 150
laps - to get back in the hunt for the win, but it wasn't to be.
"We had a fuel pump break in the heat race, which put us back in the field
after we had the 13th-fastest lap in time trials," said the St. Thomas, ON
racer. "That would have worked a whole lot better for us. In the early part
of the race, we were coming forward when another driver got into the back
end of me. It was a rookie mistake on his part, which sent me around and
cost me a lap at the beginning.
	"After that, we just fought to get the lap back," continued Vanderwyst.
"Time and again, we got in front of the leader - just waiting for a caution
- but it never came. That happened four times where we were eventually
re-passed by the leader after we got back on the lead lap. At the end, I
knew it wasn't going to happen, so I let the lead guys by to race for the win."
	The final stroke of bad luck came with just over a half-dozen laps
remaining in the Mosport race. "About seven laps from the end, the
right-front rotor broke in half and that blew the tire. That ended our race
there. It put a tough end to a tough day." When all was said and done, the
Loctite Chevy came home in 17th place, four laps behind the winner, Don
Thomson Jr.
	Sitting in 12th place in the Eastern point standings after four events,
Vanderwyst - who finished second in the championship in '99, is hoping to
put the misfortune behind him for the rest of the campaign.
"It's just dumb luck that's kicking our butts this year. We keep fighting
to the front and then something nips us. The guys are doing great work
preparing the cars and making good stops. It's gotta change sooner or later."

Coming Up: The CASCAR tour heads east to New Brunswick Int'l Speedway this
weekend for the CARQUEST 200. Located just outside of Fredericton, NB, the
annual event (June 24-25) is one of the more popular stops on the CASCAR
schedule. 
The track holds special importance for Vanderwyst and crew as it was there,
last September, that the St. Thomas, ON native raced to a sixth-place
finish en route to his career-best, runner-up finish in the CASCAR Castrol
Super Series East final points chase.

Race Report: Reigning CASCAR Castrol Super Series East champion Don Thomson
Jr. picked up his first checkered flag of the season, on Saturday night at
Mosport Int'l Speedway. The Chevy driver won the event for the second year
in a row, in front of a crowd of over 8,000 at the Oshawa, ON area
half-mile oval. Defending National champ Peter Gibbons was second, ahead of
Neil Fair.