CASCAR Castrol Super Series returns to New Brunswick
23 June 2000
LONDON, ON - The CASCAR Castrol Super Series makes its annual visit to the Maritimes this weekend for the CARQUEST 200 at Fredericton, NB's New Brunswick Int'l Speedway. The June 24-25 (Sat. / Sun.) event is the fifth race on the Eastern schedule and is a favourite for the competitors on Canada's top motorsports tour. Reigning Eastern champion Don Thomson Jr. is heading to the 1/3-mile, high-banked oval atop the point standings. The track holds a special place in the heart of the Home Hardware Chevy driver, who, last September, captured his first Super Series crown after a solid run in the CARQUEST 200. The Hamilton, ON racer is on a roll again this year and is heading east full of confidence after his dominant win at Mosport Int'l Speedway on Saturday night. St. Thomas, ON racer DJ Kennington is the defending winner of the CARQUEST 200. Last year, Kennington picked up his second career CASCAR Super Series feature victory in the event and in the process, recorded the biggest pay-day in the history of CASCAR by winning both the feature race and the Tenneco Automotive 'Skin' prize fund. Speaking of his victory last fall at NBIS, Kennington noted that the win in Fredericton was a major confidence builder for himself and his Castrol Dodge team as they prepared for the 2000 season. "That was a real big boost for the winter," said Kennington, who currently sits seventh in the Super Series East points. "That got everybody 'into it' for working on the car over the winter. And working on a new car added to the excitement. Any time you can get a win is a boost and we want to keep the momentum going." A pair of Maritime racers will be in included in the CASCAR field this weekend as Nova Scotia star Scott Fraser and Brad Mann - of New Brunswick - will attempt to qualify. Fraser, of Shubenacadie, NS, is widely recognized as one of Canada's top stock car drivers. The second-generation racer will again be racing a car out of the Whitlock Motorsports stable. Although he hasn't won the event, Fraser is an incredible talent and has put on a spectacular show in his previous CASCAR outings at New Brunswick Int'l Speedway. His penchant for using the high groove for passing has electrified the enthusiastic Maritime crowd, which always cheers loudest for their 'native' son. The addition of Fraser to the field will bring to four the number of Whitlock prepared cars attempting to qualify for the CARQUEST 200. Regular team members Dave Whitlock, Mark Dilley and Dave Jacombs will also be in attendance. CARQUEST 200 Notes: Time Trials for this weekend's CARQUEST 200 at NBIS will commence Saturday afternoon (June 24) at 2 p.m. Heat races begin at 4 p.m. The track's regular Street Stock and Sportsman divisions will also be in action on Saturday. On Sunday (June 25), the CASCAR Autograph Session starts at noon. The CARQUEST 200 is scheduled to take the green flag at 2:00. A Sportsman feature will follow the CASCAR main. CASCAR congratulates... The Canadian Multimatic Motorsports team for their historic class victory in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, in France this past weekend. Driving a car prepared out of Multimatic's Markham, Ontario shop, Canadian drivers Scott Maxwell, John Graham and Greg Wilkins emerged victorious in the legendary marathon, winning the Le Mans Prototype (LMP) 675 division. There is a CASCAR connection to this victory as Maxwell - who lives in Toronto, ON - won the CASCAR Castrol Super Series National Championship road course event at Mosport Int'l Raceway in 1998. The race was Maxwell's lone CASCAR outing. Attached photos: Kennington vic lane.jpg - DJ Kennington won the CARQUEST 200 in September '99 thomson eastern champ.jpg - Don Thomson's run in last year's CARQUEST 200 clinched the Eastern championship for the Home Hardware Chevy driver photos by Greg MacPherson / Inside Track by Inside Track Communications.