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CASCAR: Broken clutch ends good day in NB for Vanderwyst

28 June 2000

ST. THOMAS, ON - The CASCAR Castrol Super Series East held its fifth race
of the season, at New Brunswick Int'l Speedway, on Sunday afternoon. The
tight, 1/3-mile oval is set just outside of Fredericton, NB and once again
drew a large crowd of fans to the series' lone Maritime visit of the
season. Pete Vanderwyst was quick in the early going in his Loctite
Chevrolet Monte Carlo, but a broken clutch near the one-quarter mark of the
200 lap event ended his day early.
	In the final tally, the St. Thomas, ON racer finished 19th. "We had a
little problem in tech before going to the grid - the car was too low -
which put us to the back of the pack for the start," said Vanderwyst, after
the race. "After we took the green flag, we just started moving and picking
our way forward. Some guys had some bad luck and we were having good luck
and made a lot of progress on a track that is very tough to pass on."
	Indeed, the NBIS circuit is traditionally one of the facilities where
track position is critical. It's rare for a driver to make up a lot of
positions under green. But the #77 Loctite Chevy was on a tear in the young
laps and climbed to eighth place before slowing and heading to the pits,
where Vanderwyst and crew were to discover that the clutch was through for
the afternoon.
	"About a quarter of the way into the race, we spit the clutch out of the
car and it ended our day. Tough luck. There's no padding on the disk and
all of the asbestos is gone. That makes it hard to swallow because we had a
really good car and were coming forward in a hurry. I could go on the
outside where not many others were running."
	According to Vanderwyst, the Maritime oval can be a frustrating place to race.
"It was a rough race - especially at the beginning. Everybody was beating
and banging and you feel boxed in. There's a guy to your right and he's
coming down on you, but you can't let off because there's another one right
on your bumper and he's going to nail you. It's a physical track."
	If there was any consolation for the disappointing result, it was the
eastern hospitality that was in evidence once again for the Super Series'
fourth annual visit.
"We all love coming down to New Brunswick because the people are so nice
and the fans are great but this track takes a heavy toll on these cars."

Coming Up: The busy CASCAR Castrol Super Series East schedule continues
this Sunday afternoon, in Quebec, at Autodrome Chicoutimi. It will be the
first ever Super Series visit to the 1/3-mile, banked oval, which is
located two hours north of Quebec City. Vanderwyst - who was second in the
Eastern points in '99 - heads to Quebec in 11th place in the current standings.

Race Report: Barrie, ON racer Al Turner picked up his third Super Series
feature victory of the season, on Sunday afternoon, at New Brunswick Int'l
Speedway. Turner started second behind defending National champion Peter
Gibbons and hounded him until making the race's only pass - for the lead -
on lap 161. From there, Turner stretched out his lead on Gibbons, who held
off last year's top Eastern rookie, Scott Steckly, at the finish.
	Following five events, defending Super Series East champion Don Thomson
Jr. leads the point standings by 13 points over National champ Peter Gibbons.

By Inside Track Communications