PMRA Shootout at Lancaster: Pro Modified Racing Association Champion to be decided in final event for 2005

Courtesy Bruce F. Mehlenbacher

September 20, 2005 – CAYUGA, ON – With the postponed Pro Modified Racing Association, www.ProModifiedRacing.com (PMRA) race at Lancaster Motorsports Park rescheduled for October 14, this event could be the most important in the first year of the series.

At present Joe Lilienthal and his Jeep lead the standings with 1640 points going into Lancaster. But if Larry Sinke shows up at Lancaster, he will be given 200 points for attendance, which will put him only 20 points behind the Kenmore, NY leader. Sinke, of Welland, ON, did not get to Lancaster August 19, but Lilienthal did show up and was given the attendance points, something he will not get again October 14.

Both PMRA drivers have a win to their credit. Lilienthal won the Luskville event, and Sinke captured the race at Skyview Drags, both victories on eighth-mile tracks. And both drivers have taken runner-up spots, Sinke at Luskville, and Lilienthal at the second Toronto Motorsports Park race.

Other event winners include Carl Spiering of Jordan Station, ON, who won the opening round at TMP, and Medina, NY’s Mike Stawicki, who won the recent TMP race over the Labor Day weekend.

Behind Lilienthal in the standings is the Grainy Brothers Beretta with Jack Grainy of North Tonawanda, NY, with 1500 points. Tied for third is Dave Earhart of Strathroy, ON, with his ’02 Camaro, and Kasey Janzen of St. Catharines, ON, with his Lumina. Both drivers have 1440 points. And Sinke and his ’67 Nova of Hammer Racing rounds out the top five in the 22-car field with 1420 points.

Other New Yorkers scheduled to compete include Mark Mitchell of East Otto in his wild-looking “Rude Stude” Pro Modified, and Medina’s Mike Stawicki new G-Force Race Cars Inc. built 1967 Camaro.

The New Yorkers will face some other heavy competition from Southern Ontario at Lancaster, including Smokin’ Joe Boniferro of Niagara Falls in his Avenger and Bruce Boland of Hamilton and his Corvette.

Qualifying is scheduled for 5:00 p.m., 6:15 p.m., and 7:30 p.m., with eliminations to start at 8:45 p.m.

Lancaster has a long tradition in motorsports. With both a drag strip and a paved oval track, Lancaster has presented the best in racing to fans of Western New York and Southern Ontario.

Lancaster Motorsports Park, situated in Clarence, New York, is a one-eighth mile drag strip under International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) sanctioning.

For information about Lancaster Motorsports Park call 1.716.759.6818 (Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET) or visit online at www.LancasterRacing.com.

McIntosh selected for Team Canada A1 Grand Prix debut

Courtesy Stuart Morrison Public Relations

Vancouver, Canada (September 20, 2005) – Vancouver’s Sean McIntosh has been selected to spearhead Team Canada’s entry into the inaugural A1 Grand Prix Series, starting with this weekend’s season-opener at Brands Hatch, England, 23rd-25th September.

The A1 Grand Prix Series, billed as the ‘World Cup of Motorsport,’ will see 25 nations and their respective drivers compete on a level playing field with each team fighting for national pride, racing across twelve countries and five continents in a twelve-round calendar starting with this weekend’s double-header in Great Britain and running through to the season finale in China in April 2006.

Canada’s official entry to the series was unveiled yesterday, 19th September, as Formula Renault UK Championship title-contender and five-time 2005 race winner Sean McIntosh put the Team Canada entry through its paces on Silverstone’s National Circuit. Unleashing the 3.4-litre 520bhp V8 engine for the first time, the 20-year-old was quickly up to speed behind the wheel of the brand new Lola A1GP challenger. At day’s end the Canadian had posted the fastest time in the afternoon session and second fastest of the day overall.

Commenting on his first run for Team Canada and his selection ahead of this weekend’s maiden A1 Grand Prix Series event, McIntosh enthused:

“This is a fantastic opportunity to represent my country in what can only be described as a thrilling new international racing series. The notion of countries competing against each other on-track has really captured people’s imaginations and I’m incredibly honoured to be racing for Team Canada at Brands Hatch this weekend.”

“My first runs at Silverstone yesterday were very positive and I loved the step-up in power from my Formula Renault car, which puts out around 200bhp, to the V8 engine in the back of the A1 Grand Prix car! For a young emerging driver like myself, the series is especially important as it will be a real driver’s championship with everyone competing with the same chassis, tires and engine.”

Canadian businessman, Wade Cherwayko, is behind Team Canada’s entry into the inaugural A1 Grand Prix Series with British-based John Village Automotive Limited (Team JVA) charged with running all team operations. Team JVA boasts a successful open-wheel record with victories and titles in Formula 3000.

Sean will line-up for Sunday’s races in the Team Canada car alongside entries from the likes of the USA, Great Britain, Brazil, Ireland, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, Australia, India and China, with drivers including a mix of F1-veterans, such as Jos Verstappen and Pedro Lamy, through to fellow emerging open-wheel talents like Scott Speed and Nelson Piquet Jr.

For more information visit www.seanmcintosh.com or www.a1gp.com.

IGNITION PROBLEMS END STRONG RUN BY VAN ES: Sophomore Driver Ran Out Of Power at Lap 175

Prepared for Van Es Racing by Ken Spencer

Ron Van Es was looking for a top-ten finish to end his impressive second year season in CASCAR Super Series competition and looked at the halfway point in the 250-lap event he was about to get his wish. But it wasn’t to be at Kawartha Speedway on this Sunday afternoon..

The Smithville driver of the #11 Star Van Systems/All Covers Portable Systems/Marshall’s Truck and Trailer Repair Monte Carlo was running in the top-ten when the car suddenly developed ignition problems and ground to a stop on lap 175.

The car lost power heading down the track’s back stretch and by the time he entered pit road the engine had shut down forcing the crew to rush to his aid. Several attempts were made to diagnose and repair the problem but to no avail.

Ron had a slow qualifying speed that saw him line up 21st in the 29-car starting field but once underway, he began a steady march forward in the early stages of the race - a pattern he has developed in Series events throughout the season.

But on this afternoon the day ended early and he was credited with a 24th-place finish, good enough to secure 13th-place in the final standings.

DJ Kennington of St.Thomas was dominant in the “Dodge Dealers of Ontario Ram Tough 250” sponsored race leading all but 57 of the event’s 250 laps.

Those were led by defending series champion Don Thomson Jr. of Hamilton who captured his fifth consecutive national Super Series Championship with a fourth place finish chasing Kennington, Dave Whitlock and Peter Gibbons to the finish line.

For Ron and his teammates, the 2006 has already begun as they set out to attract new sponsors for their programs.

They are hoping an official announcement of NASCAR’s purchase of the Canadian series isn’t too far off.

Such a confirmation is bound to have a huge impact on their sponsorship efforts.

MANPOWER OVER HORSEPOWER FOR THE #10 TEAM AT KAWARTHA

Prepared By Ken Spencer, Marketing and Media Relations, Brown Auto Racing

It was manpower over horsepower for Doug Brown and his Brantford-based team at Kawartha Speedway on Sunday afternoon and the end result secured eleventh place for the driver of the NAPA/Autopro Monte Carlo in the final Super Series standings.

Minutes into the compressed late morning practice sessions, something broke in the car’s new power plant forcing the crew to begin the tedious task of swapping engines as the clock ticked down to the mandatory pre-race time trails.

With time virtually running out, the final hock-ups were completed, the car rushed through final inspection and pushed to the last spot in the qualifying line-up.

The result was a surprising tenth fastest time among the 29 cars set to take the green flag for 250-laps on the fast 3/th-mile oval.

But the day was only just beginning for the tired and beleaguered crew and driver.

Just 20 laps into the race, the engine suddenly quit and the car stopped during a caution flag break stranding Doug between turns three and four and beyond the entry point to the pit area. By the time the car was pushed to his pit stall with the help of several other teams’ crewmembers, Doug had lost several laps to the leaders. The crew managed to get the car refired only to have it quit again a few laps later. Once the wiring harness was replaced under green flag conditions, Doug returned to action and turned in some blistering lap times but had lost a total of 30 laps as the result of the problems.

His focus was now on keeping in tact his slim margin over Milverton’s Scott Steckly in the standings. With Scott having a solid afternoon running in the top ten, Doug had to finish within the top 24 and managed to come home 22nd at the end of the afternoon.

The crew later discovered that part of the wiring harness had melted when it came in contact with the headers, a problem likely caused through an oversight when the hasty engine swap was made.

“I guess you have to chalk that one up to racing luck”, Doug mused as he slumped into a lawn chair at the end of the day.” If weather hadn’t shortened the three-day event into two, we probably would have had the engine problem on Saturday and had plenty of time to make the change. As it was, we didn’t have enough time to check things over and missed a simple hook-up (referring to the wiring problem.) I still feel we’re a top-ten team in this Series but we’ll have to wait ‘till next year to prove it.”

Dodge driver DJ Kennington of St Thomas captured the “Dodge Dealers of Ontario Ram Tough 250” in dominating fashion by first setting fast time then leading 193 laps during the afternoon. Dave Whitlock of Wyoming driving a Dodge and Peter Gibbons of Stouffville in a Chevrolet finished second and third respectively.

With his fourth-place finish, Don Thomson Jr. of Hamilton scored his fifth straight CASCAR Super Series Championship.

Brad Graham of Glencoe, John Fitzpatrick of Ayr, Pete Shepherd III of Brampton, Dave Jacombs of Mt. Hope, Scott Steckley of Milverton, and rookie Kenny Habel of Etobicoke rounded out the top ten.

A special thanks is extended to those crewmembers from teams further down pit lane who helped push the #10 team to its pits stall. Their efforts go a long way in demonstrating teamwork among fellow competitors in Canada’s leading stock car racing series.

THE LE WALKER CHEVY QUICK, BUT BURNS UP AT KAWARTHA

Released prepared by TL Sports & Entertainment

September 19, 2005. The #42 LE Walker Transport Chevrolet team had worked hard for the week leading up to the final CASCAR Super Series race at Kawartha Speedway looking to finish their season on a high after so many frustrations. Sunday afternoon’s race went well until things got a little too hot.

During practice Sean Stafford began to get comfortable in the LE Walker Chevy and the times slowly improved. However disappointment in qualifying had the team starting the 250 lap main event 24th.

From the start of the race the car handled well and Sean was able to improve his position on the track. “In the beginning the car felt as good as it has all year and I was able to get going. This track is really wide with plenty of room to pass and the high banks make for exciting racing” said the driver.

By the halfway point of the race Sean had gained 12 positions and moved the LE Walker Chevrolet toward the top ten. “Our plan was to run as close to the front as possible, and finish in the top ten and I really thought it was going to happen” said the driver.

However, once again difficulties under the hood prevented a solid finish. The LE Walker Chevrolet began to slow on the race track and was eventually forced to pit lane. “It took us some time to diagnose the problem” because it was an electrical failure” said Mid America Motorsports President Dave Didero. “The damage was done, something got fried and our good finish was gone”.

Mid America Motorsports would like to thank all of their sponsors for their unwavering support during what became a difficult season. “LE Walker Transport is a great company, we brought Mobil One on board this year and we’re going to take a little time to re charge our batteries but then we’ll get going on tearing the cars down and looking forward to next year” said Didero. “We’ll be back strong”.

For more information on Mid America Motorsports and the CASCAR Super series log onto www.cascar.ca and watch all of the races on Rogers Sportsnet.

Sunoco's Ultra 94 team takes third consecutive championshipMarco Di Leo and Matt Pritiko finish one-two in Bridgestone Academy F2000 series

Courtesy the Russ Bond Agency, www.russbondagency.com

MOSPORT, ONTARIO Marco Di Leo drove home his championship in the Bridgestone Academy F2000 series with three wins on the final weekend of racing. “This is a great win for our Sunoco team,” Di Leo said. “It has been a great experience for me. I have to thank Ron, Sunoco, Lee Bentham and David Empringham for all their help this year. I know Matt and I learned so much, and to finish one two is the best we could have done with this opportunity. Hopefully I will take what I have learned into next year.”

Di Leo won seven of nine races, giving him a point total of 191. Teammate Matt Pritiko finished with 145 points and the David Preston Sportsmanship award. “This has been a great experience,” Pritiko said. “I want to thank everyone for all their help. It has been a big learning experience for me, and I am happy we were able to uphold the honour of the Sunoco Team Ultra 94 team.”

The two drivers have enjoyed some great help during the year. Lee Bentham coached the two in the first two weekends, and David Empringham provided coaching for the final weekend. “First; this was a great experience for me, to come back to my roots here at the Bridgestone school,” Empringham said. “Both drivers did fantastic jobs this weekend. Marco stood out with his natural ability, and made some great moves during the weekend. Matt showed strong determination, and showed his ability to perform.”

Team leader Ron Fellows took in the final race which featured a bit of a twist. Bridgestone Academy head instructor Ugo Provencher took to the track for the final race, and it turned into a great battle between him and new series champ Di Leo. “It has been a very good year,” Fellows said. “Both drivers did a great job. Both are very talented drivers. Today’s last race with Ugo was a good learning experience for Marco.”

The Sunoco Ron Fellow Karting Championship will hold its annual Evaluation Day on October 7, to decide who will be the Sunoco Team Ultra 94 drivers for 2006.

BEST FINISH OF THE YEAR FOR CATHCART IN THE MEYERS TRANSPORT/PETERBOROUGH HOMES/PARKVIEW HOMES DODGE

This release prepared by Todd Lewis, TL Sports & Entertainment

September 19, 2005 – Bryan Cathcart and the Meyers Transport/Peterborough Homes/Parkview Homes Dodge team prepared for the final race of the CASCAR Super Series schedule at Kawartha Speedway hoping to complete their season with a solid outing. Mission accomplished!

The Meyers Transport/Peterborough Homes/Parkview Homes Dodge team was worried about being down on engine power after qualifying 26th to start the 250 lap Ram Tough 250 presented by the Ontario Dodge Dealers but also felt they had a car that would race well.

From the start Cathcart was able to maneuver through the traffic on the wide, high banked 3/8 mile oval and pick up several positions. Cathcart continued to move his Meyers Transport/Peterborough Homes/Parkview Homes Dodge through the pack and was up to 15th spot at the mid way point of the race. “It wasn’t any one thing, but the car drove well and we kept getting better, I just tried to keep it going” said Cathcart”.

By lap 188 Cathcart had moved up further and was sitting just outside the top ten. “The rest of the way I just tried to stay smooth, keep out of any trouble and complete the race with a good finish. The Meyers Transport/Peterborough Homes/Parkview Homes Dodge team would finish the race 11th, gaining a total of 15 positions from the start.

“It was a great day for everyone” smiled Cathcart afterwards. “My team worked really hard all year for this and it’s nice for all the guys, we’ve got a really good group here and they deserve this. I don’t think I did much different other than my water bottle malfunctioned and I couldn’t get a drink for the entire race, maybe we should think about not having one next year joked the driver afterwards”.

The CASCAR Super Series is the only National Touring Series of Stock Car Racing in Canada. All CASCAR Super Series Races can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet and SPEED TV. For more information and to follow the progress of Bryan Cathcart and the CASCAR Super Series log onto www.cascar.ca.