CALGARY, AB – The drivers, teams and officials that make up the CASCAR Super Series are on their way to Calgary, Alberta for this weekend’s MOPAR 500 Weekend at Race City Motorsport Park. The event is one of the longest-running and most popular stock car races on Canada’s top racing circuit.
The annual extravaganza at the high-banked, half-mile oval features a ‘Speedweeks-like’ format in the lead-up to the main event. On Friday evening (July 22), time trials will set the front row for the MOPAR 300. Immediately afterwards, a pair of 100-lap MOPAR 100 qualifying sprint races will establish the rest of the starting field for Saturday night’s (July 23) 300-lap main event.
Dave Whitlock of Wyoming, ON won the last two MOPAR 300s, leaving him with a series-leading four wins in this illustrious event. The Avenue Motor Works / NMT Dodge Charger driver’s memories of last year’s race in Calgary are especially sweet, given that he came out on top of a lengthy side-by-side, late-race battle with his teammate Mark Dilley, en route to a ‘one-two’ finish for the longtime Whitlock Motorsports duo.
Another racer who has enjoyed a lot of success at Race City is two-time National champion Peter Gibbons, who has three career MOPAR 300 victories on his impressive resume, the last of which came in 2000. Additionally, the Canadian Tire Chevy driver has collected numerous checkered flags in the 100-lap qualifying sprint races over the years. These 50-mile chases are full Super Series points events, and can be counted on to produce thrilling action as the drivers fight to improve their standing in the championship chase, as well as their starting positions for the MOPAR 300.
The race marks the end of the first half of the Super Series schedule. Home Hardware Chevy driver Don Thomson Jr. leads the points chase entering the MOPAR 500 Weekend as he battles for his fifth-consecutive CASCAR National Championship. The Hamilton, ON racer has never won the MOPAR 300. Dodge Charger driver Mark Dilley is second in the points, 49 markers back of Thomson after five events. Micks has a pair of wins to his credit in 2005, including last weekend’s race at the Toronto Indy.
CASCAR NOTEBOOK: On Thursday afternoon, Calgary’s Eau Clair Market will once again host the Super 8 CASCAR Pit Stop Competition. The teams will gather at the Saddledome for 11 a.m., prior to heading downtown to the Eau Claire Market. For years, the Pit Stop Competition has signaled the start of Calgary’s annual visit by Canada’s elite stock car tour… Peter Gibbons and Kerry Micks won last year’s MOPAR 100 qualifying sprint races at Race City… Don Thomson Jr. won the pole for last year’s MOPAR 300 with a single-lap time of 17.510 seconds around Race City Speedway… Following the MOPAR 500 Weekend, the CASCAR Super Series teams will continue their tour through Western Canada when they head to Vernon, BC and Sun Valley Motor Speedway (July 29-30)… Like the Calgary Super Series race, the Sun Valley event will double as a CASCAR Western Series regular points race…
CASCAR ON TV: The ATTO 100 CASCAR race at the Toronto Indy airs on Saturday, July 23 at 2:30 p.m. EST on SPORTSNET. For information regarding initial airings and replays of Super Series races on SPORTSNET, please check your local listings or visit http://www.cascar.ca/schedule/tv_schedule.html.
SCHEDULE:
MOPAR 500 RACE WEEKEND AT RACE CITY MOTORSPORT PARK
THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2005
12:15 p.m. Pit Stop Competition at the Eau Claire Market in downtown Calgary
FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2005
1:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. CASCAR Super Series Practice
6:00 p.m. Time Trials to set the top two positions for the MOPAR 300
7:00 p.m. MOPAR 100 Qualifying Sprint Race #1
MOPAR 100 Qualifying Sprint Race #2
SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2005
3:00 p.m. CASCAR Driver Autograph Session
6:30 p.m. Driver Introductions
7:00 p.m. START: MOPAR 300 FEATURE RACE
POINT STANDINGS:
CASCAR SUPER SERIES POINTS AFTER 5 EVENTS: (TOP 20): 1. #4 Don Thomson Jr. (Chevrolet / 806 pts.); 2. #9 Mark Dilley (Dodge / 757); 3. #02 Kerry Micks (Ford / 741); 4. #1 Peter Gibbons (Chevrolet / 732); 5. #39 Dave Whitlock (Dodge / 693); 6. #23 Jeff Lapcevich (Chevrolet / 664); 7. #19 Brad Graham (Dodge / 662); 8. #84 J.R. Fitzpatrick (Chevrolet / 659); 9. #60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (Dodge / 658); 10. #17 DJ Kennington (Dodge / 657); 11. #14 John Fitzpatrick (Chevrolet / 648); 12. #71 Bryan Cathcart (Dodge / 616); 13. #25 Jim Lapcevich (Chevrolet / 614); 13. #88 Dave Jacombs (Ford / 614); 15. #22 Scott Steckly (Pontiac / 612); 16. #37 R Tara MacLeod (Ford / 582); 17. #10 Doug Brown (Chevrolet / 576); 18. #42 Sean Stafford (Chevrolet / 554); 19. #3 Stu Robinson (Dodge / 546); 20. #50 Pete Shepherd (Dodge / 542)
CASCAR WESTERN SERIES POINTS AFTER 4 EVENTS: (TOP 20): 1. #35 Kevin Dowler (Ford / 657 pts.); 2. #30 Derek Polack (Chevrolet / 646); 3. #79 Wade Lee (Chevrolet / 594); 4. #14 James VanDomselaar (Chevrolet / 590); 5. #36 Jim White (Dodge / 577); 6. #12 Ron Larson (Dodge / 562); 7. #6 Todd Nichol (Chevrolet / 551); 8. #21 R Jason White (Chevrolet / 532); 9. #26 Shaun Polack (Chevrolet / 526); 10. #96 R Norman Hunger (Pontiac / 512); 11. #69 R Randy Kozek (Pontiac / 508); 12. #31 Sean Maltman (Chevrolet / 400); 13. #87 James Ward (Ford / 392); 14. #68 Shane Charlton (Ford / 270); 15. #76 Dale Biesick (Dodge / 242); 16. #64 Chris Shirley (Pontiac / 166); 17. #71 Daryl Harr (Chevrolet / 152); 18. #46 Dan Shirley (Pontiac / 141); 19. #48 R Rusty Martin (Chevrolet / 135); 20. #99 R Jack Freisen (Chevrolet / 134)
ntact CASCAR at (519) 641-1214 or visit www.cascar.ca
Prepared by Inside Track Communications.
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