BRANTFORD, ON – A flat tire early in the race and a sway bar problem late in the event spoiled an otherwise solid run for Doug Brown and his Haldex/Napa Autopro teammates at Antigonish, Nova Scotia last weekend.The veteran competitor, who started seventh in the 20-car field, managed to overcome those problems and rallied to a solid 8th-place finish in the rain delayed "Atlantic Dodge Dealers 300" at the striking Riverside Speedway.
"Yeah, there's no doubt that early race tire problem cost us some positions today, but that's the type of thing that's plagued us throughout the season", Brown acknowledged in looking back on his 2007 results todate.
While there were only 8 cautions totalling 63 laps over the course of the Sunday afternoon event, it was during the early stages of the lap 80 through 190 green flag run where the big problem for the Brantford driver started to develop.
"I felt the handling of the car going away during that run but I couldn't chance making a pit stop so we decided to ride it out hoping for a yellow. Unfortunately for us it was a long green flag run. But the team did a great job in changing the complete set of tires when we did catch a caution, but it just came too late for us"
"We also had a bolt break on the sway bar with about 20 laps to go that may have also affected our overall finish. The car was really strong in the late stages of the race and I feel I could have gained another spot until that bolt let go," he added with a shrug.
The team now moves on to the final event on the 12-race NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule with a trip to Kawartha Speedway south of Peterborough where they hope to finish out the season on a strong run.
"It sure would be nice to finish this season on a high and we'll be doing our best to achieve that this weekend," Doug stated reflectively in looking at this Sunday's race.
Last Sunday's race at Antigonish was won by Barrie's Mark Dilley followed but a fast closing JR Fitzpatrick of Cambridge and DJ Kennington of St. Thomas.
With his third place finish and a 13th-place (dnf) finish by points' leader Andrew Ranger of Long Pond, Quebec, Kennington has closed to within 41 points of Ranger leading to showdown for the championship at Kawartha on Sunday.
HB Motorsports is pleased to have Haldex Limited as its Title Sponsor with NAPA Autopro supporting team programs through its role of Major Associate Sponsor role. Bicknell Racing Products; World of Graphics; HurryPrint Imaging Centre; WIX Filters; KWIC Internet; Gates Canada; BOC Gases; Brochures etc; Leitch Performance Engines; Strodes BBQ & Deli; and BrentZone Graphics are also valued members of our Associate Sponsorship Marketing team.
Prepared by Ken Spencer // Marketing and Media Relations // HB Motorsports
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