STONEY CREEK, ON – Ron Van Es wrapped up his 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season, on Sunday afternoon, with a 16th-place finish at Peterborough’s Kawartha Speedway. The driver of the #11 Tailgate Head Quarters Chevy qualified seventh fastest in the field of 25 for the 12th and final event of the Canadian NASCAR season, but was caught up in an early-race accident while the cars were braking hard for another, unrelated incident.“Our qualifying was really good today; we had a great car,” said the Stoney Creek, ON racer, following the event. “We were seventh-fastest but I wish I could have brought it home a little bit better than we ended up. I had an awesome car during the race – probably the best car I’ve ever driven – and I have to thank my crew chief Alex Nagy for the way he set the #11 Tailgate Head Quarters Chevy up.”
Van Es continued, “During the first caution, we were hit and spun around, which was unfortunate, but that’s what happens when you’re slowing down for a caution. It was just disappointing to get caught up in something like that. I was actually hoping that we’d get our spot back, but that didn’t happen. Our race kind of went downhill from there because we lost a lap, which makes it tough.”
At Kawartha, the #11 Van Es Racing car sported primary sponsorship from the Burlington, ON-based Tailgate Head Quarters Group of Companies (http://www.tailgateheadquarters.com/). The company sources, wholesales and distributes exclusive licensed consumer products worldwide, including NASCAR merchandise. During the 2007 season, Van Es also raced with associate sponsorship from Marshall Truck & Trailer Repair, Ingersoll Rand, G.P.I.C.S. Truck & Trailer Parts and Mustang’s Bigol’ Grill.
“I have to thank Tailgate Head Quarters out of Burlington, Ontario for coming on board for this weekend. I’d also like to recognize all of the associate sponsors who helped us out this season. We’re still looking for some help for next year because having a financial partner is critical in this series. We missed three races this season due to budget considerations, but our goal was to show as well as we could at the events we did attend, and we feel we did that.”
Speaking about the inaugural season of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Van Es was impressed and believes Canada’s national stock car tour is on the rise. “Everywhere we raced this season, we performed in front of crowds that were several times larger than in past years. And having every race broadcast on TSN boosted the exposure of the series even more. When it was announced last fall that NASCAR was coming to Canada, we hoped that it would raise the profile of our sport, and that’s exactly what has happened. I think the series is definitely going the right way.”
“I want to offer my appreciation to my family and crew who worked so hard and did so much to support my racing program this past season,” said Van Es. “It takes a lot of time and dedication to be able to compete in this series and I’m proud of what the #11 Van Es Racing team accomplished this season. We learned a lot together and were very competitive on several occasions. We’re looking forward to continuing to improve next season.”
RACE SUMMARY: KAWARTHA SPEEDWAY
The inaugural season of Canada’s new NASCAR Canadian Tire Series came to a successful conclusion on Sunday evening at Kawartha Speedway. The high-banked oval, which is located near Peterborough, Ontario, played host to 25 of Canada’s top stock car racers for the Dodge Charger 250.
Veteran racer Scott Steckly (Milverton, ON) earned his first checkered flag of the season by holding off Peter Gibbons (Stouffville, ON) and Ron Beauchamp Jr. (Windsor, ON) at the finish line.
Rookie stock car racer Andrew Ranger became Canada’s first NASCAR champion when he crossed the line in sixth place to secure the driver’s points title in style. Prior to the start of the 2007 season, the Quebec driver ended his Champ Car career and turned his attention to stock car racing. Ranger expects to be back to defend his championship in 2008.
Prepared by Inside Track Communications. For more information about Van Es Racing, contact Jolene Convery at Van Es Racing at (800) 263-4884. For more information about the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, visit http://www.nascar.ca/
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