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Home | Mark Dilley | Career Highlights | Mark's Sponsors | Wallpaper |
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Consistent run at Cayuga nets Dilley sixth-place
Dodge Charger driver finishes all 200 laps of Super Series Race #11 HAMILTON, ON – On Saturday evening, CASCAR took to Cayuga Speedway for its next-to-last race of the 2005 season. On the heels of two tough outings in the Dodge / PowerWater / Mobil 1 / Exide Dodge Charger, Mark Dilley was somewhat relieved – although not overjoyed – to score a sixth-place finish on CASCAR’s biggest oval. Following a solid qualifying effort, the Barrie, ON resident lined up eighth in the field of 28 for the 200 lap ‘Crown Jewel 200’. Dilley pitted several times during the race in an effort to tweak the car’s handling, but the results were somewhat erratic. Dilley chalked it up to the tires, which several drivers are having trouble getting a handle on.
“All in all, the car was pretty good,” said Dilley, after the race. “It wasn’t great early on, but we made a pit stop and that improved the handling. The tires are just so hard to work with. The car has a push and you make the adjustment to help things, but then it gets way loose. Whoever hits the mark dead on, wins, and that makes for difficult racing.” The result, according to Dilley, is that the race becomes a physical affair. “There’s lots of close racing now, but it also means that to pass a guy, you have to bounce off of him. That’s not the racing we should be doing.” Top of Page |
Aside from fighting to get improve the handling on the #9 Dodge Charger, Dilley’s only other significant adventure at Cayuga took place on lap 111 when he came together with fellow Dodge driver DJ Kennington. Dilley wasn’t aware that there was another car below him on the track, and regretted the contact. “I chopped down on DJ by accident when I thought I was clear. Obviously, that wasn’t intentional. We had a close look at our left-rear tire after that happened, but it wasn’t a problem.” Taking into account his handling concerns and the mid-race spin, Dilley welcomed the sixth-place finish, especially when compared to his results in his last two Super Series outings, at Peterborough and Delaware. “I was happy to finish the race in one piece and to come home on the lead lap, which we weren’t able to do at the last two races.” Following 11 events, Mark Dilley sits eighth in the overall point standings, just 51 points out of fourth-place. LOOKING AHEAD: The final event of the season for the Dodge / PowerWater / Mobil 1 / Exide Dodge Charger is scheduled for this coming Sunday (Sept. 18) at Kawartha Speedway, near Peterborough, Ontario. Dilley is confident he can finish the 2005 CASCAR Super Series season on a high note. “We’ve had some pretty good luck at Kawartha, so we’re looking forward to racing there. It’s a long winter and we’d really like to end the season with a strong finish.” RACE NOTES: Peter Gibbons scored his second Super Series win in a row during Saturday night’s 200-lap race at Cayuga 2000 Speedway. Gibbons put on a strong charge over the final 75 laps en route the win. The two-time National champion was aided by a late-race caution, which allowed him to run down points leader Don Thomson with two laps to go. Mark Dilley’s Whitlock Motorsports teammate Dave Whitlock earned another podium finish by placing third at Cayuga. Results |
