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WHITLOCK FIFTH IN ATLANTIC
DODGE DEALERS 300 IN NOVA SCOTIA
ANTIGONISH, NS: For the second race in a row,
Dave Whitlock driver of the No. 39 Dickies/Hamilton
Tiger Cats/NMT Dodge Charger came from a start deep
in the field to capture a top five finish. Like at
Barrie Speedway a week ago, Whitlock qualified
seventeenth and while finishing second at Barrie, he
finished fifth at Riverside Speedway in Antigonish,
Nova Scotia on Sunday afternoon. Rain and wind
forced NASCAR to cancel Saturday's late day
activities including the 300 lap Atlantic Dodge
Dealers 300 until Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, the teams did get in their two hour
practice session and Whitlock and his team continued
to make changes to the No. 39 entry and when the
session ended they were shown tenth quickest on the
board. A team discussion resulted in some additional
changes that proved to significantly help the car in
the 300 lap event. Riverside Speedway has been a stop many teams
were anticipating and it proved to live up to their
expectations. The high banked 3/8th mile facility is
a credit to the sport in Canada. From the pits to
the grandstands everything was in top notch order
for fans and racers alike. After scrambling to change airline flights and
accommodations, the teams arrived at the track
Sunday for qualifying and the main event. Peter
Gibbons in the No. 1 Canadian Tire Chevrolet would
grab his first pole position of the year while
Whitlock and his Dickies Dodge Charger would line up
on the inside of row nine for the start.
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The green flag waved at 3:15 for the much
anticipated Atlantic Dodge Dealers 300 and after a
couple of early race cautions a long green flag
session ensued. When the caution fell again at lap
203, Whitlock headed to pit road for much needed
tires and fuel. During the long green flag run all
but four cars were lapped by leader Gibbons.
Whitlock lined up in fifth, one lap down to the
leaders on the re-start but another caution at lap
243 gave them the beneficiary award moving them back
to the lead lap and Whitlock was able to hold on for
a fifth place finish. "First off I want to thank
everyone at Riverside Speedway for a great event and
terrific Eastern hospitality. The track and
facilities are amazing here," stated Whitlock after
the race. "We had a decent car but not quite the
right gear and that hurt us over the final 100 laps.
I want to thank my team for all their hard work and
congratulate my teammate Mark Dilley on his win
here." Finish, 1. No. 9 Mark Dilley 2. No. 84 J. R.
Fitzpatrick 3. No. 17 D.J. Kennington 4. No. 77
Derek Lynch 5. No. 39 Dave Whitlock. The Atlantic Dodge Dealers 300 will be broadcast
on TSN, Saturday Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time. The final event in the twelve race schedule will
be held this Sunday Sept. 23rd at Kawartha Speedway
in Peterborough. The first NASCAR Canadian Tire
Series Champion will be crowned this day. It is a
two team race with Andrew Ranger driver of the No.
27 Wal-Mart/Tide Ford Fusion in first place with a
41 point lead over second place D. J. Kennington who
pilots the No. 17 Castrol Dodge. Dave Whitlock currently sits in tenth place in the championship standings with this one race remaining. |
