BIG BIG BIG article . In the Kitghener Waterloo The Record
And A Picture Of J R Fitzpatrick Defending series champion
HAGERSVILLE (May 28, 2007)
Don Thomson Jr. crossed the finish line with a heavy foot and a heavy heart.
The veteran stock car driver, who races out of Ayr, held off a charging Mark Dilley by 0.126 seconds to take the Dodge Dealers 200 at the Cayuga Speedway on Saturday night.
It was the first victory on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series tour, formerly known as CASCAR, but the historic moment was secondary for Thomson as thoughts of his ailing friend, boss and fellow competitor, John Fitzpatrick, weighed on his mind.
The owner of Fitzpatrick Motorsports, the most successful racing team in the country, was critically injured in a motorcycle accident while vacationing in Florida in April. He was forced from the road by a careless driver and sustained serious injuries. Fitzpatrick is recovering at his home in Ayr and was unable to attend to the inaugural NASCAR Canada event.
"This one is for John," an emotional Thomson said after the 200-lap race. "All week I thought to myself if there is a right thing in this world to happen right now it would be for me or J.R. (Fitzpatrick's son and Thomson's teammate) to win it. John said a couple of days ago to bring home the trophy and bring home the dough and we did it, so I'm so proud."
A caution flag with about five laps to go set up an exciting finish. By the time the pace car left the oval, only two laps remained. Thomson floored his No. 4 Home Hardware Chevrolet and defeated Dilley by a nose. The 44-year-old took a victory lap and then jumped out of his car to celebrate with his pit crew.
When it came to crunch time, Thomson said he turned to Fitzpatrick for motivation.
"He's been on my mind ever since the day of the accident," said the Binbrook native, who collected $5,050 and a trophy for his effort. "Truthfully, I was a little more anxious in this race. It actually put a lot extra pressure on me. I was thinking, 'Man, somehow I've got to pull this off for John.'
"He's getting better every day but he has a long road ahead of him."
J.R. Fitzpatrick, who last year, at 18, was the youngest driver to win the CASCAR title, finished 13th after his Milwaukee Electric Tools Chevy was forced off the track by another driver with nine laps to go. The youngster was visibly upset but vowed to return hard.
"The thing about us is that we don't give up," he said. "We have so much desire that we're not going to let this set us back. We're going to come back in the next race and be dominant there."
Milverton's Scott Steckly kept his Erb Transport Dodge Charger with the lead pack for most of the race but settled for 12th after he and Ron Beauchamp Jr. crashed on Lap 194. Only nine of 23 entries finished all 200 laps.
From the grandstand, the debut of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series didn't seem that much different from last year's CASCAR tour, save for some extra signage and branding. But the drivers said they noticed changes.
"Just the way they look after the technical department, it's like twice as much technical stuff we went through compared to CASCAR," said Thomson. "As far as orchestrating the lineups, the procedures, it's just way more professional."
The 12-race Canadian Tire Series continues June 16-17 at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville.
Ther series did get a thirty second spot covering the top five on the London news (pretty huge considering the race was not in windsor and all they cover is windsor). I wasn't there so I can't judge the race but you need cars to finish a race to put on a good show and caution laps blow.
now Pinecrest may be a bit negative in his post but you cant deny that what was supposed to be a HUGE day for Canadian motorsports went down like a regular saturday night show! 23 cars?? and only 9 finished at Cayuga cmon thats not top quality racing. I for one thought a lot more teams would have showed lets just hope it builds form here. What was the attendace for show?
The winner collected the historically low purse of $ 5150.00 and was awarded a 1979 Chevrolet Chevette and a a pack of smokes. NASCAR Canada declared the event a great success.
I don't always agree with Pinecrest, but that's actually pretty funny.
Don't forget the gently used toaster the second place guy got.
P.S.- Donny wil enjoy the Seneca Lights pack of smokes....
Mid all though we may disagree on some things I am glad to see you have a sense of humor , and yes I added the "smokes' just for Don . On a little more serious note perhaps if the NCTS had of hired a Canadian to do the PR with some history and connections to the Canadian press rather then Shon Sobara from the States that no one here in the press even knows the series would have better chance to get some stories out and published . I am sure Mr Sobara is a fine fellow and did a great job back in Yakima Washington doing PR for local racing but as far as I know he has never attended a Canadian race much less one at Cayuga I doubt when something crosses the sports desk of any of the major dailies here they give it much of a look . Press people much like racers run in there own little groups and it takes many years to work your way into the inner circle. I find it hard to believe that in this entire country there was not a single Canadian that was capable to do PR for the series , but I do believe they didn't even bother to look .
To those such as DWfan and KSr this is a message board for the free flow of ideas pro and con if you disagree with any of my facts feel free to jump in and correct or question them but since I don't see you doing that I will assume your disdain for me is because you don't like hearing the truth.