Kawartha summary, points

LONDON, ON - Through the first four events of the 2001 Castrol Super Series season, one of the defining characteristics had been the problems encountered by some of the pre-season favourites. Although they'd shown flashes of brilliance at various times during the first third of the schedule, drivers like Don Thomson Jr., Peter Gibbons and Dave Whitlock had suffered setbacks at inopportune moments, leaving them to wonder what it would take to finish at the front of the pack.

Sunday's Budweiser 150 at Kawartha Speedway was a refreshing change for this talented trio, all of whom who have at least two Castrol Super Series championships to their credit. Finishing first, second and fourth, respectively, Thomson, Gibbons and Whitlock came home with top results on Sunday and are no doubt looking at the race as a turning point in their seasons.

In terms of the point standings, Whitlock and Gibbons still have a long road back from some disastrous early season results if they hope to get back into contention for another run at the Castrol Cup. Thomson, on the other hand, has quietly crept up the points ladder, and after winning at Kawartha, sits third in the points. The Home Hardware Chevy driver is just 31 markers behind season long points chase leader Kerry Micks, who was 15th in the Budweiser 150.

At Kawartha, Thomson was very determined to capture his first checkered flag of the season and turned up the wick as the laps wound down. The Hamilton, ON racer posted the fastest lap of the race with just two circuits to go in the Budweiser 150, putting in an 18.662 second tour of the high-banked, 3/8-mile Kawartha oval as he held off the Canadian Tire Chevy of Peter Gibbons.

Blue Streak Intrepid driver Al Turner is just 19 points behind Micks after five Castrol Super Series events. Turner suffered a punctured tire late in the race and was involved in a multi-car tangle with just a handful of laps remaining. The Barrie, ON resident was scored 13th in the final standings at Kawartha.

<pre>

POINT STANDINGS (After Round #5 of 12): 1. #02 Kerry Micks (Ford / 730 points) 2. #76 Al Turner (Intrepid / 711) 3. #4 Don Thomson Jr. (Chevrolet / 699) 4. #88 Dave Jacombs (Ford / 690) 5. #64 Mark Dilley (Ford / 681) 6. #35 Kevin Dowler (Ford / 667) 7. #60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (Intrepid / 659) 8. #33 Neil Fair (Chevrolet / 655) 9. #9 Robbie Thompson (Intrepid / 651) 10. #04 Andy Farr (Intrepid / 644) 11. #99 Pete Vanderwyst (Pontiac / 632) 12. #22 Scott Steckly (Chevrolet / 630) 12. #17 DJ Kennington (Intrepid / 630) 14. #31 Kelly Williams (Pontiac / 618) 15. #8 Teri MacDonald-Cadieux (Chevrolet / 606) 16. #14 John Fitzpatrick (Chevrolet / 604) 17. #19 Brad Graham (Chevrolet / 584) 18. #80 Donald Theetge (Chevrolet / 558) 19. #1 Peter Gibbons (Chevrolet / 549) 20. #3 Chris Fowler (Chevrolet / 528) 21. #57 Joe Goncalves (Chevrolet / 518) 22. #98 David Whitlock (Ford / 489) 23. #00 Bill Innes (Ford / 438) 24. #56 Scott Fletcher (Chevrolet / 416) 25. #25 Jim Lapcevich (Chevrolet / 400) 26. #36 Rod Sauder (Intrepid / 396) 27. #41 John Tsoumaris (Chevrolet / 360) 28. #32 Mike Alguire (Pontiac / 342) 29. #29 Kevin Trevellin (Ford / 326) 30. #97 Rob Neely (Intrepid / 244) 31. #94 Mark Graham (Chevrolet / 236) 32. #20 Scott Lindsay (Chevrolet / 218) 33. #44 Marv Wilder (Ford / 212) 34. #23 Jeff Lapcevich (Chevrolet / 204) 35. #75 Kevin O'Hara (Chevrolet / 202)

</pre>

NOTEBOOK: The Castrol Super Series teams will be off this upcoming weekend, as they prepare for their third consecutive appearance at the Molson Indy Toronto (July 13-14)... This past Saturday night, the CASCAR Super Series West made its first ever visit to Western Speedway in Victoria, BC for the Thrifty Foods 150. For the second race in a row, Ron Larson guided his Chevrolet Monte Carlo to victory lane. The Quesnel, BC racer started sixth in the 16-car field and assumed the lead on lap 86 of the 150 lap event... Kawartha Speedway drew rave reviews from the teams and fans that attended the inaugural Budweiser 150. The stock car oval is located in the middle of the facility's horse racing track and offered such creature comforts as a glassed-in viewing area, an enclosed dining room, and slot machines... Robbie Thompson retained his lead in the hunt for the Castrol Super Series rookie honours after finishing seventh at Kawartha.

-CASCAR