NASCAR Canada
Pete Vanderwyst Mosport notes
Vanderwyst slips to 17th at Mosport Int'l Raceway. LONDON, ON - According to Pete Vanderwyst, Sunday afternoon's CASCAR Super Series race at Mosport Int'l Raceway was one of the most frustrating experiences of his competitive career. The Exide ...
Published: Jun 19, 2002, 11:54 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Vanderwyst slips to 17th at Mosport Int'l Raceway.
LONDON, ON - According to Pete Vanderwyst, Sunday afternoon's CASCAR Super Series race at Mosport Int'l Raceway was one of the most frustrating experiences of his competitive career. The Exide Pontiac racer started 14th in the field of 33 who participated in the fourth race of the season.
Based upon assurances from CASCAR officials that the drivers would not be required to race in the rain, Vanderwyst and the majority of the field opted to stay out on 'slick' tires, following the rain delays that would eventually cut the planned 64-lap race in half.
In the end, however, the green flag was shown to the field with rain falling heavily on several parts of the 10-turn road course. Unable to keep from hydroplaning, several cars went off the track. Those who managed to stay on the track were reduced to turning extremely slow speeds. To make matters worse, visibility became an issue for several of the drivers, as the inside of their windshields fogged up. During the final few laps of the Mosport race, Vanderwyst fell from 10th to 17th.
"We based our decision not to pit for grooved tires on Tony Novotny's comments in the Saturday drivers' meeting. He said that we would not race in the rain. Obviously, that position was changed part way through the race, but no one informed the racers so that we could all come in and put on grooved tires. It was extremely dangerous out there and I'm just very relieved that no one was injured, or worse."
Because of the injustice of not being told that they would be racing in the rain, Vanderwyst is hoping that something can be done to alter the outcome of Sunday's race.
"We're looking into what we can do. I'd like to see them scrap the whole result and have us run it again. Or maybe, they could go back to the last caution, before they sprung it on us that we would be racing on slicks, in the rain. The teams have a lot invested in this series and the outcomes mean a lot to us, and our sponsors. I know it was a difficult situation, but if they'd only told us that the deal had changed, it wouldn't have been so unfair. When those guys pitted for grooved tires, the guys who stayed out thought they were nuts because we were all promised that there would be no green flags shown while the rain was falling."
RACE SUMMARY: Kevin Dowler, Don Thomson, Dave Jacombs and Mark Dilley claimed the first four positions in the Mosport road course race. They were among the few racers who pitted for grooved tires, earlier in the event, and easily carved through the field when the downpour intensified, late in the race.
NEXT RACE: Pete Vanderwyst is looking forward to this Saturday night's race (June 22) at Mosport Speedway. The Exide Pontiac driver counts the half-mile oval among his favourites on the CASCAR Super Series circuit. "I don't know why, but we always seem to do very well there," said the St. Thomas, ON racer. Following the first four races of the season, Vanderwyst is eighth in the Super Series points.
-www.vanderwystmotorsports.com
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Points deadlocked at the top after Mosport
Next article Gordon, Childress press conference, part I
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Dave Jacombs
GC Motorsports International announces 2012 pplans
NASCAR O'Reilly
NASCAR O'Reilly
GC Motorsports International announces 2012 pplans
Andrew Ranger To Make NASCAR Cup Debut At Watkins Glen
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Andrew Ranger To Make NASCAR Cup Debut At Watkins Glen
Alex Tagliani Enters Montreal Events
NASCAR Canada
NASCAR Canada
Alex Tagliani Enters Montreal Events
Latest news
Mercedes: “We had people who hadn’t done a live pitstop for 15 years” in Singapore GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
18 min
Mercedes: “We had people who hadn’t done a live pitstop for 15 years” in Singapore GP
MotoGP to stage demo at F1 United States Grand Prix
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP 1 h
MotoGP to stage demo at F1 United States Grand Prix
WRC star Thierry Neuville makes successful historic circuit racing debut
WRC
WRC WRC 2 h
WRC star Thierry Neuville makes successful historic circuit racing debut
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe