Monday, August 22, 2005

CASCAR WEST: Dowler guides the EMCO Taurus to victory lane at Edmonton Int’l Raceway

EDMONTON, AB – On Saturday night at Edmonton Int’l Raceway, four-time CASCAR Western Series champion Kevin Dowler virtually secured his record-extending fifth series title with a win in the next-to-last race of the 2005 season.

Dowler’s EMCO / Westlund / Western RV / Performance Friction Taurus qualified second-fastest for the Competition Chevrolet 200 at the Wetaskiwin, AB oval, but it didn’t take long for him to make his way to the front.

“It was a good race for us,” said Dowler, after the event. “We were quick in both practice sessions. I qualified for the race with exactly the same time we posted in practice. Todd Nichol really picked it up for time trials, though, and he put his car on the pole, which was good for him.”

After running second to Nichol for the first quarter of the 200-lap race, Dowler made his move. “We ducked underneath him [Nichol] coming out of turn 2 and set sail,” continued Dowler, who comfortably led for the next 80 laps, at which point the front-runners pitted.

“We stopped for a new right-rear tire and my crew did an awesome job. You could tell the pit stops we did during the National events [in late July] really paid off because the guys were right on their game and got me out of the pits first. I was done and gone while the others were still thinking about changing tires.”

From there, the #35 EMCO Taurus showed the way to the checkered flag. Calgarian Wade Lee finished second, ahead of Derek Polack of Stony Plain. Nichol experience some trouble late in the race and fell to fourth place at the end.

The victory meant a lot to Dowler for several reasons. “Winning in front of my hometown fans was a big deal. And it was a great night for the family because my cousin Terry Dowler won the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series race. I was really happy to win for EMCO because they had over 200 staff, friends, family and customers at the race, which made the event very special.”

Heading to the season finale on Sept. 10 at Sun Valley Speedway in Vernon, BC, Dowler has laid the groundwork for his fifth Western Series crown. “I pretty much just have to start the last race at Sun Valley to secure my fifth CASCAR Western Series championship, which I’m really proud of. We’re going there with a 91-point lead, but we’d really like to win the season finale and finish the season off right.”

For information about Apollo Motorsports, contact Kevin Dowler at: (780) 462-9572 or via e-mail at: kdowler@telusplanet.net. // Prepared by Inside Track Communications.

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