Cayuga: Gibbons makes another stunning late-race pass en route to his second consecutive CASCAR Super Series victory
HAMILTON, ON – Saturday night’s CASCAR Super Series race at Cayuga 2000 Speedway was a virtual replay of the previous event, on the Labour Day weekend at Delaware Speedway. For the second race in a row, Peter Gibbons took advantage of a late-race caution flag to blast to the lead with just a few laps to go.
The Crown Jewel 200 at the 5/8-mile Cayuga oval took place under the lights at the legendary speedway. Don Thomson Jr., CASCAR’s all-time top qualifier, started on the pole for a series-leading third time in 2005. His Home Hardware Chevy showed the way for the first 34 laps, before giving way to Gibbons’ Canadian Tire Chevy, in traffic.
Between them, the two prime combatants for the Super Series National championship led the majority of the laps at Cayuga, although Thomson was in control for most of the second-half of the 200-lap feature. At lap 133, with Thomson leading, Gibbons was mired in 12th-place and appeared to be going nowhere. A caution flag, 10 laps later, gave his crew the opportunity they desperately needed to improve the handling of the #1 Chevy.
By lap 167, Gibbons was up to fourth. He emerged in second-place after a lap 175 scuffle with Dave Whitlock (Avenue Motor Works / NMT Dodge Charger) and Brad Graham (Challenger / Logel’s Dodge Charger), who were running second and third, respectively, at the time.
From there, Gibbons set about to whittling away at Thomson’s lead, which was approximately five seconds at the time. It appeared that Gibbons would run out of time and laps, however, as his lead deficit was still more than two seconds with five laps to go. But fortune smiled on Gibbons with three to go when Marc Miller (Carhartt Dodge) spun on the front straight, erasing Thomson’s lead and setting up a furious three-lap sprint to the checkered flag.
Thomson, fully aware that Gibbons had pounced to the inside of Whitlock during a late-race restart to win last weekend’s Great Canadian Race at Delaware, was determined to prevent that from happening at Cayuga. But Gibbons wouldn’t be denied. And despite Thomson’s best efforts to keep his Home Hardware Chevy glued to the bottom of the track for the final laps, Gibbons somehow managed to stick the nose of his Canadian Tire Chevy underneath Thomson’s car and powered to the lead on the backstretch on lap 198.
Gibbons’ win at Cayuga was his second in as many years at the largest oval on the CASCAR circuit. Thomson came home just over a second behind, while Whitlock claimed the final podium position. Jeff Lapcevich (Fastline / EMCEA Transport / Tim Hortons Chevrolet Monte Carlo) brought his car home in fourth to record his second top-four result in as many weeks. Brad Graham, who led briefly during the Crown Jewel 200, was fifth.
The 2005 CASCAR Super Series comes to a close next Sunday at Kawartha Speedway, near Peterborough, Ontario. Entering the race, Don Thomson has an 89-point lead over Gibbons in his quest for a record-extending fifth-consecutive National championship.
CAYUGA NOTES: Don Thomson Jr. won the pole at Cayuga with a lap of 21.102 seconds. DJ Kennington (Castrol Dodge) started second (21.231 seconds)… Pete Shepherd III, CASCAR’s top rookie in 2004, drove the #20 GE Lighting / L.E. Walker Chevy at Cayuga. The Brampton, ON racer will also drive for Mid-America Freight in next weekend’s CASCAR finale at Kawartha Speedway…
CASCAR ON TV: For information regarding initial airings and replays of Super Series races on SPORTSNET, please check your local listings or visit http://www.cascar.ca/schedule/tv_schedule.html.
CASCAR Super Series
RESULTS: Crown Jewel 200
Round 11 of 12 // September 10, 2005 // Cayuga 2000 Speedway
Hamilton, Ontario // 200 Laps // 5/8-mile oval
FIN. ST. # DRIVER (HOMETOWN) SPONSOR(S) / MAKE LAPS
1 3 1 Peter Gibbons (Stouffville, ON) Canadian Tire Corporation Chevrolet Monte Carlo 200
2 1 4 Don Thomson Jr. (Hamilton, ON) Home Hardware Chevrolet Monte Carlo 200
3 6 39 Dave Whitlock (Wyoming, ON) Avenue Motor Works / NMT Dodge Charger 200
4 9 23 Jeff Lapcevich (Caistor Centre, ON) Fastline / EMCEA Transport / Tim Hortons Chevrolet Monte Carlo 200
5 10 19 Brad Graham (Glencoe, ON) Challenger Motor Frt. / Logel’s Dodge Charger 200
6 8 9 Mark Dilley (Barrie, ON) Dodge / Mobil 1 / PowerWater / Exide Dodge Charger 200
7 7 02 Kerry Micks (Mt. Albert, ON) PowerWater Ford Taurus 200
8 4 60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (Windsor, ON) MOPAR Parts / Exide / Mobil 1 Dodge Charger 200
9 15 14 John Fitzpatrick (Ayr, ON) Latta Crane Chevrolet Monte Carlo 200
10 17 10 Doug Brown (Brantford, ON) NAPA / Wahta Springs Chevrolet Monte Carlo 200
11 14 11 Ron VanEs (Smithville, ON) Star Van Systems / All Cover Chevrolet Monte Carlo 200
12 5 88 Dave Jacombs (Mt. Hope, ON) Lou's BBQ / FAG Auto / CPS Flooring Taurus 199
13 12 84 J.R. Fitzpatrick (Ayr, ON) Cambridge Rigging Chevrolet Monte Carlo 199
14 20 71 Bryan Cathcart (Peterborough, ON) Meyers Transport / Peterborough Homes Dodge 199
15 2 17 DJ Kennington (St. Thomas, ON) Castrol Canada Dodge 198
16 21 3 Stu Robinson Jr. (Holland Landing, ON) Snap-On Tools / Super 8 Dodge 198
17 26 8 Marc Miller (Holland, MI) Carhartt Clothing Dodge 198
18 24 93 Joe Goncalves (Concord, ON) G.P.S. Automotive Refinishes Ltd. Chevrolet Monte Carlo 198
19 16 33 Neil Fair (Ancaster, ON) Fairway Transport Dodge 197
20 25 37 Tara MacLeod (Innisfil, ON) R Central Merchant Services Ford Taurus 196
21 27 41 John Tsoumaris (Toronto, ON) John’s Unique Auto / Mama’s Pizza Chevrolet Monte Carlo 193
22 18 72 Pete Shepherd III (Brampton, ON) G.E. Lighting / L.E. Walker / Mid-America Chevrolet Monte Carlo 163
23 11 25 Jim Lapcevich (Hamilton, ON) Fastline / EMCEA Transport / Tim Hortons Chevrolet Monte Carlo 101
24 23 42 Sean Stafford (Springfield, ON) L.E. Walker / Mid-America Freight Chevrolet Monte Carlo 99
25 19 0 Howie Scannell Jr. (Milton, ON) Bond Homes / Hobby Hobby Chevrolet Monte Carlo 87
26 22 18 Chad McGlynn (Petersburg, ON) R Awesome Racewear / Ultimate Garage Ford Taurus 74
27 13 22 Scott Steckly (Milverton, ON) Alltruck / ERB Group Pontiac Grand Prix 50
28 28 43 Bob Merrifield (Belle River, ON) Team Remax Preferred Realty Windsor Dodge DNS
R after the hometown denotes Rookie contender.
POLESITTER: #4 Don Thomson Jr. (21.102 seconds) // TIME OF RACE: 1 hour, 35 minutes and 46.114 seconds // AVERAGE SPEED: 78.314 mph // MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.077 seconds // CAUTIONS: 5 for a total of 25 // LAP LEADERS: #4 Don Thomson Jr. (1-34), #1 Peter Gibbons (35-56), #23 Jeff Lapcevich (57-82), #1 Peter Gibbons (83-117), #19 Brad Graham (118-125), #4 Don Thomson Jr. (126-198), #1 Peter Gibbons (199-200) // GOODYEAR BELTS & HOSES FASTEST LAP: #4 Don Thomson Jr. (21.409 on lap 5)
SUPER SERIES POINT STANDINGS: Top 15 after 11 events. Unofficial as of September 10, 2005: 1. #4 Don Thomson Jr. (2055 pts.); 2. #1 Peter Gibbons (1966); 3. #17 DJ Kennington (1894); 4. #39 Dave Whitlock (1861); 5. #60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (1845); 6. #02 Kerry Micks (1835); 7. #19 Brad Graham (1815); 8. #9 Mark Dilley (1810); 9. #84 J.R. Fitzpatrick (1776); 10. #88 Dave Jacombs (1695); 11. #10 Doug Brown (1649); 12. #22 Scott Steckly (1614); 13. #11 Ron VanEs (1582); 14. #37 Tara MacLeod (1558); 15. #3 Stu Robinson Jr. (1500)
Contact CASCAR at (519) 641-1214 or visit www.cascar.ca
Prepared by Inside Track Communications. // Contact: Greg MacPherson (416) 561-2320 (cell).
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