EDMONTON, AB - Doug Brown and his Haldex-sponsored Dodge team’s run at Edmonton was recorded as a fifteenth place finish on Saturday but given the events of the day, the Brantford racing veteran was both frustrated and surprisingly positive with his performance.
With only two laps under the clock on the fast 1.973-mile road course on Saturday morning, the veteran driver was forced to the pits early in his group’s qualifying session when an oil pump seized on his DJ Kennington-prepared car forcing the combined teams to make an engine change prior to the main event.
Although his two laps of qualifying had the driver listed 24th in the starting order, the engine swap meant he had to start the race at the tail end of the 30-car starting field.
With the drop of the green flag in the late afternoon feature, Brown steadily began moving his way forward through the field but 3 caution flags totalling 12 laps impeded his further progress beyond 15th-place in the 32-lap NASCAR Canadian Tire Series event.
“It’s maddening to have a problem like that (engine) develop but given the fact the car was flying through the field once the race was underway, we should have grabbed a top-ten or better finish”, Doug remarked when assessing his efforts. “Unfortunately, the caution laps also cost us a lot of forward momentum. Under those circumstances, we just couldn’t get enough laps together under green to catch and pass a few others.”
“We’ll just have to put this one in the books as a valiant effort and move on to Montreal and prove we can do better,” he added as the team begins preparations for the special weekend doubleheader with NASCAR’s Busch Series teams on August 4th.
Over 60,000 fans watched the event staged on the temporary road course at Edmonton’s City Centre Airport.
After five races in the 12 race series, Brown remains 15th in the point standings but continues to be upbeat knowing he and the team are capable of better results.
JR Fitzpatrick of Cambridge, Ontario made a daring move to past Andrew Ranger of Roxton Pond, Quebec on the 12th turn on the final lap of the 14-turn circuit to win the Edmonton race with Ontario drivers Robin Buck (Campbellville), DJ Kennington (St. Thomas) and Don Thomson Jr. (Ayr, Ontario) rounding out the top-five finishers.
Ranger continues to lead the series points’ standings but with his victory on Saturday, Fitzpatrick has moved past Stouffville’s Peter Gibbons for second place overall.
HB Motorsports is pleased to have Haldex Limited as its Title Sponsor with NAPA Autopro supporting team programs through its role of Major Associate Sponsor role. Bicknell Racing Products; World of Graphics; HurryPrint Imaging Centre; WIX Filters; KWIC Internet; Gates Canada; BOC Gases; Brochures etc; Leitch Performance Engines; Strodes BBQ & Deli; and BrentZone Graphics are also valued members of our Associate Sponsorship Marketing team
Prepared by: Ken Spencer // Marketing and Media Relations // HB Motorsports
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