Champ Car: Canadian Radio

MONTREAL, QC - Aflalo Communications Inc., a leading broadcast production and multimedia company remains firmly in the fast line by securing the national broadcast rights to the Toronto and Montreal Champ Car World Series races. The deal will see Aflalo Communications Inc. produce live and taped coverage of the two races for broadcast on radio stations throughout Canada.

“This is a great coup for us to be able to create, and deliver, compelling sports radio coverage of the two events.” Marc Aflalo, President of Aflalo Communications says. “We are extremely excited to be working with Champ Car to promote the races in Canada and are excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Toronto event.”

The broadcasts will cover the events live the entire race weekend with trackside race reports and live coverage of the qualifying and main event. Branded the “Champ Car Radio Network”, Aflalo Communications will also be providing the audio for the Champ Car World Series website (www.champcarworldseries.com) and content for a network of stations throughout the country.

Broadcast sponsors and participating radio stations will be announced as the event approaches.

Aflalo Communications Inc. is a Canadian company specializing in live event production, multimedia solutions and software development. Since 1999, Aflalo Communications continues to develop and execute live programming and commercial campaigns for broadcast world wide.

STOCKS: Sunset Speedway's Fred Pombiere offers some record keeping techniques to racers

STROUD, ON - Just browsing the internet and came upon a short technical piece by Sunset Speedway tech guru Fred Pombiere.

Sunset Speedway - 'Tech' - niques

The piece discusses record-keeping and gives suggestions regarding the things you'll want to document to increase your success as a racer. It also has some handy checklist forms.

TSN: NASCAR 2005 broadcasts

TORONTO, ON – TSN burns up the track in 2005 with a comprehensive NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series broadcast schedule featuring 21 races, 17 of which to be televised in High Definition.

TSN's auto racing season begins this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET with the Budweiser Shootout. The race will also be available in High Definition.

The biggest race of the season - the Daytona 500 - airs February 20 at 1 p.m. ET. TSN's Vic Rauter will be trackside at Daytona International Speedway to file daily reports for SportsCentre leading up to and during 'The Great American Race'. The annual event is the biggest, richest and most prestigious competition on the NASCAR circuit.

TSN concludes its 2005 NASCAR broadcast schedule on November 20 with the season-ending Ford 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway. With a change to NASCAR's points system last season, the race has become a critical element in deciding the winner of the 'Chase for the Championship'. Last year, the final race of the season decided the NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion – Kurt Busch.

To coincide with the kick off of the 2005 NASCAR season, NASCAR Canada will be at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto for The 2005 Canadian International AutoShow from February 18 to 27. NASCAR Canada will host a NASCAR Pavilion, providing an up-close look at stock cars in the Nextel Cup Series. On display is a replica of four-time NASCAR Champion Jeff Gordon's #24 Chevrolet and Jimmie Johnson's #48 Monte Carlo, providing an inside look at how a stock car is built and modeled.

Also on-hand is the NASCAR Nextel Cup Trophy, a NASCAR simulator game, a NASCAR merchandise area and two 42-inch plasma screens providing live coverage of the Daytona 500 on February 20 and Auto Club 500 on February 27. Directly following the Daytona 500, Raceline Radio Network will broadcast its weekly show live from the NASCAR Pavilion.

The following is TSN's 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup broadcast schedule:

NASCAR

*Budweiser Shootout (Daytona International Speedway)* - Saturday, Feb. 12

*Gatorade Duel at Daytona (Daytona International Speedway) - Thursday, Feb. 17

*Daytona 500 (Daytona International Speedway)* - Sunday, Feb. 20

*Auto Club 500 (California Speedway)* - Sunday, Feb. 27

*Chevy American Revolution 400 (Richmond International Speedway) - Saturday, May 14

*NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge (Lowe's Motor Speedway) - Saturday, May 21

*Coca-Cola 600 (Lowe's Motor Speedway)* - Sunday, May 29

*MBNA 400 (Dover International Speedway) - Sunday, June 5

*Pepsi 400 (Daytona International Speedway)* - Saturday, July 2

*Chicagoland 400 (Chicagoland Speedway)* - Sunday, July 10

*New England 300 (New Hampshire International Speedway)* - Sunday, July 17

*Pennsylvania 500 (Pocono Raceway)* - Sunday, July 24

*Brickyard 400 (Indianapolis Motor Speedway)* - Sunday, Aug. 7

*GFS Marketplace 400 (Michigan International Speedway)* - Sunday, Aug. 21

*Sharpie 500 (Bristol Motor Speedway)* - Saturday, Aug. 27

*Chevy Rock & Roll 400 (Richmond International Speedway)* - Saturday, Sept. 10

*Sylvania 300 (New Hampshire International Speedway)* - Sunday, Sept. 18

*MBNA 400 (Dover International Speedway)* - Sunday, Sept. 25

*UAW-GM Quality 500 (Lowe's Motor Speedway)* - Saturday, Oct. 15

*Checker Auto Parts 500 (Phoenix International Raceway)* - Sunday, Nov. 13

*Ford 400 (Homestead-Miami Speedway)* - Sunday, Nov. 20

*available in High Definition

MERRITTVILLE: Daytona 500 parties next best thing to being there

THOROLD, ON – For local race fans not able to make the Speedweek migration to Florida, there are several options for viewing the Daytona 500.

Merrittville Speedway invites race fans and team members to a Daytona 500 Party hosted by Hooters of Niagara Falls – Sunday February 20th.

During the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Season Opener, there will be food and drink specials available all afternoon in addition to prizes. Admission is free.

Hooters of Niagara Falls is located at 6357 Stanley Avenue and is a great place for race fans to watch NASCAR Nextel Cup races all season long in addition to all major sporting events. For further information call 905-357- HOOT.

For the Ferri Fast Race Team, their annual Daytona 500 Party signifies the first event of a new beginning for driver Adam Ferri as the 2004 Sportsmen Point Champion looks to make a move to 358 Modified Competition in 2005.

Port Colborne’s Royal Canadian Legion will offer Fun … Food and Prizes beginning at 12 Noon. Tickets are $5 each for the event located at 67 Clarence Street West. For tickets and further information call 905-834-7537.

The Sharp-Gordon Party for 358 Modified veteran Todd Gordon and Dwarf Car driver Justin Sharp moves this year to the Canadian Corps Unit 44 Hall located at 7 Clairmont Street in Thorold beginning at 11:30. Tickets are $10.00 in advance or $15 at the door that includes a Buffet Meal and Prizes. Tickets are available at Sharp’s Auto Center at 905-685-3277.

For further information on Merrittville Speedway’s 2005 Season call 905-892-8266 or visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com

MERRITTVILLE BALL HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

THOROLD, ON – Merrittville Speedway Drivers and Crew Members and other personalities will participate in some pre-season fun in the first annual Ball Hockey International Tournament set for Saturday April 9th.

“We don’t know what to expect,” relates (GM) Erica Bicknell, adding “ it’ll be a fun day for our competitors … maybe it will develop some camaraderie and friendships amongst drivers from all divisions before they make to the track for another year … our fans are also welcome to watch and cheer on their favorites.”

Proceeds of the event will benefit the 2005 Merrittville Speedway Point Fund.

Charlene Dooley – wife of defending Hoosier Stock Point Champion Mike Dooley – a Ladies Race Series Competitor and a veteran Ball Hockey competitor will be coordinating the Tournament to be held at the BHI Complex at Lock 3 in St. Catharines.

Three Games will be guaranteed for each team of 14 that must include 1 Female player minimum. Teams wanting to register can call BHI St. Catharines at 905-682-2835 or Charlene at 905-935-6558. Entry Fee is $150.00 per team with the deadline Saturday March 26.

Participants for the Tournament must be 16 years of age.

There will be prizes for the Top 2 teams in addition to MVP Prizes and a Post event Tournament.

Both BHI St. Catharines and Welland locations (at Niagara College) will soon be taking registrations for the Spring Season for individuals or teams. For further information call the St. Catharines location or Welland at 905-734-1040.

BHI will present a full Dirt Weekly Racing Series Event at Merrittville Speedway Saturday June 11th. For further information on the 2005 Racing Season call 905-892-8266 or visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com.

PANOZ: News & Updates

By Richard Howland

BRASELTON, GA (February 11, 2005) -- In championship sports, the rule is to stay with a winning combination. That’s exactly what the Panoz Racing School and Panoz Racing Series have achieved by signing last year’s sponsor roster for the 2005 season.

According to Vice President of Sales Christopher Sperry, the entire 2004 sponsor team returns for this year’s action: Pirelli tires, Performance Friction brakes, Arai helmets, BBS wheels, Bosch electrical components, Brembo high performance brake calipers, Cintas uniforms, H&R springs, Flowmaster, performance exhaust systems, K&N filters, Mechanix Wear, Pace American trailers, Sparco safety equipment and Tremec performance transmissions.

Sperry also said that in their honor the Panoz Racing Series again will present The Panoz Racing Series Sponsor’s Trophy at the season’s end.

This continuing annual award, given for the first time at the close of the 2004 season, is presented to the driver who does the most to promote the sport and sportsmanship of racing. Drivers from both the Panoz GT and GT Pro Racing Series are considered. The winner of “The Panoz Racing Series Sponsors’ Trophy” is announced following the last race during Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in the Fall.

The first-ever winner announced last December was Randy Wars of Mexico City. Trophy title sponsor was Pirelli.

Said Sperry “These sponsors are an important part of the Panoz Racing experience. Without sponsors like ours, racing would not be the world’s foremost spectator sport. The time, money and products they invest keeps the sport vital. Our idea behind the trophy is to single out one racer who best embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and whose actions promote the best values of our form of competition. We see this award as acknowledging a different form of champion,” he concluded.

Throughout the year, sponsors are displayed prominently on school and racing series cars, on the nationwide transporters, drivers’ suits, the Panoz web sites (with hot links to sponsor sites for more information), in each classroom and on all related literature.

For more information call 888 282 4872 or log onto www.panozracingschool.com or www.panozracingseries.com.

TRANS-AM: Fast Five qualifying returns for ‘05

INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 10, 2005) – Fast Five Qualifying, which was part of Trans-Am Series competition for nearly two decades, returns for the 2005 season. The Fast Five Qualifying format will feature an inversion of the top-five qualifiers and a revised qualifying points system.

The pole winner, as well as the second- through fifth-fastest qualifiers will roll off the starting line from their respective qualifying positions. The top five will assume their inverted grid positions by shuffling on the first pace lap, dropping the pole winner to fifth, the outside polesitter to fourth, and so on. The pole winner will receive three bonus points for starting fifth, while the second-fastest qualifier will earn one bonus point for his fourth-place start.

"Fast Five Qualifying has been a meaningful part of the Trans-Am Series for nearly 20 years," said Trans-Am Executive Director John Clagett. "We are confident this new version of the Fast Five format will add to an already exciting race weekend. Certainly, this will make for some thrilling racing throughout the field."

"WINS" WEIGHT PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 2005 TRANS-AM RULES CHANGES

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - The Weight Indexed Neutralization System (WINS) is among several rule changes being instituted for the 2005 Trans-Am racing season.

Other changes include a modified ride-height rule, and rules designed to further enhance driver safety.

The goal of the WINS Weight program is to provide close competition at the head of the field. To that end, the system will assess a 25-pound weight handicap against the winning driver of each race this season. An additional 25 pounds will be added for a second victory.

The first 25 pounds of WINS Weight will be removed if the car finishes outside of the top three in a subsequent race. If a driver finishes outside the top three following that race, the final 25 pounds will be removed.

The maximum WINS Weight is 50 pounds. If a winning driver doesnÕt race in the next scheduled event following a victory, 50 pounds of WINS Weight will be assessed at the next event in which that driver races.

"The WINS Weight program is designed to equalize the top drivers and teams in the Trans-Am Series, with a final goal of a more competitive racing environment," said Trans-Am Executive Director John Clagett. "Our drivers, teams and, most of all, our fans will benefit from closer, more competitive racing action."

In order to further promote driver safety, the Series will require cars to have two master electrical cut-off switches this season; one inside the cockpit, and a second switch mounted on the driver side A-pillar.

Taping of body latches will be strictly prohibited this season. The HANS device will continue to be mandatory for all Trans-Am drivers.

The Series has also modified its ride-height rule this season. The new rule stipulates that no part of the car, other than wheels and tires, may touch the ground when the tires on one side of the car are deflated.

Previously, the rule specified all cars were required to meet a 2.5-inch minimum ride height. All cars must also run identical wing mounting posts this season.

- From Trans-Am PR

STOCKS: Edmonton Int'l Raceway now NASCAR-sanctioned

WETASKIWIN, AB - I just had a discussion with Western contributor Robert K. Rooney, who noted that he recently spoke with Ron Thiering of Edmonton Int'l Raceway.

Rooney was told that EIR had recently signed on as a NASCAR-sanctioned track, to be part of the Dodge Weekly Racing Series. I just visited the Edmonton Int'l Raceway website... and sure enough, they are.

I guess I'll have to check to see which Canadian tracks are joining / leaving the NASCAR fold in '05. Last I heard, Delaware was scaling things back to just the Late Models, while rumours have St-Eustache quitting the sanction after just one year.

If anyone has clarification on this topic, I'd love to hear it. Robert is promising to send me a short note on this shortly and we'll have a complete story in the next issue of Inside Track.

- Greg.

ARCA: Kimmel ready for Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – Frank Kimmel, the New Albany, Indiana driver of the Advance Auto Parts Ford Taurus sponsored by Pork. The Other White Meat®, is set for this weekend's Advance Discount Auto Parts 200 at Daytona International Speedway in the ARCA RE/MAX Series Saturday, February 12.

Kimmel www.frankkimmel.com, the six-time ARCA RE/MAX Series driving champion, and the only driver in series history to win an unprecedented five consecutive titles has 56 series wins, but a win at Daytona has alluded him.

“We’ve never been able to win at Daytona,” explained Kimmel. “After finishing second in last year's race we are hoping that this will be our year. The Advance Auto Parts team has worked hard preparing for this season and the car tested well.”

ARCA RE/MAX Series practice is scheduled for Thursday February 10, and qualifying is set for Friday February 11, with the green flag for the Discount Auto Parts 200 Saturday February 12 at 4:10 p.m.

Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts is a leading retailer of automotive parts and accessories in the United States. The Company has over 2,600 stores in 39 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The Company serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets. Advance Auto Parts has also been involved with all six of Kimmel's championships.

Additional information about the Company, employment opportunities, services, as well as on-line purchase of parts and accessories can be found on the Company's web site at.

The National Pork Board has responsibility for “Pork Checkoff” funded research, promotion and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. For information on Checkoff-funded programs, pork producers can call the Pork Checkoff Service Center at 800.456.PORK. The National Pork Board have sponsored Tri-Sport Motorsports for five of their consecutive series championships.

With its Midwestern roots dating back to 1953, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) has grown into one of the country's premier oval track racing series, and for 2005, the ARCA RE/MAX series will run 23 events on a variety of tracks including some of America’s top super speedways and short tracks throughout the eastern half of the United States.

For more information, contact:
Tri-State Motorsports // 830 Progress Boulevard // New Albany, IN 47150
Telephone: 812.944.4620 // Fax: 812.944.6650 // www.frankkimmel.com

Bruce F. Mehlenbacher
Director of Public Relations // Cellular: 905.517.5345 // mehlenbacher@nas.net

Ford's back in... could GM be next?

I got so excited about Kevin Dowler's Ford news that I nearly fell off my chair moments later when I received a note from "GM RACING" talking about their love of motorsports.

Could it be???

Alas.... no. The story below comes from south of the border where they love racing and strongly believe that it sells cars and engenders loyalty.

Maybe someone would like to send the e-mail I received to someone at GM Canada so everyone can get on the same page....

- Greg MacPherson

GM RACING...

Why We Race

At GM, we race because it's where we came from and because it fuels our love for competition.

Racing has been part of the GM culture since auto pioneers like Louis Chevrolet relied on speed records and racing victories to launch his fledgling car company.

GM has remained in racing for two basic reasons - to win on the track and win in the marketplace.

Racing is a compelling demonstration of the depth of GM's technical resources, the capabilities of its people and the performance, reliability, quality and safety of its products.

The race track is the toughest of proving grounds to forge engineering, marketing and business skills into tangible results.

Few, if any, environments can match racing's ability to build awareness and consideration of a manufacturer's products to new customers, while simultaneously solidifying the loyalty of current customers.

.... it goes on from there.... see the link above for the full text.

CASCAR: Ford back on Dowler's Taurus

EDMONTON, AB - Talk about a sight for sore eyes! Four-time CASCAR Western Series champ Kevin Dowler recently displayed his Ford Taurus at the Edmonton Auto Show.



Note the large Ford 'blue oval', the Fast Lane and Ford Credit logos on his car!

Congratulations to Ford on their return to Dowler's Apollo Motorsports operation. And thanks to Dowler for his tenacity in sticking with Ford when he and very few others were willing to campaign a Taurus on the CASCAR circuit.

Photo by Perry Nelson

CHAMP CAR: 'Tag' gets a new engineer

LANSING, MI - French-Canadian Champ Car driver, Alex Tagliani anticipates the beginning of the 2005 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season with the addition of David Watson as the engineer on his No. 8 Rocketsports Racing Lola.

With a Masters Degree in Aerodynamics and a Bachelors Degree in Aerodynamic Engineering, Watson brings over 16 years of experience to the Rocketsports organization. In the past, Watson has worked for Dale Coyne Racing, Fernandez Racing, Mo Nunn Racing and Team Rahal.

Tagliani enters his sixth season in the premier open-wheel series. His Champ Car career includes a victory at Road America in 2004 and five poles. Tagliani also holds six wins in the Toyota Atlantic Series and four Canadian Karting Championships.

Both Tagliani and Watson expect a successful effort in 2005. Alex and I have been speaking for weeks,” said Watson. “We are both excited and encouraged with the direction we’re headed and look forward to a competitive season.”

Taglaini looks forward to working with Watson in 2005. “I feel that David is a well known and very established engineer in Champ Car and open wheel racing,” said Tagliani. “He appears well organized, with a pre-season testing plan and ideas to move the Rocketsports Racing team in a direction to further improve the car for competition this season.

Our goal at this point is to work continuously, in conjunction with our team’s second car engineering staff, so that we can be confident to fight with stronger teams for a position in the Championship top three.”

The Champ Car World Series kicks off their second year under new ownership on April 10th during the Toyota Grand prix of Long Beach. The season opener will be televised on NBC at 4:00pm.

- Nadio Petrossi

CASCAR MID-WINTER UPDATE: Some news and notes compiled by Joel Robinson of JRA Video Productions

TORONTO, ON – Despite the snow on the ground, things are quite busy in the world of CASCAR and its teams. Here are some news items to remind us all that it won’t be too long before we’re at the tracks again.

Fitzpatrick Motorsports has added another horse to its stable of cars, bring the total to seven. The team’s new oval track car will carry the #84 and will be driven by J.R. Fitzpatrick.

Pete Shepherd III will be racing at New Smyrna Speedway during Speedweeks.

Another CASCAR sophomore, Ron VanEs, will also be racing at New Smyrna. The Star Van Systems team has bought a new oval track McColl car for 2005.

Car builder extraordinaire Mike McColl is having a record breaking year for building cars. The PowerWater Team of Kerry Micks will have a new road course car. That road course car will now travel in style as the Micks Motorsports team has purchased a 53-foot Featherlite trailer. Delaware will be the 172nd CASCAR start for Kerry. Watch for more news from the Mt. Albert-based team in the near future.

The Western Series has been buzzing as well. EMCO Western Series Champion Kevin Dowler was recently at the Edmonton Autoshow with two of his cars. The oval car was decked out in EMCO colours while the #35 Road Course racing was branded with FORD and FASTLANE decals.

Dowler has also put in an order for a new McColl oval track car to be completed by Bill Burns. Ex-Western Champ Wade Lee returns to the Series full time driving the #79 Monte Carlo owned by Sun Valley track owner Ron Rhodes.

Longtime CASCAR competitor Peter Gibbons has been locked away in his North Carolina Shop all winter. The Gibbons crew builds their own chassis and are nearing completion of their new 2005 Monte Carlo. The team will be heading to Kershaw North Carolina next week to test the #1 Canadian Tire road course car.

Speaking of ‘down south’, Jeff Lapcevich raced in the Grand Am Cup in Daytona and will be competing full-time on that tour in ’05, with a limited CASCAR Super Series schedule planned.

Brother Jim Lapcevich will return to the Super Series in his #25 Monte Carlo. Jim had off-season back surgery and says everything went well and he is feeling much better. The CASCAR veteran will be making his 121st start in Delaware this May.

Mt. Hope's Dave Jacombs is having a new Taurus built for his 2005 campaign. When CASCAR races at the CENTRE FOR SPEED (Shediac, NB) this June it will mark Jacombs’ 100th career start.

Veteran DJ Kennington will capture CASCAR’s Ironman title when he takes the green flag at Delaware Speedway. The Mat 2-4 long weekend race will make the 116th consecutive start.

The present record holder is Kerry Micks with 115 consecutive starts. Kennington and his Castrol team will have a busy season, not only are they building two new cars for DJ, but they will also field a MOPAR powered racer for Marc Miller to be driven in 6 events.

DJ will also run six Hooters Pro Cup events and then the final North South play-off Series. Kennington will run close to 25 races this season and will be helped by many of Steve Robblee's crew.

Congratulations to DJ’s dad, Doug Kennington, for his induction to the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

The Beauchamp Motorsports crew of Ron Sr., Ron Jr. and Chris Couvillon have been busy at their MOPAR shop this winter. The crew are putting the final touches on their new MOPAR oval racer. Ron Jr. and Chris (crew chief) are heading down south to help crew on a Super Late model car that is being run out of the Hendrick Driver Development program.

Ron Sr. is busy building a bunch of new power plants for the upcoming season. Beauchamp will supply MOPAR power to Brad Graham’s new Dodges which are now backed by Challenger and Logel's Auto Parts.

TEAM3RED have also been busy at their Stouffville, ON shop. The team has purchased another Dodge to bolster its fleet of race cars. Stu Robinson Jr. will be back behind the wheel in 2005.

2003 Rookie of the Year Bryan Cathcart will be returning to Super Series racing full-time in 2005. National Fast Freight along with a consortium of Peterborough businesses are backing Cathcart's efforts.

Good luck to everyone heading to Speedweeks!

- Joel Robinson

BROCKVILLE ONT. SPEEDWAY: Back to its roots

By Steve Young

BROCKVILLE, ON - Brockville Ontario Speedway will return to its roots for the 2005 racing season as the popular 358 Small Block Modifieds will be the featured class at the fast quarter mile oval.

“We had some very entertaining racing last season in the battle between the small blocks and the big block Modifieds,” said Track Owner and Promoter Paul Kirkland. “However the bottom line was that Eastern Ontario competitors and fans alike are more comfortable and familiar with the small blocks and with the changes in rules that DIIRT Motorsports has introduced in the off season, we feel the best option for us is to return to the formula that made the BOS, a Friday night institution.”

Kirkland also confirmed that Brockville will continue to operate under the DIRT Motorsports Sanctioning Body for 2005 for both the 358 Modified and Sportsman divisions using the new 2005 rule book. “We feel these changes were needed to level the playing field and keep costs under control for the competitors in these classes and allow both divisions to thrive in the future, so we are adopting them right away.” The Speedway will also run it’s weekly Friday night shows with Street Stock and Rookie (4 cylinder) classes as it has in the past.

The final touches are being put on the 2005 racing schedule which will begin in mid May and run until Mid-September. It is expected that there will be two visits by the DIRT Motorsports 358 Modified tour included along with a DIRT Sportsman tour race and two appearances by the always popular Empire Super Sprints.
Brockville Ontario Speedway has also called a driver's meeting for Tuesday Feb 15, 7pm at Luna Pizzeria. The meeting is to discuss the up coming season's plans with the drivers. 2005 rules will be available as well as tickets for the annual awards banquet which will be held in April.

Brockville Ontario Speedway is 100 percent owned and operated by Paul and Cheryl Kirkland and is located north of Brockville just off Regional Road 29.

CASCAR: Looking back at Brad Graham's '04 Super Series season

Prepared by Todd Lewis, TL Sports & Entertainment, tandt@pathcom.com

GLENCOE, ON - Riding a top ten finish in the overall CASCAR Super Series championship from the previous season Brad Graham and the Challenger Motor Freight team were excited to be back at Delaware Speedway where Brad is a former track champion for the start of a new year.

The results weren’t what they hoped for with only a twelfth place finish, however with Cayuga Speedway and Peterborough Speedway were next up where the Challenger Motor Freight team runs well.

After starting last at Cayuga Brad had a terrific race, moving up throughout the 200 lap event that resulted in a fourth place finish. That momentum carried on to Cottage Country with an eighth place run at Peterborough.

At the very difficult Mosport Road course the Challenger Motor Freight car was 15th at the finish. It was back to Cayuga Speedway for round five of the Super Series and it was an eighth place finish for Brad at the famed 5/8 mile oval.

That was now three top-ten finishes in the last four races putting them in eighth place in the overall CASCAR Championship.

A thorny stretch was straight ahead for Brad the Challenger team. On a difficult street circuit where practice time is limited it was a hard fought 12th place finish at the Toronto Indy weekend, and two weeks later in Vancouver it was a 16th place result.

Now past the halfway point in the season while the team hadn’t always finished as high as they’d hoped, but in every event they had gained positions from where they began on the starting grid, a significant accomplishment.

Motor problems brought a disappointing end to the series Western swing with a 21st place finish in Calgary.
The team returned to Ontario and put in a good effort at the Mosport oval just missing the top ten.

With a second place starting position for round ten at Peterborough things looked good, but with only a handful of laps remaining Brad was running third when the motor problems returned.

After starting deep in the field Brad moved the Challenger Motor Freight car into a top ten finish as the series returned to Delaware Speedway for the Great Canadian 300.

The final event of the year left a bitter taste in the mouths of the team, after an eighth place qualifying effort, the motor gremlins that plagued the team in the second half of the season sent them to the sidelines early.
Even with all the motor troubles that plagued them Brad Graham and the Challenger Motor Freight team still managed four top-ten race finishes.

They finished just outside the top ten overall. With his strong performances picking up positions during the season, Brad was the winner of the 2004 Fast Eddie Racewear Hard Charger Award gaining a total of 67 racing positions throughout the season.

A new CASCAR season is only a few short months away and with it plenty of change and a great deal of anticipation.

This season Brad Graham Motorsports and Challenger Motor Freight welcome Logel’s Auto Parts as major associate sponsor. This year will also see a switch to a new car with Mopar power provided from Beauchamp Motorsports.

For more information regarding Brad Graham and the Challenger Motor Freight/Team Logel Dodge log onto cascar.ca.

BITS AND BITES: NEW TV SHOW WITH ITMN TOUCH

Inside Track Motorsport News Writer-At-Speed and Rally Tech guru Andrew Comrie-Picard looks set to host a new car modification show that’s set to air on the Global Television Network sometime on February 12.

I had the chance to drop in on ACP during the show’s filming in Toronto back in September, and the teams looked professional. A healthy budget and limited time make for some stressed out folks, while Inside Track Communications staffer and Late Model stock car driver Amanda Connelly was tapped to help judge the competition.

From all reports, the pilot episode looks to be a good one, so tune in on Saturday and check it out yourself.
- Mark Atkinson

Two teams, two cars, three days...who can build the best beast?!

WAR OF THE WHEELS is a new TV program for Global Television airing February 12. The show takes two teams of mechanics, provides them with a fully equipped auto shop and gives them the challenge of overhauling two identical second hand cars in under 72 hours. The aim for each team is to increase the resale value of each vehicle as much as possible – hopefully more than the other team.

At the end of the process, the cars are sold online to the highest bidder, with the profits heading to charity. Immediately following the airing of the show, the two cars will be auctioned off on e-bay to the highest bidder. All net proceeds will be donated to Smartrisk, a national non-profit organization dedicated to preventing injuries and saving lives.

Along the way, there will be several competitions to win automotive parts and flashy accessories. When the cars are ready there will be a drag race to see which team has done the best mechanical job.
It might take your local mechanic weeks and thousands of dollars to do what these teams are going to attempt to achieve overnight.

For more information, follow this link.

ROLEX 24: Suntrust Pontiac-Riley wins Daytona

By James Neilson

DAYTONA, FL – In what has been widely hailed as the most talented roster of drivers ever to compete in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, a trio of wily sportscar veterans stole the thunder.

Max Angelelli, Wayne Taylor and Emmanuel Collard earned a place in sportscar racing history by not only triumphing in the face of a deeply talented roster of drivers but by winning what was arguably the most competitive Rolex 24 at Daytona in the race’s 43 year history.

“Actually, I bought all the catalog of Rolex, each one of them, but I never bought this one,” joked Angelelli about the Rolex watch each winner receives. “This is the one I wanted to win. It's been long, but I made it, it's finally here. Now, I'm going to add this to my collection, finally, on top.”

The race featured an amazing 43 lead changes between eight separate teams and 16 different drivers. Angelelli, Taylor and Collard themselves led 282 laps out of the 710 laps the SunTrust Racing Pontiac-Riley they were sharing completed.

Despite leading the most laps Angelelli, Taylor and Collard found themselves playing catch up after an incident with a back-marker in the 16th hour cost the team three laps while bodywork damaged incurred in the shunt was repaired.

The contact, and the subsequent visit to the pits, allowed the Howard Boss Motorsports Pontiac-Crawford of NASCAR star Tony Stewart and sportscar stars Andy Wallace and Jan Lammers to take the lead.

By the 19th hour, the SunTrust Racing car made it back on to the lead lap setting the stage for an epic battle between them and the Howard Boss Motorsports car. Over the next two hours the teams swapped the lead several times only to have any chance of a close finish dashed when the Howard Boss Motorsports car encountered gearbox problems sending it sputtering back to the pits for repairs.

With the Howard Boss Motorsports car out of contention, the next closest challenger to the SunTrust Racing car was the sister Howard Boss Motorsports car of NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson and sports car aces Butch Leitzinger and Elliott Forbes-Robinson, although they were 11 laps behind.

By the 22nd hour all the SunTrust Racing team had to do was nurse the car home while their opponents made a mad dash to the finish, hoping the SunTrust car would hit trouble.

“I could feel the difference from last year to this year as far as intensity and pace,” observed Tony Stewart. “Everybody seemed to be flat out and everybody was running a pretty strong pace all day. It was fun and it made for a fun race. You didn't' feel like you were out just riding around. You were giving it 98 or 99 per cent the whole time.”

Ultimately Angelelli, Taylor and Collard steered clear of incident winning their second sportscar race together at Daytona in a row after triumphing in a three-hour race at the end of last season.
For Taylor, a previous winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, this year’s victory was made all the more sweet as he not only drives, but also owns, the SunTrust racing team.

“I think to win this race for the second time is certainly the highlight of my career,” Taylor said. “I think when I won my first Rolex 24 in 1996, I said to everybody that I got more attention than winning the World Sports Car championship or winning races all over the place. That was truly the greatest. It was a great event to win, the win lasted for a year, and this one is even better.” Adding, “the standard of the competition was so much higher. There were 15 cars that could have won this race on pure speed, not on retirements and so on. So this was really a good one to win. Especially being my home town, and SunTrust's home base, it couldn't be better.”

Unfortunately, the Canadians competing in the Daytona Prototype class were not so successful. However, the GT class was a different story.

In GT, the Farnbacher Racing USA Porsche GT3 of Wolf Henzler, Shawn Price, Pierre Erhet and Dominik Farnbacher took home the class spoils finishing 10th overall with the TRG Porsche GT3 of Canadians Dave Lacey, Greg Wilkins, Mark Wilkins and David Shep finishing third in class, 12th overall. Their run was by far the best of the Canadian brigade that made their way to Daytona this year.

Canadian driver coach Ross Bentley brought some of his pupils along and wound up finishing seventh in the GT class, 17th overall.

Scott Maxwell, in the Canadian-run Multimatic Daytona Prototype team, finished 27th overall sharing the car with NASCAR stars Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle.

Jean Francois Dumoulin drove a Porsche GT3 prepared by TPC Racing finishing 36th overall.

Canadian Champcar aspirant Michael Valiante finished in 42nd place overall after a troubled run, as a result of mechanical woes, with the new Ten motorsports Daytona Prototype team.

Paul Tracy, sharing Bell Motorsports Doran with last year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona winners Terry Borcheller and ex-Champcar driver Christian Fittipaldi, finished 49th overall after encountering irreparable mechanical dramas overnight.

Other notables included Actor Paul Newman who, sharing a Daytona Prototype with Champcar champions Sebastian Bourdais and Christiano Da Matta, finished 51st overall after off-track excursions from each driver.

Despite many of the notable entrants finding themselves out of contention by halfway through the race officials can only be ecstatic with the field that turned out for the 43rd annual Rolex 24 at Daytona. From a humble six entries in the inaugural 24 hours run to Daytona Prototype rules in 2003 to the 29 entrants that contested this year's class, the Daytona Prototypes have truly come of age.

MONTREAL INDY: Legault to promote Montreal Indy again

By CNW Telbec

MONTREAL, QC - Mr. Normand Legault, Chairman and CEO of GPF1 Inc., announced today that his team will take charge of the organization of the next Molson Indy Montreal, a round of the Champ Car World Series, on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal next August 26, 27 and 28.

After launching the Montreal event in 2002 and presenting the following edition in 2003, the GPF1 team is reassuming control of the event after a one-year interruption.

Mr. Legault said he was pleased to take over again a motorsport event that has already delighted sports fans here. "Last year, the Champ Car World Series offered a thrilling championship race and no doubt our fans will again want to see drivers at work like Tagliani, Tracy, Bourdais, Junqueira and company on such a demanding track as the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. At GPF1, we are convinced that this prestigious series can provide us with one of the most exciting race weekends of the year."

GPF1 will shortly unveil full details of the weekend's program at the 2005 Molson Indy Montreal, as well as ticket prices for attending the event.

The pricing policy will be absolutely economic and geared to suit everyone's wallet. GPF1 also organizes the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada each year, which is also held on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal.