CASCAR SUPER SERIES: Brad Graham St-Eustache report

CHALLENGER MOTOR FRIEGHT/LOGEL'S AUTO PARTS TEAM EARN TOP TEN AT ST. EUSTACHE

Courtesy Todd Lewis, TL Sports & Entertainment

June 5, 2005. Brad Graham and the Challenger Motor Freight/Logel's Auto Parts car rolled into the Autodrome St. Eustache for the second event of the CASCAR Super Series season knowing they had put the first race disappointment behind them and were well prepared for what can be a very difficult race track.

The last time CASCAR visited St. Eustache Brad Graham had a strong car that was capable of winning. Graham led plenty of laps but mechanical problems ended his night early. With the new Mopar powered Challenger Motor Freight/Logel's Auto Parts car the team felt confident of a solid finish at the tricky 4/10 mile oval.

Qualifying with only one short practice session left the team with a decent, but still somewhat disappointing 11th place starting spot. "You don't want to be too far back because plenty of trouble can happen at this track". With a total of 10 caution periods in the 200 lap event there was plenty of trouble out there for those who wanted to find it.

Brad managed to keep the Challenger Motor Freight/Logel's Auto parts machine away from most of the carnage and moved up a couple of positions and ran solidly in the top ten through the early stages of the race. As track conditions changed and the cars handling was beginning to go away the team made a pit stop for tires and adjustments. "We debated how much to tighten up the car" stated Graham after the race. "It was my call to just go a little; we probably should have been more aggressive"

None the less, with fresh rubber and a somewhat better handling race car Graham managed to avoid the rest of the trouble on the track and bring the Challenger Motor
Freight/Logel's Auto parts Dodge home in 9th position. "This was as hard a ninth place finish as I've ever had" concluded the driver afterwards. "We had to battle all the competitors and we're still learning a bit about the inner workings on this new car but we've made some definite steps in the right direction. The whole team worked really hard and I'm proud of them".

The CASCAR Super Series resumes competition in two weeks on the very challenging road course at Mosport International Raceway. Race fans will also be able to enjoy the season opening event, the Mopar 250, on Saturday June 11th when it is broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet.