BROWN GEARS UP FOR TROIS RIVIERES

Courtesy Ken Spencer

The 2006 CASCAR Super Series tour is about to reach the halfway point in the season but as most drivers and their teams will attest to, it’s already been anything but dull given the way the schedule has been formulated. With just five of the schedule’s eleven events run todate, those teams vying for the coveted Championship in Canada’s premier stock car racing series have already competed in three provinces, on two road courses (Mosport and Edmonton) and two ovals (Barrie twice and Vernon, BC.) and are now headed for Quebec for another road course event -The Grand Prix Des Trois Rivieres, billed as Canada’s most historic road racing weekend.

“The schedule has been hectic to say the least”, Doug Brown responded when questioned recently on how he felt the season had been going so far. “It certainly shows the diversity of our series and the added skills one has to develop in learning to deal with the various track sizes and configurations. And with two more road course races with limited practice times still to come, you have to adept quickly to stay in contention.”

This weekend’s trek will see the NAPA Autopro pilot doing a lot of gear shifting, both up and down, to navigate at top speeds around the 1.51-mile, 3.38-kilometer circuit located on the St. Lawrence River midway between Montreal and Quebec City.

He also knows it will take not only speed but also a smooth performance to finish near the front of the pack.

Two weeks ago, a slipping clutch cost Brown a couple of positions and a potential top-ten finish during CASCAR’s event at the Grand Prix of Edmonton CHAMP Car weekend.

The Brantford driver currently sits eighth in CASCAR’s tightening points’ race and he’s hoping to improve upon that position over the balance of the schedule.

“We have four of our final five races on the ovals where we certainly feel more comfortable, but we know that we have to learn the road course techniques to excel in this series,” he responded when questioned on what he must do to improve his overall performance.

After this weekend and next weekend’s Mosport Speedway oval track race, CASCAR teams will be heading to Montreal for the CHAMP Car weekend show - August 25, 26, 27. They close out the schedule on the ovals with September events at Cayuga International Speedway, Autodrome St. Eustache and Kawartha Speedway, tracks where Doug has enjoyed strong runs in past Series’ competition.

He’s certainly hoping those venues will produce the results he needs to stay in the top-ten or better standings in the championship chase.

The Brown Auto Racing #10 CASCAR Super Series Team is proud to have NAPA/Autopro as its Title Sponsor. Haldex Limited is a Major Associate Sponsor with Bicknell Racing Products; World of Graphics; HurryPrint Imaging Centre; WIX Filters; KWIC Internet; Gates Canada; BOC Gases; Advance Printing; Brochures etc; Davis Fuels, Leitch Performance Engines, Jebbo’s Computer Warehouse, Strodes BBQ & Deli and Leaf Racewear forming its Associate Sponsorship Marketing team.