NCATS: WHITLOCK FINISHES 6TH IN FIRST OF TWO WESTERN EVENTS

VERNON, BC - The Dodge Dealers Dodge Avenger 300 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race at Vernon, BC's Sun Valley Speedway on Sunday saw Dave Whitlock post a season best 6th place finish.

Practice on Saturday went well with times consistently in the top ten. Twenty-three cars lined up for time trials at 7 p.m. and Whitlock timed seventeenth quickly. “I got into turn one a little to hot on the second lap and that ruined our efforts for a good qualifying spot,” stated Whitlock after qualifying.

Sunday dawned hot and sunny again as the teams prepared for the 300 lap event later in the day. The green flag dropped at 7 p.m. and Whitlock immediately started picking off cars in front of him.

During the mid point of the race Whitlock in the #39 Dickies/Hamilton-Tiger Cats/NMT Dodge Charger moved to the point to lead the field for several laps. Later in the race Whitlock had to take advantage of the Beneficiary rule after they lost a lap during a pit stop. The #39 Dodge Charger immediately started a charge back to the front again.

Over the final eighty laps Whitlock ran as high as third, which was nullified when the yellow flag flew and a full lap had not been completed since the pass. On the ensuing green, white, checkered restart, Whitlock was relegated to the fifth starting position and crossed the finish line in sixth.

“The car was really good all day which we expected,” stated a hot Whitlock after the race. “We didn’t qualify where we should have but knew that on the long green runs we would be okay,” he added. “If we could have re-started in third with two to go I think we had something for the front two cars.”

J.R. Fitzpatrick and Scott Steckly ran side by side for the final two laps with Fitzpatrick taking the checkered flag by inches. Third was the #1 of Peter Gibbons, fourth was #17 D. J. Kennington and the #02 of Kerry Micks rounded out the top five.

The team heads into Edmonton next for the Grand Prix of Edmonton starting on Thursday July 19th. A full field of NASCAR Canadian Tire Series cars are expected to be on hand including hometown favourite Kevin Dowler.

The Dickies/Hamilton Tiger-Cats/NMT race truck & trailer will be taking part in the Grand Prix of Edmonton Hauler Parade in downtown Edmonton on Wednesday July 18th. The parade begins at 12 noon from Airport road and travels East on 104 Ave, North on Jasper Ave and then West on 111th Ave and finally West on Kingsway to Airport Road and the Champ Car Paddock at 1 p.m.

Next up is the Edmonton Grand Prix where the teams move into the paddock on Thursday July 19th, practice and qualifying are on Friday with the main event taking place at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.

Williamson-Dickie Canada Co. is a subsidiary of Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company of Fort Worth, Texas. Since its beginnings in Forth Worth, Texas in 1922, the Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company has grown from a humble manufacturer of bib overalls into a global brand powerhouse, with Dickies work pants, shirts, denim, outerwear, school uniforms, outdoor gear, medical and chefs apparel and an extensive licensing program offering sturdy head-to-toe clothing options for hardworking men and women of all ages, professions, regions and interests. Williamson-Dickie operates through subsidiaries in North America, Canada and Europe as well as exclusive distributorship around the world. Dickies products are available at select retailers across Canada and the Dickies Factory Outlet store in Hanover, Ont. For more information please visit http://www.dickiescanada.com/

For more information on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series please visit http://www.nascar.ca/

Whitlock Motorsports is a professional racing business located in Wyoming, ON just outside of Sarnia. The 5,000 square foot dedicated motorsports facility houses up to eight race cars, a chassis dyno and all the necessary tools to field a competitive two car race team. Dave Whitlock boasts three National CASCAR Championships, 1991, 1997 and 1998 along with several top three National Championship finishes, while teammate Mark Dilley has one National CASCAR Championship to his credit in 1994. Both teams have consistently posted finishes in the Top Six in the National Point Standings since Dilley joined the Whitlock team in 1999. http://www.whitlockmotorsports.com/

For more information please contact: Linda Jones