NCATS: Hathaway & Team 3 Red- EHR Struggle at Montreal

Montreal, Quebec-Team 3 Red/EHR and Jason Hathaway returned to The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal this weekend to compete in the NAPA AUTOPRO 100, marking the half way point of the 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series inaugural season.

The car came off of the trailer in good form. Practice and qualifying for the 23 lap event around the 15-turn, 4.3 km street course created from surface streets circuit took place on Friday. The morning sessions of practice went well for the team and their #3 Snap on Tools Dodge, posting a 13th fastest lap times in the practice session.

After practice Hathaway was pretty comfortable with his racing machine. "The car was pretty good in practice. A 13th fastest time is a great place to be right now in such a deep field. I think we will be in great shape for the race."

Unfortunately Hathaway's practice efforts faded away when an early qualifying session incident Friday afternoon shorted the team's qualifying efforts. Under the direction of Crew Chief Giulio Montanari, the Team worked to repair their damaged race car and prepare for the main event on Saturday morning. Hathaway started his #3 Snap on Tools Dodge in the 30th position in the field for the NAPA AUTOPRO 100.

With ground to make up in the field Hathaway got down to business early and started to work his way up through the pack. By lap 15 of the 23 lap event Hathaway was up to 15th, most recently making his way around 2 cars on the back part of the famous Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. A favourable finish to a tough start for the team was within the Team's grasp when on lap 17 Hathaway radioed in that he was having trouble with his transmission. With only 6 laps to go, Crew Chief Giulio Montanari elected to keep Hathaway on the track with only high gear in the car and finish the race.

"This was a pretty frustrating weekend for this team." said Giulio Montanari after the race. "Jason and this car was a lot better then we got to show out here today. The car was strong in practice and the crash in qualifying put us back a little. The crew is strong and they worked hard to get this car back together. We will get back to the shop, regroup and have a good finish next weekend at Mosport."

Although it was a tough weekend for the team, Team 3 Red/EHR and Hathaway were able to stay in the top 10 in driver standings. Hathaway now sits in the 10th spot a single point out of 9th. The next event for the Team will be this coming weekend at the oval under the lights of Mosport International Raceway on Saturday August 11,2007.

Team 3 Red/EHR is proud to be associated with their great sponsors and supporters. Team 3 Red/EHR is partnered with Snap-on Tools, Super 8 Motels, Advantex Freight Forwarders, Fast Eddie Racewear and Choko Motorsports, Briggs & Stratton, Castrol, Napoleon Fireplaces & Barbeques, Xilarate Sports Fluid, BOSCH Canada and The Busted Knuckle Garage. For more information on our sponsors please visit our website at http://www.team3red.com/.
###
For additional information please contact: Jamie Hakonson // Team 3 Red/Ed Hakonson Racing // jamie@team3red.com