For Immediate Release
August 31, 2009 - Calgary, Alberta – Whissell scores first top 10 after early race contact dropped him to 30th
After getting spun in corner 1 on the fourth lap and dropping to the end of the field, Whissell drove a battered #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford through the field to an unofficial 10th place finish at an event filled Autopro 100 on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on Sunday.
Looking to rebound after a disappointing finish in Trois-Rivieres two weeks ago, Whissell started the weekend optimist. Whissell ran as high as 15th in a wet practice session, but fell to 20th after switching to slick tires prematurely as the track conditions improved. The wet track prevented the team from testing their dry set up. For Qualifying, Whissell was 17th. “The car okay in qualifying and I was held up on two of the laps by slower cars. I am still pleased to be starting in the top half of the field,” Whissell commented on his qualifying effort.
While the weather was unsettled all day, the start of the Autopro 100 was clear and it looked like the rain would hold off. The first two laps saw Whissell trade positions back and forth with the 71 of Brisebois and the 49 of Strachan before the first caution of the race was out. When the race restarted on lap 4 Whissell got the jump on the 71 as the 39 of Whitlock held up the field with a mechanical issue. Into corner one the 71 car made a move inside Whissell and they had contact sending Whissell spinning. “I saw Brisebois on the inside and I gave him room and he hit me hard on the left rear tire as we exited. I don’t know if he came in too hot,” Whissell questioned. Whissell re-fired his car and joined the field at the rear. Whissell communicated with the crew that the car had a vibration but seemed to be handling okay. Crew Chief Brent Hougestol made the call to keep Whissell on the track.
Now in 30th position Whissell kept his composure and started to make his way back through the field often passing several cars a lap. By lap 18 Whissell was up to 14th. “I had driven the car pretty hard and had used up the brakes and it was not handling well,” Whissell recounted. A late caution brought out a green white checkered finish with Whissell in 13th place. On the restart, there was trouble corner one with the 17 and 69 cars spinning. Seeing nowhere to go, Whissell took to the escape road and looked rejoin the track at the exit of corner two. As he got there the 22 car of Steckly was rolling over on the outside. The race was red flagged and the checkered flag waved as time constraints prevented another attempted at a finish. Unofficially Whissell is shown as finishing 10th. “The end of the race was Mayhem. NASCAR has us in 10th place and we will take it. It was a hard fought race I am pleased to have my first top 10 finish in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.” An excited Whissell said.
Unofficially the race was won by J.R. Fitzpatrick, with Andrew Ranger second and Kerry Micks third.
This was the last event for Whissell Motorsports in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series this year. Thank-you to all of our sponsors for their support this year. We are pleased to be associated with great companies like SMS Equipment, Komatsu, Wolseley, Lafarge and Frontier Fabrication.
Follow Whissell Motorsports on Facebook -
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whissell-Motorsports/101960126937For more information, contact Jarrad Whissell
Office: 403.236.2200
Cellular: 403.888.9050
Fax: 403.236.8834
e-mail: racing@whissell.ca
www.nascar.ca www.smsequip.com
www.lafarge.ca www.wolseleyinc.ca
www.frontierfab.ca
Driver Jarrad Whissell is currently 20th in points after competing in 4 of the 10 completed races in 2009 . In 2008, Jarrad finished 25th overall in the 2008 NASCAR CATS standings after competing in 4 of 13 races. Previously he was the Western Canadian Motorsport Association (WCMA) 2005 Rookie of the year. In 2006, Jarrad won the overall WCMA and Challenge Car titles. For 2007 Jarrad won the WCMA Formula Libra championship.
Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=10451.msg72596#msg72596
