07.24..04 :: CANADIAN TIRE 100 - VANCOUVER MOLSON INDY
FIN. ST. # DRIVER (HOMETOWN) SPONSOR / MAKE LAPS
1 1 23 Jeff Lapcevich (Caistor Centre ON) Tim Horton’s /Fastline Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35
2 8 4 Don Thomson Jr. (Hamilton ON) Home Hardware ChevroletMonte Carlo 35
3 4 02 Kerry Micks (Mt. Albert ON) Power Water Ford Taurus 35
4 2 1 Peter Gibbons (Stouffville ON) Canadian Tire / MonroeBrakes Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35
5 6 22 Scott Steckly (Milverton ON) ERB Group Pontiac GrandPrix 35
6 5 09 Trevor Seibert (Williams Lake BC) Lake ExcavatingFord Taurus 35
7 9 39 Dave Whitlock (Wyoming ON) Avenue MotorWorks / NMTDodge 35
8 12 64 Mark Dilley (Barrie ON) NTN Bearings Dodge 35
9 11 25 Jim Lapcevich (Hamilton ON) Retrocom Growth Fund/ Fastline Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35
10 10 17 DJ Kennington (St. Thomas ON) Castrol Canada Dodge 35
11 7 60 Ron Beauchamp Jr. (Windsor ON) MOPAR Parts / ExideDodge 35
12 17 84 J.R. Fitzpatrick (Ayr ON) R Cambridge Rigging ChevroletMonte Carlo 35
13 15 3 Mark Swain (Port Perry ON) R Snap-On Tools / GeneralElectric Chevrolet Monte Carlo 35
14 21 50 Pete Shepherd (Brampton ON) R ATTO Dodge 35
15 20 55 Rob Graham (Bothwell ON) R G-Dox / Doering BrownMonte Carlo 35
16 18 19 Brad Graham (Glencoe ON) Challenger Motor Frt. PontiacGrand Prix 35
17 14 79 Wade Lee (Calgary AB) Guyons Performance CentresDodge 34
18 19 88 Dave Jacombs (Mt. Hope ON) Lou’s BBQ / Inroble /FAG Ford Taurus 34
19 13 8 Marc Miller (Holland MI) R Carhartt Clothing ChevroletMonte Carlo 31
20 16 10 Glenn Mueller (Richmond BC) Green Line Hose &Fittings Dodge 23
21 22 81 James Ward (Kelowna BC) Lordco Auto Parts Ford Taurus 18
22 3 35 Kevin Dowler (Sherwood Park AB) EMCO Ltd. Ford Taurus 13

R after the hometown denotes Rookie contender.

TIME OF RACE: 56 minutes and 29.752 seconds // MARGIN OF VICTORY: 2.954 seconds // CAUTIONS: 2 for a total of 4 laps // LAP LEADERS: #23 Jeff Lapcevich (1- 35)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2004

Petey Shepherd Wins Hard Charger Award in Molson Indy Vancouver

(Vancouver, British Columbia) – Petey Shepherd and his Team ATTO / Performance Racing News Dodge headed west last weekend to play a part in the feature show on Saturday at the Molson Indy Vancouver. The Canadian Tire 100, run on Saturday July 24th was the start of the second half of the 2004 CASCAR Super Series season, and Shepherd entered the weekend 11th in the championship point standings, and slightly ahead of Rob Graham in the battle for the National Rookie-of-the-Year standings.

The # 50 machine hit the track for the first time on Friday morning, but Shepherd got a little head start on Thursday as Jeff Lapcevich and Don Thomson Jr. showed him the track. “That was a big help before we even got out there.” The first time behind the wheel, Shepherd focused on learning the temporary street course. “It’s similar to Toronto in that the corners are the same type, but after getting on it for the first time, I like it more then Toronto.”

Friday afternoon Shepherd was the 18th-quickest car on the track as he ripped off a lap of 1:28.289, knocking three seconds off his time from earlier in the day. “We were pleased with how far we had come during the day” Saturday morning was the final session, but the team’s Dodge had a pilot bearing go bad, and he was shuffled back to 21st on the grid.

Petey rolled from the inside of row 11 for the 35-lap main event, and after passing a few cars that left the track, found himself running all alone. “It got a little lonely out there, but we got a caution and I caught up to the back of the pack. After that first yellow I was able to stay with the pack for the rest of the day.” Shepherd and fellow rookie’s Rob Graham and Mark Swain then battled for the second half of the race. “We had a pretty good race, and I was able to follow Marc Miller for a while as well, and he’s a good road racer to learn from.”
Shepherd was able to advance seven positions from his starting position for a 14th-place finish, and won the hard charger award for the feature for moving up the most spots. “We’re pleased with the way the weekend turned out. We made some strides on the car and I came a long way from Friday morning.” The end of the Vancouver event wrapped up the road course event on the 2004 calendar and in a way Shepherd is sad to see them over. “When we first went to Mosport I just wanted to get done with them, but after running three of them, I’m looking forward to getting back on some road courses next year. I’m going to go south this winter and take a school in Florida, or somewhere like that, because I still have a lot to learn, and the road course races are such a big part of CASCAR.”
Shepherd also extended his lead in the Rookie-of-the-Year race to 11 points over Rob Graham.

Jeff Lapcevich continued with his road course domination as he was on the hunt for his fifth straight road course win in the Canadian Tire 100 in Vancouver. Lapcevich turned the fastest time in provisional qualifying and then shattered the track record in the second round of time trials, with Peter Gibbons joining him on the front row. Lapcevich took control at the drop of the green flag while Don Thomson Jr., who had started eighth worked his way through traffic to second. Thomson and Lapcevich battled for the lead before contact slowed Thomson and allowed Lapcevich to streak away for the victory. Thomson finished second, while Kerry Micks passed Gibbons for the final spot on the podium on the last lap.
1. Jeff Lapcevich, 2. Thomson, 3. Micks, 4. Gibbons, 5. Kevin Dowler, 14. Petey Shepherd.
Unofficial Points (after seven of 12 events) – 1. Gibbons (1096 points), 2. Thomson (1075), 3. (tie) Jeff Lapcevich (1053), David Whitlock (1053), 5. Micks (1022), 11. Petey Shepherd (860).

Team ATTO will make the trek back through the Rockies to Calgary for next weekend’s MOPAR 300 at Race City Speedway. The half-mile facility is tough on tires, and Shepherd is looking forward to tackling the oval for the first time. “I really don’t know what to expect. I’ve never been there before, but I’ve heard it’s a high-banked fast track. We’re also very confident as a team after our pole and top-five at Cayuga 2000 Speedway in the ATTO 200 Canada Day Shootout.”

For more information on Petey Shepherd, Team ATTO, CASCAR, the Molson Indy Vancouver, please visit www.cascar.ca, www.molsonindy.com, or www.racecity.com. Or contact Maudsley Motorsports at (519) 670-3278, or maudsleymotorsports@sympatico.ca.