It has become a Father's Day weekend tradition to showcase the powerful stock cars of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series as they take on the famed 4 kilometre, 10 turn road course in the Dickies 200 presented by Lucas Oil. Last year's Dickies 200 produced a great battle for the lead between NASCAR rookie Andrew Ranger of Roxton Pond, Quebec and former Canadian stock-car champion J.R. Fitzpatrick of Cambridge, Ontario. Ranger ultimately won the battle late in the race and secured a victory that helped him win the inaugural season championship. Both he Fitzpatrick return along with a strong field of drivers, including D.J. Kennington of St. Thomas, Ontario, Dave Whitlock of Wyoming, Ontario, Don Thomson Jr. of Ayr, Ontario and Kerry Micks of Mt. Albert, Ontario. This season, Ranger will be paired with former Champ Car World Series driver Alex Tagliani of Montreal, Quebec who will race a second car for the Jacombs Racing team.
On the other half of the doubleheader are the high-performance sports sedans of the U.S.-based Grand-Am KONI Challenge, which will run a combined class 400 km feature race. The Series is comprised of two distinct classes, the Grand Sport (GS) and the Street Tuner (ST) divisions. The GS ranks are filled with powerful, high-horsepower cars such as BMW's, Porsches and Mustangs, while the ST roster has quick and agile machines from Acura, BMW and Mazda among others.
Both divisions of the KONI series feature several Canadian drivers and teams. For example, Compass360 Racing of Toronto, will be entering a four-car Acura-powered team with several Canadian drivers in the ST class. Team owner and co-driver Karl Thomson of Toronto will be joined in the #76 Acura by Travis Walker of Mississauga, Ontario. Ken Wilden of Oakville, Ontario and fellow Ontarian Jeremy Willard will drive the #73 Compass360 Acura. The Predator Auto Sport, Georgian Bay Motorsports and i-MOTO Racing teams in the ST division are employing at least one Canadian driver per team.
In the GS division, veteran sports car racer Scott Maxwell of Toronto will once again co-drive the #55 Hyper Sport Ford Mustang GT with American Joe Foster. The pair won the GS race at Mosport in 2007. In all, 22 Canadian drivers will be suiting up for various teams across both divisions in 2008.
The Grand-Am KONI Challenge race is set for Saturday afternoon and the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Dickies 200 presented by Lucas Oil is set for Sunday. Joining the stock cars and the sports sedans on the schedule is the new Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup, which will be making its Canadian debut at Mosport. This new Series features a grid of identical, race-modified Ford Mustangs that will battle it out in a 45-minute feature race on Sunday.
The Castrol Canadian Touring Championship also returns to the road course for its second of three 2008 appearances, while the open-wheel racers of the Skip Barber BFGoodrich National presented by Mazda and the Ontario Formula Ford Challenge round out the weekend schedule.
A three-day SuperTicket is $50 until June 11 ($60 at the Gate) and each ticket includes parking, paddock admission, and entrance to the Saturday Night Stock Car racing at Mosport Speedway. Children 12 and under are free when accompanied by a paid adult admission. Single day tickets are also available.
General and family camping areas are available, with full-service washrooms, showers and children's playgrounds. An advanced three-day weekend general camping pass is just $30 for tents and pop-up trailers and RVs are $50 for the weekend.
Also returning for this Father's Day weekend is the Grand Prix Club, which for $90 gives Dad a real VIP experience. Located near corner one overlooking the front straight, the Grand Prix Club includes a three-day admission and Sunday VIP Hospitality which features a fully catered lunch and beverages.
For more information about Mosport ticket packages and camping, call the Mosport Hotline at 1-800-866-1072 (Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm ET) or visit online at www.mosport.com. Tickets are also available at Ticketmaster.
From Lee Bailie, Mosport 1-800-866-1072, (905) 261-8134 (cell.) or email lee@mosport.com
Photo credit: www.PeterBrand.ca
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