NCATS: Rz Racing (Jason White) Barrie report

BARRIE, ON - The RZ Racing team visited Barrie Ontario on Saturday night for the "A&W 300", this was the third stop on the 2008 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule. The learning curve continued for driver Jason White and the A&W "Cruizin The Dub" sponsored Monte Carlo. Barrie Speedway is a very tight 1/3 mile oval that is known for tearing up equipment and leaving a significant amount of cars out of the race at the end of 300 laps.

The team struggled all day with an extreme understeer (push) condition and qualified 21st. "We really couldn't get a handle on the set up all day, so I just drove the car as hard as I could without wrecking", said White. "It's extremely tough to go to these tracks we have never been too before and be competitive, most of these teams have thousands of laps here, so we just tried to keep the car on the track and get as much experience as possible."

When the green flag dropped it did not take long for the carnage too start, cars where dropping out fast and Jason was avoiding the dust ups that where going on all over the "bullring" shaped track. "I have always heard the stories about Barrie being an aggressive place to race, but I had no idea it was going to be like this," Jason mused. "I showed up to race but it felt like I was in a heavy weight boxing match."

As the race went on Jason was slowly picking off positions and making up some ground on the field and felt he was finally gaining some confidence. "My crew put a new set of tires on at about lap 200 and I started to feel comfortable with the set up of the car", said white. "I started to push myself a little harder and the car was taking it, so I kept hitting my marks and tryiing to be as smooth as possible".

After charging all the way up to 11th position by lap 250, the A&W "Cruzin The Dub" Monte Carlo started to smoke severely and the NASCAR officials brought Jason in to inspect the car and eventually park him for the night. The rear end gear overheated and was blowing oil all over the track. "It was heart breaking to see the black flag, I had smelt rear gear oil for quite awhile so I new something was wrong but it was a hard pill to swallow as I believe we where destined for another top ten finish" said crew chief Brian Uptigrove. "I am really proud of this entire team for a hard days work and there determination to never quit".

The Rz Racing teams day ended with a 16th place finish and world of experience, the next scheduled event is in St. Eustache Quebec for the "KODAK 250" July 5th. In a sport where more marketing dollars equals more speed the RZ Racing Team is thankful for all of their advertising partners leading into this years NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.

Special thanks go out to: Zimmer Wheaton GMC, Powder Ventures Excavations, Douglas Lake Equipment, Twin Anchors Houseboats, A&W, KAL TIRE, PRAXAIR, RE/MAX (Paul Toporowski), Peaks Media Inc., RTR Performance, Diamond Lils Trucking, Zimmer Autosport, Mackdaddys Nightclub, L'Cat Autographics and Thompson Valley Sand and Gravel.

Race dates and results are posted on www.NASCAR.ca