Canadian NASCAR teams test on the road course at Mosport Car Insurance Today

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Canadian NASCAR teams test on the road course at Mosport

Posted May 8th, 2011 by James Morris No Comments »

Our regular readers know that Im more than a bit of a gearhead. Just about anything automotive will catch my attention, but my true passion is auto racing. Specifically road course racing, but any racing is better than just walking around a car show. This past weekend marked the opening of racing series at many tracks in the northern half of the continent, as temperatures have become more tolerable.

My home track is the legendary Mosport International Raceway, which is one of a handful of the original race tracks in North America that is still in its original configuration. The track plays host to many of the top road racing series including American Le Mans, World Challenge, Grand Am, Trans Am and even the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. The Mosport facility actually has a road course and an oval and the NASCAR series races on both tracks during the season.

This past Friday was the first test day of the season and a small collection of the more serious NCTS teams came out to prepare themselves for their upcoming visit to the road course.

Like any sport, the teams that do well in NASCAR-type racing are the ones that get out and test their equipment as often as possible before the season starts. In the case of stock car drivers, who are used to racing primarily on ovals, extra track time on a road course can mean the difference between winning and being an also ran.

No series driver understands this better than Kerry Micks who drives the #02 Ford Fusion, who is always a threat to win on a road course despite the presence of a few road racing ringers who only turn left and right. Micks always seems to get more track time than any other driver prior to the season and it shows.

The #21 A W Dodge is driven by Jason White, who loves the challenge of a road course. His team has just joined forces with DJK Racing, who will provide White with a top notch car so that the driver can focus on driving, rather than also being his own crew chief as he has been in the past.

The title sponsor of the series also sponsors Scott Steckly in the #22 Dodge. Steckly is a hard charger with tons of experience to back up this top flight car. Like Micks, the Motomaster car is always in the hunt.

The white and blue Ford in the photos is a brand new ride for Ontario driver Steve Mathews. This was the first outing in the car, so Mathews focused on keeping out of trouble and learning the car.

Mark Dilley is a long time racer who was the CASCAR champion in 1994. Dilley was on hand with the black and red Dodge, pounding laps hard before the rain started.

When the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series returns to Mosport for the Vortex Brake Pads 200 on Fathers Day weekend, you can bet these guys will have an advantage over all the teams that have not yet tested on the old Grand Prix track!