KAWARTHA, ONTARIO – Mark Dilley, driver of the #9 Dodge headed into the season ending Z-Line Designs 250 presented by the Dodge Dealers of Ontario and Coca-Cola at Kawartha Speedway with mixed emotions. First and foremost on his mind was winning the event, but in the back of his mind, he knew this would be his last event with Dodge.
“We have had five very good years with Dodge,” Dilley said. “They’re all quality people at Dodge, and they have always been excited about their involvement with us in this series. It is very hard to see them go, and I must give them a huge thank-you for all their support over the past five years.”
Dilley wanted to go out on a winning note and he was soundly in the top 10 in qualifying with a seventh place run. “We just missed it a bit, but we’ll be fine in the race,” Dilley added.
To run the final race, Dilley would have to wait an extra day, as the original Saturday night show was postponed by rain, and the event would be run on Sunday morning.
“With that much rain, there will be no rubber down, so we just have to see what we have,” Dilley said before the start.
At the start, Dilley was able to stay on the tail of the leaders, running just behind Scott Steckly. “I could see that up front they were racing pretty hard, but with 250 laps to run, I just ran my pace. I had a good car, I just had to wait for the right time,”
With a fairly long green flag run coming to an end around the 104 lap mark, Dilley pitted his Dodge for tires and fuel. Some of the other drivers had pitted earlier and they were waiting for a later caution period to make their final stop.
When it went back to green Dilley was able to make his way forward somewhat, but found moving forward a tough go running in the middle of the pack. “I had a good car, I just couldn’t get out of traffic,” Dilley said.
Sadly, a sudden rain shower came at lap 204 of 250 and NASCAR called the race complete. Dilley wound up 12th, but knew he would have had a better finish had the race run the full distance. “We were on the right strategy,” Dilley said. “We just couldn’t clear that traffic, and then the sudden rain ended it. It’s not what we hoped for today, but thanks to everyone that helped out. The crew was great, and once again, I have to thank Dodge for all their support. Finally, I want to congratulate Dave Whitlock on a great career, he is one of the class acts in this sport.”
Mark Dilley would also like to acknowledge and thank his other sponsors including: Leland Industries, Mobil 1, Exide, Avenue Auto Parts and CRS Trucking.
From Linda Jones // Wide Open Motorsport Solutions
0 comments:
Post a Comment