August 17, 2013- Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Noel Dowler and the #5 EMCO/Rheem Dodge showed plenty of speed and resolve during round number nine of the NASCAR Canadian Tire series this past Saturday at Riverside International Speedway. Dowler was quick all day around the beautiful oval near Antigonish, NS and came home with a solid top ten result.
Throughout both the afternoon practice sessions the #5 EMCO/Rheem Dodge was very fast with the team only making minor adjustments for handling during both periods.
“I was very happy with the car, we unloaded and were really strong right away” said Dowler.
The good performance of the #5 EMCO/Rheem Dodge continued through qualifying as Dowler posted the sixth best time of the day to earn an outside third row starting position.
“Qualifying has been a struggle at times but with the car running the way we needed it to that was a nice effort for us” said the driver.
As the 300 lap race began Dowler ran with the lead group of cars at a comfortable pace. The #5 EMCO/Rheem Dodge continued to demonstrate plenty of speed in the early going. Suddenly however the fortunes of the team would change. A flat tire would send Dowler up high where he hit the outside retaining wall.
“I’m not sure what happened” stated Dowler. “I wasn’t pushing the car hard at all that early but we must have picked up a puncture. When the car hit we damaged some suspension too and knocked the toe and camber out” he added.
The early misfortune didn’t deter the #5 EMCO/Rheem Dodge team who quickly made repairs and returned Dowler to the race. From there it was all about getting the best possible finish to the race. Dowler dug down and gave his full effort for the balance of the race and managed an eighth place result.
“The car was so fast at the beginning, we were actually being held up a bit in the early going. It’s too bad about the flat tire but the #5 EMCO/Rheem Dodge team gutted this one out and managed a top ten result. It’s a good point’s night for us and we’re confident that we can be this strong when we get back to the final oval races of the year” said Dowler.
After nine events Noel Dowler sits seventh in the overall championship standings.
The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series consists of 12 events from coast to coast in Canada. The next event takes place on Sunday September 1st at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, ON. For more information about Noel Dowler and the #5 EMCO Dodge/Rheem team log onto www.apollomotorsports.ca and follow him on twitter, @noeldowler.
This release prepared by: TL Sports & Entertainment, todd@tlsportsent.com (239) 961-2618
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