By Todd Lewis & TL Sports & Entertainment
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| Photo Credit: Todd Lewis |
July 24, 2011 - Sun Peaks, British Columbia racer Jason White was brimming with enthusiasm as he arrived for round number six of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at his home track at Motoplex Speedway near Vernon, BC. The driver of the #21 A & W Dodge was excited to be racing in the A & W Cruisin’ the Dub 300 along with his brother Jim White and young BC sensation Sarah Cornett-Ching who were in cars with A & W colours from his stable.
The day went well early on as White only needed to run a few practice laps in the #21 A & W Dodge Challenger. “The car felt great and I knew we had a long race ahead so I didn’t want to run too much” said White. Jason’s feelings were confirmed as he posted a ninth quickest qualifying time.
Following several days of sponsor events, media appearances and autograph signings it was time to race and White was anxious to show what his hometown team could do. Unfortunately for him some racing misfortune would hamper his night at the start of the 300 lap event. The race barely underway, the #21 A & W Dodge Challenger was collected in an incident putting them at the back of the pack. “We didn’t panic, I knew it was early and I just got going and we didn’t lose a lap, our job just got a little bit more difficult” explained White.
As the race progressed the job for the #21 A & W Dodge Challenger team got even more complex. As White was regaining positions lost from the early tangle he felt the handling of the car going amiss. “I knew something was wrong and we had a tire going down” said White. “The tough part was we had a bunch of cautions earlier but we had to make a green flag stop to change the tire and that really set us back” he added.
Still motivated after all the adversity they faced, Jason again began his fight back in the #21 A & W Dodge Challenger. “Nothing had changed with the car, we simply had some back circumstances we were able to race hard and began making up ground” said the driver.
White continued to push the #21 A & W Dodge Challenger and later in the race his luck changed and he was rewarded for his efforts. “We ended up a few laps down but we continued to race hard and put ourselves in position to always be the recipient of the free pass when the cautions came out and near the end of the race we got back on the lead lap” he explained.
In the closing laps White continued to battle and as the checkered flag waved the #21 A & W Dodge Challenger claimed an eleventh place finish. “We just missed out on another top ten” said White. “I can’t say enough about how hard this team worked tonight. Of course this is an important race with A & W as the title sponsor and we wanted to show how determined this team is to succeed”.
OF NOTE: Jason’s brother Jimmy White also had a good evening. Jimmy managed to avoid numerous incidents during the race and had a solid tenth place finish. Sarah Cornett-Ching also ran very well and was on her way to an excellent finish until a mechanical failure ended her night prematurely, she would claim a fourteenth place result. “I’m really proud of both of them” said Jason White. “Sarah did an amazing job in her first NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race driving the #25 A & W Cuisin’ for a cause machine. We got some great publicity for the event August 25th where a dollar from each Teen Burger sold goes to the MS Society. And I knew Jim would have a good night, if we’d had a few more laps though I’m pretty sure I would have been able to pass him” joked Jason.