June
4, 2012. Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Noel Dowler took a significant step
forward in his young career piloting the #5 EMCO Dodge showing continued
improvement and poise in round number two of the NASCAR Canadian Tire
Series season this past weekend at Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Quebec.
With only minimal practice due to rain and the race taking place in dry
conditions Dowler ran in the top ten for much of the afternoon.
Persistent
rain showers hampered the team acquiring information and Dowler only
completed a handful of laps in the #5 EMCO Dodge. Weather also forced
the cancellation of qualifying and the field was set according to NASCAR
rules putting Dowler in the tenth starting spot on the grid.
Dry
conditions greeted the teams for the main event Sunday afternoon. With
the drop of the green flag to begin the race Dowler was looking to
settle into a comfortable rhythm in the #5 EMCO Dodge. “Not having much
practice and in very different conditions I just wanted to take it easy
at the beginning of the race” said Dowler.
While
he did drop several positions Dowler knew he had a strong race car.
“Some of the guys were pretty aggressive right from the start of the
race” stated Dowler. “I didn’t want to get too assertive right away” he
added.
While
continuing to be patient and await his opportunity for advancement
Dowler began to take advantage of the openings presented to him on the
track. He made steady progress forward in the #5 EMCO Dodge and cracked
into the top ten of the running order. “It was great to really be able
to show what we’re capable of” said Dowler. “I still wasn’t pushing
the car too hard knowing we had a long way to go”.
As
the laps ticked down Dowler continued to run very competitive lap times
and hovered around the top ten. A late race caution period would bring
about a green-white-checker finish. While running under the yellow,
the #5 EMCO Dodge inexplicably slowed and then stopped on the front
stretch. Following a push start from a wrecker Dowler tried to catch
back up to the field and get into position for the restart of the race.
In the final laps everyone got even more aggressive and Dowler pushed as hard as he could in the #5 EMCO Dodge. The 18th
place finishing result however doesn’t indicate how well the team
performed during the event. “It’s really disappointing to have that
kind of issue bite us” said Dowler. “The car felt absolutely fantastic
and it was exciting to be up racing near the front of the field. I know
we’ll be back and have better results at the next race”.
The 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series resumes June 16th
on the oval at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, ON and
features 12 events from coast to coast including races during the
Edmonton Indy weekend and the NASCAR Nationwide event in Montreal. For
more information about Noel Dowler Jr. log onto www.apollomotorsports.ca and follow him on twitter, @noeldowler.
Attached Photo: Noel Dowler alongside the #5 EMCO Dodge at Circuit ICAR
Photo Credit: Todd Lewis
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