Ignition - 19.09

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:: PLUS: BOURDAIS • FRANCHITTI • LOEB • PEDREGON MOTORCYCLE

EDITION ON THE

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The 2007 season may be over, but the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is off to a great start. We’d like to thank all the fans for making the first year of racing north of the border such an unforgettable one. See you next year!

canadiantire.ca The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series marks are used under licence by Destination Motorsports LP and Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited. NASCARÂŽ is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.

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premium protection 2007 year in review

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From the Editor’s Desk

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The biggest stories of 2007

IRL IndyCar

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FIA Formula One

Raikkonen Surges to the Title

Champ Car World Series

Added protection

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Bourdais Goes Out With 4th Straight Title

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IRL IndyCar

Franchitti Breaks Through For 1st Title

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NASCAR Nextel Cup

Johnson Edges Teammate Gordon

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

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Ranger Rules Inaugural Campaign

Superior protection

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NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

FIA World Rally Championship

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Loeb Wins as Gronholm Retires

American Le Mans Series

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Porsche Steals the Show

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Rolex Grand-Am Series

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Parity Is the Name of the Game

NHRA POWERade Championship

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Down to the Final Pass

IHRA Knoll Gas Nitro Jam

100 YEARS UNDER THE HOOD.

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TM

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Ferocious Title Battles in 2007

FIA World Rally Championship

Rolex Grand-Am Series

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Champ Car World Series

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Cover Photos by LAT Photographic

© 2007, Ashland Inc.

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100 YEARS UNDER THE HOOD.

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2007

By Neal Jones | Executive Editor

(ISSN # 0834 - 809X) is published 9 times a year by 1009678 Ontario Inc., 44 Prince Andrew Place, Toronto, ON, M3C 2H4.

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Correspondents: Formula One: Dan Knutson NASCAR: Monte Dutton Motorcycle: Mark Hacking NASCAR CANADA: Jamie Maudsley Senior Writer: Todd Lewis Writers: John Bone, Matt Polito, Tim Tuttle, Mark Triller, Dave Oakley Senior Photographer: Ramesh Bayney Photographers: Alain Assad, Dan Boyd, Muriel Brousseau, Daniel S. Carter, Michael A. Coates, Dave DeAngelis, Yves Desjardins, Steve Embling, Bryan Epps, Carlos Hatfield, Bob Hesser, Jack Heringer, Kirk Horoky, Rick Kolaczynski, John Larsen, Mike Levitt/LAT, LAT Photographic, Bill Murenbeeld, Jim & Gerry Murray, David Oliver, Chris Payne, Sue Phypers, Rob Potter, Kevin Sproule, Richard Shute Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies whose products and services might be of interest to our readers. If you prefer to have your name removed from this list, please write to us at the address above and include your mailing label.

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Performance Racing News

Newsmakers

This past season was among the most dramatic and intriguing of all-time. Championships came down to the final event, and in some cases, the final lap. Major decisions dramatically affected the future of the sport and the usual political maneuvering meant that every day something new was grabbing headlines. With that in mind, let’s look back at the biggest stories of 2007.

McLaren: Everything started with the arrival of two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, but he was quickly usurped by rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton, who became the brightest star in F1. Throw in the Ferrari/Nigel Stepney spying scandal and subsequent punishment and nary a week went by that people weren’t talking about the team. Even now, McLaren is making news with its allegations against Renault.

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Open Wheel Invasion: Interest from open wheel racers in NASCAR has grown steadily in the last decade, but nothing could have prepared fans for the onslaught of 2007. Juan Montoya proved that great talent transcends the type of car you drive and by mid-season open wheel racers were vying for a shot at NASCAR. Jacques Villeneuve, Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish Jr. and Patrick Carpentier are all lined up for full-time runs in 2008 after getting their feet wet this fall.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Coming into the season questions abounded about the future of NASCAR’s biggest star. It was clear Junior was not happy at Dale Earnhardt Inc. and after a few months of back-and-forth with his stepmother and team owner, Teresa Earnhardt, Junior announced he would not re-sign. That was followed by speculation as to where he would end up in 2008 and at the end of July he was signed to Hendrick Motorsports with a new sponsor and number.

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NASCAR Comes to Canada: For years Canadian fans waited for NASCAR to make its presence felt and in 2007 the series surpassed all expectations. The inaugural NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season was spectacular as 5 of the 12 races were decided on the final lap and Andrew Ranger captured the first title. In August, the Busch Series took over Montreal and produced an eventful race that had fans talking for weeks.

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Dario Franchitti and Tony Schumacher: There’s nothing quite like waiting until the last minute to win a title. Franchitti won his first IndyCar title when Scott Dixon ran out of fuel on the final lap and the Scotsman passed him for the win and the championship at the final corner. Schumacher, for the second year in a row, waited until the final pass of the season to clinch the NHRA Top Fuel title.

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Ben Spies and Mat Mladin: It was a two-man show in AMA Superbike. Spies took his second title by a single point over his Australian teammate, and he did it by never finishing off the podium. The racing was great up and down the grid in AMA, but these two are clearly in a class of their own.

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Hendrick Motorsports: No team was close to the Hendrick boys in 2007. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson dominated NASCAR’s “regular season” and quickly jumped to the front when the Chase began. Their success with the Car of Tomorrow sealed the fate of the competition and left Johnson and Gordon to duel for the title. Four wins in the last five races gave the title to Johnson.

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Safety: Sometimes people forget just how dangerous this sport is. The main reason is the unbelievable safety features mandated by ruling authorities. Seeing drivers walk away from horrific crashes are a regular sight, but sometimes fans have to wonder how a driver survived. The importance of those standards was clearly evident when Robert Kubica missed just one race after a crash at the Canadian Grand Prix while Dario Franchitti didn’t miss a step after incidents at Michigan and Kentucky.

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Sebastien Loeb and Marcus Gronholm: The two World Rally stars staged a classic battle for the title. Gronholm jumped out early, but Loeb responded and was back on top at mid-season. But then Gronholm surged as Loeb stumbled and the title seemed a lock for the retiring Finn. But a pair of DNFs launched Loeb back to the top spot and the Frenchman snatched the title.

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Ricky Carmichael: The GOAT went out in style as a motorcycle star.

Racing select events, RC proved he was still unmatched outdoors and had few peers indoors. His foray into stock cars got off to a slow start, but the talented star made significant gains at the end of the year and should have a big impact in 2008.

Photos by LAT Photographic

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We could go on and on about the 2007 season, the stories never seem to end. No matter what form of racing you are passionate about, 2007 had it all and more.

See you at the races!

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The 2007 Formula One World Championship came down to the last race in Brazil before deciding on a champion. The year brought change for the big teams, a rookie sensation, team politics, spying scandals and a new World Champion by just a single point.

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o one knew what to expect from the 2007 Formula One season.

Gone was Michael Schumacher, the seven-time World Champion retiring at the end of 2006. And his decision left an indelible mark on the off season as teams reshuffled the pecking order around the paddock.

The initial questions dealt with Ferrari’s loss of Schumacher and Ross Brawn and the new addition of Kimi Raikkonen. That was complemented by the switch to McLaren by two-time defending champion Fernando Alonso. But in short order a 22-year-old British driver was stealing headlines around the world.

The early season was dominated by Lewis Hamilton as the rookie captured podium finish after podium finish before finally breaking through for back-to-back victories when the series came to North America. At mid-season, it looked like F1 would have its first rookie champion in history.

Not far behind was his teammate Alonso, which created the first string of controversy. The teammates struggled to co-exist in McLaren’s philosophy that refuses to proclaim a number one and two in the team structure. That eventually led to Alonso’ departure form the team at season end, cutting short his two-year deal signed before the season.

While McLaren struggled to keep team harmony, Raikkonen was quietly putting together a superb season. He was still out of the picture heading into the final few races, but a pair of wins had him within 17 points of the top spot with two races to remaining. He did what he need to do by winning those races and when the dust settled, he was the champ with 100 points, while his McLaren rivals were tied with 109. Errors by Hamilton at China and Brazil cost him the title. Two points in China was all he needed, instead he lost control in the wet while making a pit stop after staying out too long on worn tires.

Overshadowing all of this drama, however, was the 2,000-pound elephant that was sitting in the room all season long. The Nigel Stepney-Ferrari spying scandal loomed over everything and in the final decision McLaren was fined $100 million and disqualified from the Constructor’s Championship. But the spying debate continued when it was revealed that Renault had secret McLaren information since the end of 2006 and as we went to press the FIA World Council was set to deliver its decision on the allegations from McLaren.

The premier racing series in the world truly had a season for the ages. High drama both on and off the track kept the sport’s attention clearly focused on Formula One. As fans, what more can you ask for from a series.

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Performance Racing News

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12/18/07 8:57:42 PM

coverage BROUGHT to you by

Four straight victories to end the year propelled Kimi Raikkonen to the 2007 World Championship

a 2007 carnival

Lewis Hamilton took F1 by storm and established new rookie standards along the way; losing out on the title by one point will surely fuel the fire inside the young Brit

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Performance Racing News

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KROWN PROTECTS YOUR VEHICLE FROM RUST 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s like having your own pit crew.

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Even though he finished one point shy of the top spot, Fernando Alonso’s tenure at McLaren was filled with internal strife, at one point he and team boss Ron Dennis were barely speaking and in 2008 the Spanish star will be with a new team

Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen struggled early but rebounded in the second half to finish seventh in the championship

a 2007 carnival

Thanks to safety standards, this scary crash in Montreal once again showed how finely-built F1 machines are as Robert Kubica only missed one race, due to the lingering effects of a concussion after this harrowing tumble across Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve; the Polish star eventually finished sixth in the points

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Performance Racing News

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... understanding control starts from the ground up!

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Felipe Massa got lost in all the attention given to his World Champion teammate and the McLaren battles, but the Brazilian had his finest season in F1 with three victories

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Performance Racing News

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Lincoln Electric 19.08.indd 1

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Going Out in Style

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Performance Racing News

Sebastien Bourdais is leaving for F1 in 2007, but before he left the French superstar set a new standard with a fourth straight Champ Car title. As he leaves though, new stars have emerged to brighten the future of the series.

who took the championship lead after winning at Mont-Tremblant.

However, none of those drivers could sustain the consistency needed to beat a great champion like Bourdais. In the last seven races of the year Bourdais scored five victories, including the final start of his Champ Car career in Mexico City.

As close as things were, when the final count was made, Bourdais had clearly dominated again as his 83-point lead on second-place Wilson attests. Power faded a bit down the stretch, but he maintained fourth in the title chase while Doornbos rolled to another win at San Jose, but he too couldn’t keep pace with the Frenchman and settled into third in the championship.

It was not a good year for the Canadian drivers in Champ Car. Poster boy Paul Tracy struggled again at Forsythe Racing, and only a victory at Cleveland salvaged anything from a season that saw the “Thrill From West Hill” finish outside the top-10 in points. As for Alex Tagliani, he squeaked into final spot in the top-10, but it was a typical season for the Quebec driver as he couldn’t find the consistency he needs to contend at the front regularly.

It was an emotional moment for Sebastien Bourdais when he took the win at Mexico City, winning his final Champ Car start as the four-time champion heads to F1 in 2008

Photos by LAT Photographic

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veryone knew it was coming. The early stages of 2007 were a wait-and-see game as to when Sebastien Bourdais would announce his departure to F1. He was a three-time Champ Car champion and had little to prove, so the stage was set for one last run through the schedule.

However, things were a lot closer than Bourdais is accustomed. His dominance at the front had never been truly challenged in his three years on top, but in 2007 three drivers tried their best to unseat the perennial champion.

It’s not like Bourdais was having trouble, he did win three of the first four races, but after seven races he didn’t lead the points as several contenders were right behind him at every stop and took advantage when possible.

Australian Will Power threw down the gauntlet first, winning the season opener and then took his second win at mid-season in Toronto. England’s Justin Wilson was out to prove he was ready to take the next step and supplant Bourdais on top and he was consistently in pursuit.

The revelation came from former F1 driver and eventual Rookie-of-the-Year Robert Doornbos,

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Performance Racing News

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Going Out in Style

Justin Wilson scored a pair of victories in 2007, and had to settle for being the best driver not named Sebastien in the final points

Will Power was the big mover in the early stages as he took two victories in the first half, including the season opener in Las Vegas; the sophomore driver tailed off in the second-half but still managed a fourth place finish in the championship

Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos came to North America with the new Minardi team and led the points at one stage before settling for third in the title hunt and Rookie-of-the-Year honours

Bobby Rahal was back in the Champ Car paddock as his son Graham made his debut in the series in 2007; the younger Rahal established new standards en route to fifth in the championship and showed that he has learned a little from his “old man” over the years 18

Performance Racing News

The best news for Champ Car is the influx of exciting new drivers. While Wilson has been around a while and Doornbos is a rookie on paper only, they are still young enough to provide many more years of great racing. Power proved to be a star on the rise in his sophomore campaign. The true rookies in the field are the ones everyone should pay attention to.

Simon Pagenaud, coming off the 2006 Atlantic title, had a very strong year and he should be a driver who makes some noise in the years to come. Fibishing eighth in points as a rookie will no doubt increase his confidence heading into 2008. The big name rookie is Graham Rahal, son of three-time series champion, Bobby Rahal. Champ Car will have to take advantage of the young sensation’s name quickly as it widely known that he is racing Champ Car in order to reach Formula One in the next few years. He became the youngest podium finisher in Champ Car history with a second-place run at Houston and finished fifth in the title chase.

Despite all the struggles off the track, Champ Car still produces some great racing with talented drivers. If they can ever get their in-house management to the level of the racing fans get to see, there’s little question Champ Car can return to a prominent role in the sporting world.

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LASTLAP HEROICS

The finish of the 2007 IRL IndyCar championship came down to the final lap. Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon staged an epic race at the season finale that wasn’t decided until the Scot moved by Dixon as he ran out of fuel in the final corner.

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12/18/07 10:43:51 PM

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t was starting to look like Dario Franchitti was going to end up like other sports legends like Ernie Banks, Ted Williams, Dan Marino or OJ Simpson. He was an all-time great in motorsports, but the big prize always seemed to elude him.

Coming into the 2007 season Franchitti was expected to pick up his share of wins, but winning the title was not in the front of everyone’s mind.

The closest he had been to a title was in 1999 when he tied Juan Montoya for the Champ Car crown, but lost out on a tiebreaker. But everything came together for Franchitti in 2007.

He broke through to win the Indianapolis 500 in May for the biggest win of his career. He followed with back-to-back victories in June and had a good lead in the points coming into the latter half of the year. At that moment, the wheels appear to come off his title hopes as a pair of spectacular crashes at Michigan and Kentucky closed the title chase and opened the door to his rivals. By the time they reached Chicago for the finale, Scott Dixon was in the lead, but it all came down to who finished ahead that would decide the champion.

Dixon had that lead on the final lap, but his fuel strategy came up a few corners short as Franchitti

hounded the Target car and slipped by in the final corner to take the win for Canadian Club and Andretti Green Racing.

For Dixon, it was a disappointing end to the year as the former IndyCar champion was poised to add another ring to his resume. He made his biggest impact at mid-season when he took three straight checkered flags at Watkins Glen, Nashville and Mid-Ohio before winning again at Infineon Raceway. That gave him three wins in the five road course races on IndyCar schedule and put him in prime position to win.

Tony Kanaan has now taken the mantle of the best driver in the series not to win the season title. The fun-loving Kanaan always has a big smile and he was once again in title contention all season before settling for third. In fact, Kanaan brought home the most wins in 2007 with five, but he couldn’t match the overall consistency of Franchitti and Dixon when the dust settled.

Dan Wheldon, Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr. were the only other drivers to taste champagne in 2007. Wheldon, a series champion, started strong by winning two of the first four races, but he faded from the title spotlight as the season wore on and finished fourth. It was a

Dario Franchitti broke through for his North American title with a last lap pass at the season finale

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12/18/07 10:44:18 PM

LAST LAP HEROICS

Scott Dixon pushed the limits of his fuel cell at the season finale, but came up just short as he ran out of gas coming out of the final corner at the final race and lost the title in the process

With two races remaining, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti all had their shot at taking home the big prize

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Performance Racing News

12/18/07 10:44:51 PM

He may have been third in the title chase, but Tony Kanaan’s five victories were the most of any driver in the series

It was a subpar year for Penske as Sam Hornish Jr. (l.) and Helio Castroneves (r.) grabbed only a single victory each; Castroneves did however win the “Dancing With the Stars” contest later in the fall

Dan Wheldon started strongly in 2007, but the former champion couldn’t match the consistency of his title rivals and settled for the fourth spot in the standings little bit rough for the Penske boys this year as the perennial powerhouse only managed two victories — Castroneves at St. Petersburg and Hornish at Texas. It was a middling season for the boys in red and white and that was reflected in their finishing order in the standings.

Danica Patrick, the darling of the media, finally lived up to the lofty expectations with the first podium in her IndyCar career, and the first-ever for a woman. It was good debut season with AGR and now that she has a full season under her belt with the four-car team she should be well-prepared for the drop of the green in 2008.

Next season will be an interesting one for the IndyCar Series as a new payout scheme has been outlined, but the key will be how the series handles the departure of the last two series champions. Franchitti and Hornish are both committed to NASCAR in 2008 and Wheldon continues to kick some stock car tires.

Then again, the series does have the reigning “Dancing With the Stars” champion, Helio Castroneves, to count on in 2008.

Performance Racing News

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TWO HORSE

RACE

NASCAR is always looking for ways to bring parity to the sport and the new Car of Tomorrow was designed with that purpose in mind. But in 2007, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon ruled the Nextel Cup field in old or new cars and it was a fitting end to the season that the title chase came down to the Hendrick Motorsports drivers.

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Performance Racing News

12/18/07 9:36:45 PM

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Photos by LAT Photographic

t all started with Clint Bowyer crossing the starting line at the Daytona 500 on his roof while on fire. It was a classic symbol of the explosive nature of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship.

This year’s championship truly belonged to Chevrolet drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

Johnson, the defending champ, and Gordon, a four-time champion, had their Hendrick Motorsports cars dialed in from the beginning of the season and they dominated any event with the Car of Tomorrow. Johnson won five times in the first 26 races while Gordon won three times. They went into the Chase as the favourites and quickly established that the title would go to the 24 or 48 car, everyone else was fighting for third. Gordon looked to be in control after back-to-back wins in the middle of the chase, but Johnson responded by winning the next four. After the Homestead finale Johnson was on top for a second straight title.

Juan Montoya entered the year as a driver to watch and the former Formula One star quickly made his presence felt. Fuel strategy played an integral role in his victory at Infineon Raceway and by the end of the year had earned a lot of respect from the field. His success drew the attention of the racing world, and season end open wheel stars like Jacques Villeneuve and Dario Franchitti were leading a charge of new drivers into NASCAR. The Dale Earmhardt Jr. saga continued into the summer as his status at DEI and eventual departure stole much of the spotlight. Junior finally settled on Hendrick Motorsports and will race a No. 88 Chevrolet with backing from Mountain Dew in 2008. Now he just has to live up the hype after

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Jeff Gordon continues to chase the elusive fifth Cup title after settling for the runnerup spot in one of his best seasons ever on the circuit

Clint Bowyer set 2007 ablaze with the way he finished the Daytona 500, but the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet driver did not let this disappointment detract from a great season that produced a third-place run in the championship

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Performance Racing News

12/18/07 9:37:36 PM

TWO HORSE

RACE

missing the Chase for the second time in three years.

Toyota slowly worked its way up to Nextel Cup competition in 2007 as it spent the last few years in the Truck and Busch series developing its stock car program. Without a top name team or driver and few provisionals at its disposal, it was going to be an uphill battle for the Japanese auto maker.

However, the opening race turned into a nightmare as only a few Toyotas made the field and the flag bearer, Michael Waltrip was fined $100,000 and docked points before the season even started when he was found to have illegal fuel in his car for qualifying. Things didn’t go much better the rest of the year, but by the end Joe Gibbs Racing decided to switch to Camrys in 2008 and with drivers Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and JJ Yeley on board, next season should be better, although it really couldn’t get much worse.

With the Car of Tomorrow now the template for the future, NASCAR enters 2008 with new title sponsors for both Cup (Sprint) and the Grand National division (Nationwide). While NASCAR’s popularity appears to have hit a plateau, there’s no doubt an influx of open wheel talent should help the series expand its large fan base.

Juan Montoya played it smart during his rookie season and took advantage when any opportunity arose, which resulted in a fifth-place finish at Atlanta (highest finish on an oval) and his first Cup victory on the road course in Sonoma

Missing the Chase was the least of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s problems in 2007 as he made the emotional decision to leave the team his father started

Performance Racing News

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Tony Stewart hung around the top of the points all season, but the former two-time champion hopes a switch to Toyota in 2008 will help him improve on his sixthplace finish this year

TWO HORSE

RACE

Open wheel stars have seen the light and are champing at the bit to get into NASCAR; Jacques Villeneuve, Dario Franchitti, Patrick Carpentier and Sam Hornish Jr. are all making the switch to stock cars in 2008

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12/18/07 9:38:19 PM

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MAJOR

Photos by Ramesh Bayney

SPECIAL FEATURE

IMPACT

NASCAR not only got its feet wet in 2007, but the Canadian Tire Series established itself as an organization that will drive Canadian motorsports into the future.

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t may have taken a few years longer than many predicted, but NASCAR finally made its mark on the Canadian motorsports scene in 2007. At the end of 2006, the CASCAR Super Series was given a ceremonial send-off as the new NASCAR Canadian Tire Series was born.

Coming into 2007, expectations were high in anticipation of what NASCAR would do with Canada’s biggest national series. On the surface, not much changed from 2006 to 2007 as there were few changes made to the rules or the schedule. However, the impact of NASCAR on the foundation of

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the series could not be measured as interest and excitement filled the grandstands and paddock all season.

Fittingly, the series opened with Don Thomson Jr. ushering in the NASCAR era with a victory at Cayuga Speedway. Thomson has been the face of CASCAR in the new millennium so it was good to see one of the series greatest drivers kick start the new era in Canada. Unfortunately for Thomson, that win was the highlight of his season as the driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet only visited victory lane once more, with his usual domination of the field at Mosport Speedway. Still, the veteran driver was his consistent

Performance Racing News

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12/18/07 9:12:40 PM

THE OFFICIAL AUTOMOTIVE RETAILER OF NASCAR IN CANADA.

Photo by Perry Nelson/NASCARmedia.com

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series marks are used under license by Destination Motorsports LP and Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited. NASCAR® is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.

The inaugural Canadian Tire Series season produced a big name rookie of the year who was also the series’ first champion – Andrew Ranger

Performance Racing News

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Don Thomson Jr. won twice in 2007, including the first race ever for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

MAJOR IMPACT

self in 2007 as he picked up solid finishes en route to fourth in the title chase.

The season really belonged to anew driver who brought a renewed sense of excitement to the series. Andrew Ranger has been plying his trade in open wheel cars for years, spending the past few seasons trying to race in the Champ Car World Series. In 2007, though, the Quebec driver changed his focus to stock cars and felt there was no better place to test his skills than the new NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. He was a revelation from the start. As expected, he showed very well on the road courses, taking his only win of the season at Mosport International Raceway and fighting for the win right to the checkered flag at both the Grand Prix of Edmonton and the Montreal Busch Series weekend.

In fact, it was his steady performances on the ovals that truly grabbed attention and when the dust settled after the Kawartha Speedway finale, Ranger was not only the top rookie, he will go down as the first champion of the Canadian Tire Series.

DJ Kennington was once again on the verge of his first Canadian stock car crown, but the Castrol driver had to settle for bridesmaid status again to go along with his two victories 32

Performance Racing News

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THE EVOLUTION OF TRACTION ON ICE.

A BREAKTHROUGH IN WINTER TIRE TECHNOLOGY.

a tire to slip on ice? They discovered the most formidable challenge in winter driving is a thin film of water on icy surfaces that causes micro-hydroplaning. But the real breakthrough came when they found that a film as thin as ten one-thousandths of a millimetre is all it takes to completely lose control. And that the danger is at its worst as the temperature rises to the freezing mark. Armed with this information, they created Yokohama’s

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engineers set out to solve a fundamental problem – what causes

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Before designing the latest generation of winter tires, Yokohama

Braking from 40km/h Braking from 20km/h

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The film increases as the temperature enters the traction danger zone, usually between -6° and 0° Celsius.

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MAJOR IMPACT

What made the season so remarkable was the drama that unfolded at each race and the parity that invaded the results table. Five of the season’s races were won with a pass on the final lap, with some coming at the final corner (see Edmonton and Montreal for verification!). In terms of victory, eight drivers earned a checkered flag in 2007 in just 12 races. As mentioned, Thomson won twice and Ranger once; the other winners were DJ Kennington (2), JR Fitzpatrick (2), Kerry Micks (2), Derek Lynch (1), Mark Dilley (1) and Scott Steckly (1).

Surprisingly, all-time win leader Peter Gibbons failed to taste the champagne in 2007, but the Canadian Tire driver was in the thick of things all season, as his third-place finish in the points attests.

Now that NASCAR has a year under its belt north of the border, and with continued backing from Canadian Tire, Canada’s stock car scene is set to explode in the coming years. New drivers and sponsors are coming on board every day and the time has come for this series to take Canadian racing to a new level.

JR Fitzpatrick couldn’t repeat his 2006 championship season, but the young driver took a pair of wins en route to sixth in the title chase

Derek Lynch broke through for his first career victory, taking the honours at Cayuga on Labour Day weekend 34

Kerry Micks came on strong with backing from Beyond Digital and won twice on the way to seventh in the points; meanwhile all-time win leader Peter Gibbons never made it to victory lane but still managed to grab third in the standings

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2007 world RALLY EVENTS

Photos by McKlein/LAT

Marcus Gronholm hoped to end his career on top, instead he had to be satisfied with three wins and taking the championship race into the final rally

onefight last With his retirement looming at the end of 2007, Marcus Gronholm attempted to bring a third title home to Finland, but in the end he was thwarted by his long-time rival Sebastien Loeb.

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Performance Racing News

coverage brought to you by

Sebastien Loeb would not be denied another World Championship as the Frenchman racked up eight wins to win the title by four points

T

o no one’s surprise, the 2007 World Rally Championship boiled down to a battle between Sebastien Loeb and Marcus Gronholm. The French and Finnish drivers have gone head-to-head the past three seasons with Loeb standing on top, including a slim one-point margin of victory in 2006.

Even though he only had one win through the first three rallies of 2007, Gronholm jumped out to the title lead early thanks to some poor results for Loeb. By the Spring though, Loeb and his Citroen team were on a roll, putting together a string of three straight victories, but Gronholm held firm with solid results himself and Loeb wasn’t bale to create any distance on top of the points standings. And when Gronholm followed three straight victories himself, things looked very rosy for the Finnish driver.

Loeb tried to catch his rival in the ensuring rounds, but even three victories in four rallies weren’t enough to put him back in the lead. With three rallies to go, it looked like Gronholm would clinch his third World Championship, this one coming in his final season of competition.

But there would be no “Hollywood-ending” for Gronholm. At Japan, he suffered a DNF, but luckily so did his rival Loeb, so his lead remained in tact. Unfortunately, another DNF at Ireland was not going to be lost on Loeb as the Frenchman maximized his points haul to take the lead of the championship thanks to his eighth win of the year.

Heading into the season finale, Loeb held a slim lead, so as long he stayed within shouting distance of Gronholm at the checkered flag, the title was his. Loeb drove a patient and cautious race, ensuring he kept Gronholm within sight. In the end, Gronholm managed a second-place result, with Loeb taking the final podium spot to clinch the title by four points.

Although Gronholm didn’t win the title in his final season, he helped provide fans with a great season of drama as the title lead changed regularly between the two rivals. His five victories were second only to Loeb’s eight, and were the key to Ford clinching the Manufacturer’s title.

Helping Gronholm along the way was Mikko Hirvonen. It was a bit of a breakthrough season for Hirvonen as he was the only other driver to win a rally as he compiled three victories on the season to finish third in the points.

The 2007 season was spectacular for the fans, but 2008 should be even more interesting. Losing a great talent like Gronholm to retirement hurts the overall product, but there is enough young talent on the rise that his departure should bring some new names to the top of the sport. Unfortunately, questions remain about next year’s schedule and what the future holds for the calendar as the FIA continues to expand its reach without destroying the bottom line for its teams. It will definitely be a season to watch.

Daniel Sordo was the perfect complement to Citroen teammate Sebastien Loeb and a string of strong results put him fourth in the World Championship

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Photo by Marie-Lyse Tremblay

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Audi may be in the top class, but the LMP2 cars from Porsche were the class of the field in 2007, winning eight of the 12 overall victories

Porsches Shine Audi and Corvette continue to rule the ALMS, but Porsche made a statement as the best team in 2007 en route to the LMP2 championship.

Photos by LAT Photographic

2007 LMP1 Champions Dindo Capello and Allan McNish

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n case you haven’t heard, Audi and Corvette continue to dominate their respective classes in American Le Mans Series competition. The Prototype and GT classes were once again unable to mount a serious challenge on the leading teams and thus, the points chase for each lacked excitement.

But don’t let the runaway freight train of Audi and Corvette ruin your appreciation of the excitement the ALMS provides each weekend.

While Audi ruled the LMP1 field, the real drama unfolded at mid-season when the overall victory came into question.

Normally, the leader of the LMP1 division takes the overall victory at most rounds, although mechanical problems and longer races can throw the odd monkey wrench into those plans. However, in 2007 the battle for overall victories came down to the Audi-powered cars in LMP1 and the Porsche Spyders from Penske Racing in LMP2. As a matter of fact, it was LMP2 Porsches that dominated the series this year, winning eight straight times against the more powerful Audis.

Audi was its usual dominant self to open the season as the team of Marco Werner, Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela took the overall at Sebring and Audi teammates Allan McNish and Dindo Capello followed suit at St. Petersburg.

But after that, the Porsches took control and continued beating the Audis into submission in straight up fights across North America. Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas led the way for the Porsches by capturing six overall victories, while their teammates Ryan Briscoe and Sascha Maassen took another two overalls. Audi responded at the final two events of the season, at Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca, to salvage some honour for the season.

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Porsches Shine

2007 LMP2 Champions Timo Bernhard and Roamin Dumas

2007 GT Champions Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta

2007 GT2 Champions Jaime Melo and Mika Salo 42

Performance Racing News

When the final checkered waved, Capello and McNish were LMP1 champs while Dumas and Bernhard were on top of LMP2. A quick look at the standings tells one story, but for ALMS fans they know the truth — Dumas and Bernhard were clearly the top team of the season regardless of the class they run.

The GT class is in desperate need of some new blood. Over the years several manufacturers have made sporadic appearances to challenge the dominance of the yellow Corvettes, but none have put together a full season project to dethrone the reigning champs. In fact, at most races the Corvettes were the only cars entered so the season deteriorated into a battle between the No. 3 and No. 4 cars. Looking at the standings, Max Papis was third after only racing in two events as the third driver for Corvette at Sebring the Petit le Mans. Fourth went to Didier Theys and Fredy Lienhard, who raced their Maserati only at Petit le Mans. The final spot in the top-five went to the semi-retired Ron Fellows, who only raced at Serbing and Mosport. Hopefully the Maseratis come back full-time in 2008 to give fans a little more action on the track.

In terms of the GT title chase, Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta handled their teammates Johnny O’Connell and Jan Magnussen to clinch the title.

The “Olivers” as they are sometimes called won nine races while their teammates took class honours at the other three races.

The team of Jaime Melo and Mika Salo ruled the GT2 class in their Ferrari, although they faced stiff competition at each round. The Melo and Salo tandem took victory at eight rounds (including Sebring with third driver Johnny Mowlem) and only finished outside of the points once all season. Putting up a great fight was the team of Jorg Bergmeister and Johannes van Overbeek. They added two victories to their win with third driver Marc Lieb at Petit le Mans. In the end though, consistency was not enough to handle the power of the Ferraris and Salo and Melo held control from the stat of the season through the end.

The competition in GT2 is great, but the other three classes have developed into a battle of teammates as Audi, Porsche and Corvette face little competition. While the Audi-Porsche battle for the overall was great in 2007, the ALMS needs to make a big step in those classes to give fans another couple of cars to watch and cheer for at each race.

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ASeason Grand

Parity hits the Rolex Grand-Am Series in 2007 as tight championship races highlight a long list of winning drivers.

With both the Daytona Prototype and GT classes showing great parity, fans can expect the series to continue its growth... ing with a couple of partners in 2007. Pruett won the Daytona 24 Hour with co-drivers Juan Montoya and Salvador Duran and then teamed with Memo Rojas to win at Iowa for his only two class victories. Rojas spent most of the season with Pruett and ended up fourth in the points.

Another driver who shared the cock pit with more than one driver was Max Angelelli, who finished third in the championship. His only victories came at Virginia and Montreal, when he teamed with Wayne Taylor and Jan Magnussen.

In all, the top four drivers were separated by a mere 37 points, proving how close and exciting the Prototype class has become since its inception a few years ago.

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Performance Racing News

2007 GT Runner-up Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards

Photos by LAT Photographic

T

he 2007 Rolex Grand-Am Series once again led the way for the season as the Daytona 24 Hour race is the unofficial start to the news year of racing. As the launching pad, the Grand-Am Series takes center stage early in the season and in 2007 the series maintained that momentum for one of its best seasons ever.

In 14 races this year (excluding Lime Rock Park, which is a GT-only event), eight different driver combinations took the overall victory, with the team of Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty leading the way. The drivers of the Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype were the class of the field and shared the top spot in the standings. But it was far from easy as they were chased home by veteran Scott Pruett, who finished just two points behind the class champions after driv-

2007 Grand-Am Daytona Prototype Champions Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty

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2007 Daytona Prototype Runner-up Scott Pruett

ASeason Grand In GT, where drivers competed in 13 races (GT did not race at The Glen or Sonoma in August), Dirk Werner took the top spot for the season.

Werner spent most of his season sharing duties with Bryce Miller (they were in different cars at Daytona), who ended up third in the title chase.

That duo only won a single event (Virginia), but finished on the podium eight other times in 11 races. It was tight at the top though as the second-place duo of Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards were just 10 points back after the season finale in Utah. They took two victories for the season, at Alabama and Utah, but only had five more podium finishes for the season.

At the end of the day, the GT class provided unbelievable parity throughout the class with

2007 Grand-am GT Champion Dirk Werner

The Grand-Am Series takes center stage early in the season and in 2007 the series maintained that momentum for one of its best seasons ever. no less than 16 drivers taking a turn on the top step. In addition to the above winners, the big winners were RJ Valentine and Andy Lally, who took five victories for the most wins on the year. Other winners were Sylvain Tremblay and Nick Ham, and Leighton Reese and Tim Lewis Jr. Spencer Pumpelly, Scooter Gabel and Marc Basseng also tasted victory lane as third drivers at select events.

With both the Daytona Prototype and GT classes showing great parity on the grid, fans can expect the series to continue its growth and to take sportscar racing to a new level in the future. Teams are already testing for the 2008 opener in Daytona and if 2007 is any indication, the action should be even better.

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Photos by Bruce Biegler

Triumph

Story and photos by Bruce Biegler

and Tragedy

2007 NHRA POWERade Championship comes to an exciting conclusion after a tumultuous season

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Larry Dixon blasts off at Norwalk Raceway Park; NHRA’s first venture into the former IHRA facility was a top news story during 2007

Tony Pedregon used solid consistency to upset the pre-season favourites and win the Funny Car championship

Michigan’s Bill Reichert successfully defended his NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster World crown in 2007

T

he 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing season saw the world’s largest sanctioning body usher in a brand new points system that effectively created two playoff rounds for its Professional class competitors. The new “Countdown to the Championship” format receive mixed reviews from both fans and competitors, but in the end it proved to be rather exciting as title battles raged into the last race of the season in California, the AAA Auto Club Finals -- NHRA’s desired end effect.

The ‘07 season produced both familiar and new POWERade Champions.

For the second year in a row, Chicagoland’s Tony Schumacher prevailed to win the coveted Top Fuel crown at the final bell. He claimed that by a scant 19 points (less than one round) over Rod Fuller after he won the TF final at he Pomona. For the driver of the U.S. Army-sponsored

dragster, it was his fourth straight POWERade Top Fuel title and fifth overall.

Chevrolet drivers Tony Pedregon and Jeg Coughlin claimed respective titles in Funny Car and Pro Stock eliminators. Pedregon’s Championship, driving his Q-Racing Impala, was the second of his career but his first as a team owner.

The new “Countdown to the Championship” format receive mixed reviews from both fans and competitors, but in the end it proved to be rather exciting as title battles raged...

Coughlin’s title in Pro Stock was also the second of his career and ended the four-year dominance of the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac camp consisting of drivers Greg Anderson and Jason Line. Coughlin showed “icy” confiPerformance Racing News

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California’s Darren Smith rode this meticulous Dodge Dart to a hard-fought Lucas Oil Super Stock World Championship title

Ashley Force made her professional class debut in 2007 and worked her way to a 10th-place finish in Funny Car during her rookie campaign

Triumph and Tragedy

dence while winning the season ending event to secure the title for the Jeg’s-sponsored Colbalt owned by Victor Cagnazzi.

Pro Stock Motorcycle produced a first-time champion with Matt Smith, son of legendary Pro Stock driver Rickie Smith, prevailing aboard his Torco-sponsored Buell. Smith’s victory also came literally at the last second; he beat Chip Ellis in a winner-take-all class final at Pomona.

The biggest story of the 2007 season was, however, a very tragic one. John Force team driver Eric Medlen was fatally injured in a Funny Car testing accident just one day after the completion of the Gatornationals in March. That incident cast a very dark cloud on the category for the rest of the season. Then, in an extremely bizarre development, John Force himself was seriously injured during a conspicuously similar incident at Dallas in September. That ended Force’s 2007 season campaign as a driver prematurely and threw NHRA fuel Funny Car chassis regulations into a state of flux.

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Performance Racing News

Jeg Coughlin displayed his very cool driving demeanor while winning the Pro Stock crown

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an eye on Story and photos by Bruce Biegler / Drag Racing Editor

international

Ferocious title chases highlight 2007 IHRA Knoll Gas Nitro Jam Championship

T

he 2007 IHRA drag racing season proved to be an interesting venture to say the least. Originally pegged for 12 events, the sanctioning body was forced to scale its schedule back after some much touted plans for a new facility in Ohio fizzled. The IHRA also made headlines after two events (San Antonio and Toronto) were run to completion on a 1/8-mile basis due to track conditions.

The IHRA Knoll Gas Nitro Jam Championship series featured some ferocious title chases which produced some first time champions.

Indiana’s Bruce Litton, who seemed to be a perennial bridesmaid on the circuit coming into 2007 (three second place points finishes and four third place) finally got that monkey off his back driving his Lucas Oil-sponsored dragster.

The popular racer won three events, including the season ending World Finals at Rockingham, a solid performance that allowed him to win a tight points battle over second generation driver T.J. Zizzo.

Joining Litton as a first-time champion was Scott Cannon Jr., in Pro Modified. Cannon, the 28-year-old son of legendary IHRA circuit 52

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Second generation driver Scott Cannon used some “serious speed” to claim IHRA’s coveted Pro Mod World title

driver Scotty Cannon, was behind the wheel of his revolutionary Torco-sponsored ’68 Firebird.

Cannon won only once on the tour (at Rockingham in April) but combined that finish with consistent top qualifying slots and the most five-second runs by anyone on the circuit all season (including a national record 5.938 secs) to claim the title by 22 points over New York’s Mike Janis. Janis, in fact, had the most wins during the season (four) but his election not to participate at all the events ultimately proved to be a costly one.

Dale Creasy prevailed to win his second World Championship in Nitro Funny Car. Driving his Torco-sponsored Chevy Monte Carlo, Creasy bolted out of the gate with a win at the season opening event in Texas and followed that with five more wins during the season. He was the first racer to clinch a season Pro title, securing that in September during Milan’s rescheduled Motor City Nationals.

Long-time IHRA circuit star Robert Patrick also emerged victorious. For Patrick, driver of the Virginia-based Purvis Ford-sponsored Cobra, his Pro Stock World Championship was his first. Patrick’s title win featured some high

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12/18/07 8:27:38 PM

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Driving his awesome Ford Cobra, Virginia’s Robert Patrick prevailed to win in the very competitive IHRA Pro Stock category

With six circuit wins in 2007, Dale “Peanut” Creasy successfully defended his IHRA Nitro Funny Car crown

Ohio’s Brian Gahm was a performance leader all season, cracking the 6.3 secs barrier in Pro Stock for the first time and setting the national record at 6.281 secs at 223.95 mph.

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drama as he took advantage of a shocking round one red-light by defending World Champion Pete Berner at the World Finals to ultimately win the see-saw season points battle.

Alcohol Funny Car saw Ohio’s Mark Thomas win the title for the second year in a row, and the sixth time in his great career. The fan favourite driver held off a late season charge from Canada’s Rob Atchison to win by only 15 points (less than one round).

A very bright spot for IHRA racing in 2007 came courtesy of Canadian fans. At Edmonton’s Castrol Raceway early in July, the Rocky Mountain Nationals drew all-time record attendance (single day and event total).

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at mosport2007 Track Year-In-Review

Photo by Chris Coughlin/NASCARmedia.com

Mosport’s 2007 season featured many memorable highlights, including a new overall lap record, a dramatic finish to the American Le Mans Series race, and the start of a new chapter in Canadian stock car racing with the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. Along the way, fans were treated to a 40th anniversary reunion of Mosport’s first F1 race, some exciting wheel-to-wheel motorcycle action, plus some great performances by Canadian racers at Canada’s Home of Motorsports.

Victoria Day SpeedFest, May 18-20 The major event season kicked off with the American GT Inter-Americas Challenge and the Sundown Grand Prix.It was a good weekend for Edison Lluch Jr., as he won both American GT races. Lluch powered his Coors Light #1 Corvette to two close wins over Charlie Webster (CJ Webster Ltd #95 Corvette). The three-hour Sundown GP featured lots of great racing. Andrew Danyliw and co-driver Gunter Schmidt emerged victorious behind the wheel of the #38 Schmidt Racing Honda Civic.

JR Fitzpatrick. Ron Beauchamp finished third.

On the other half of the twin bill, the KONI Challenge served up two Canadians finishing on top in both events. In Grand Sport, Scott Maxwell scored a home-track victory, co-driving with Joe Foster in the No. 55 Hyper Sport Supercuts Ford Mustang GT. Maxwell led the final 15 laps as the field finished under yellow. In Street Tuner, Billy Johnson passed Trevor Hopwood on the final lap, earning himself and co-driver Karl Thomson a victory for Kensai Racing. The final circuit was the only lap they led in the No. 76 Compass360.com/Skunk2/ Hawk Brakes Acura TSX.

Father’s Day Doubleheader, June 15-17 The new NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the Grand-Am KONI Challenge took centre stage this weekend. In the NASCAR race, Andrew Ranger survived an early miscue to collect his first Series win in the Dickies 200 presented by Canadian Shield Anticrime Response Corporation. As the polesitter, he jumped the start of the race and was penalized with a pass-through penalty. Despite the setback, Ranger worked his way through the field and took the lead for good on lap 43. It was a lead he wrestled away from second-place finisher

28th Annual Vintage Festival, June 22-24 Organized by the Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada (VARAC), the weekend featured road racing classics from the past 50 years, including vintage production sports and GT cars, all the way up to 1960s and 70s muscle cars and roadsters such as MGs. The headliner this year was Formula 1 to mark the 40th anniversary of the first Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1967 at Mosport.

The most successful F1 driver was Peter Gulick in a 1982 Williams FW10 as he took two victories.

56

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Andrew Ranger took his first career NASCAR victory when he triumphed on Father’s Day Weekend at Mosport

In the first, he finished ahead of the 1977 McLaren M26 of Jeff Lewis and the Wolf F1 WR3 of Major General Lewis MacKenzie (ret.). On Sunday, Gulick returned to the top ahead of Davina Galica in a 1972 Brabham BT37. MacKenzie repeated his third-place result.

Parts Canada Superbike Doubleheader, July 13-15 In the opening race Clint McBain’s Suzuki Acceleration Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 crossed the line first but was penalized for a jump start.

Jordan Szoke then moved his Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-10R into victory lane, but a few weeks later McBain’s victory was re-instated on appeal. Crevier replied with a victory in the wet afternoon race on the Team Toyota Yamaha/Fast Company Yamaha YZF-R1. The first race appeal meant Szoke was adjusted back to second while Crevier was third.

The second race started in heavy rain and featured a spectacular battle between Crevier and the Team Suzuki/Blackfoot/Picotte Performance Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Francis Martin. Martin crashed just a few corners from the finish and Crevier picked up the win. Pascal Picotte placed second, edging Kevin Lacombe at the line.

Performance Racing News

12/18/07 8:30:27 PM

Photo by Ramesh Bayney

The Parts Canada Superbike Doubleheader had some great action, with Clint McBain and Steve Crevier splitting the victories

In the Thunder twin races, BMW Motorrad Canada rider Michael Taylor took the win on Saturday, while Michael Leon took the victory on his Buell XB9R under sunny skies.

Full Throttle Energy Drink 200 presented by Canadian Shield, Aug. 11 Don Thomson Jr. notched his fifth career win at Mosport Speedway, edging Mark Dilley by 0.703 seconds. Thomson started third, but took the lead on lap 10 when he worked past teammate and polesitter JR Fitzpatrick. He lost the lead only for brief spans the rest of the way, running first for 181 of the race’s 209 laps.

Kerry Micks finished third, while Jason Hathaway and Derek Lynch rounded out the top five.

The Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport, Aug. 23-26 The Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport featured both wet and dry race conditions, a new outright lap record and another overall win for Penske Motorsports in round nine of the ALMS. Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas led the way for Penske, which claimed its second straight LMP2 team championship. Bernhard took the

Photo by Ramesh Bayney

A new overall lap record was set by Audi’s Dindo Capello, but everyone was watching home track favourite Ron Fellows in his Special Edition white Corvette in what may have been his final ALMS race at Mosport

lead with only three minutes left in his Porsche RS Spyder as Allan McNish’s Audi R10 TDI became stuck in gear.

McNish and Dindo Capello finished first in LMP1 and clinched the P1 team championship for Audi Sport North America. Capello’s trip to Mosport became even more noteworthy after he reset the outright lap record by nearly two seconds to 1:05.829 in qualifying. The old mark, 1:07.169, was set by Frank Biela in an Audi R8 in August 2002.

Ryan Briscoe and Sascha Maassen finished third overall and second in P2 in the other Penske Porsche, followed by the second diesel-powered Audi of Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner. Fifth overall and third in P2 was Andretti Green Racing’s Acura ARX of Bryan Herta and Marino Franchitti.

In GT1, Corvette Racing’s Johnny O’Connell and Jan Magnussen took their second victory of the season. Hometown favourite Fellows and co-driver Andy Pilgrim finished third. It wasn’t the storybook finish for Fellows that fans were hoping for, but the sight of the Mississauga racer zipping around Mosport in his Signature Series Arctic White Corvette C6-R is sure to be a fond memory, in what might have been his final ALMS race at his home track.

Jaime Melo and Mika Salo took advantage of their track position before the race’s first caution and turned in a one-lap GT2 victory in their No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT. In SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge action, Eric Curran captured the GT win. Lawson Aschenbach and Michael Galati rounded out the top three, respectively. In Touring Car, Adam Pecorari led all but the first lap from the pole to take his first-career win at Mosport. Teammate Chip Herr was second and Pierre Kleinubing crossed the line third.

In the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear race, Australian James Davison took advantage of the confusion resulting from pit stops and tire changes caused by a brief earlyrace downpour to take victory. Vancouver native Lorenzo Mandarino finished second while eventual champion Dane Cameron filled out the podium.

Markham, ON’s Daniel Morad ended the 2007 Formula BMW USA season as he began it – as a winner. After clinching the title on Saturday, with a fourth-place finish in Round 13, the 17-year-old added a record sixth win on Sunday.

The curtain rises on Mosport’s 2008 season with the Victoria Day SpeedFest on May 16-18.

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aphic

Performance Racing News

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12/18/07 8:30:55 PM

gearing up

Mac Tools 2008 Taskmaster Mac Tools introduces the new 2008 Taskmaster. This comprehensive diagnostic tool covers early domestic OBD I systems and all OBD II protocols, including the Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol. CAN protocol was introduced in 2003 model year vehicles and is the mandated protocol in all new vehicles by 2008. New features include: Body and Chassis systems along with Engine, Transmission, ABS and Air bag; Repair Information – Typical Sensor / Data Specs; USA Domestic OBD I & OBD II coverage (1984 thru 2007); USA Asian OBD I & OBD II coverage (1983 thru 2007); and Enhanced OBD II Mode 6 screens. Data kits derived from the 2008 model are also available. www.mactools.com

QuickPower Isolators With an eye towards assuring reliable starting for vehicles with multiple batteries, Quick Cable Corporation introduces a new line of six QuickPower Isolators, ideal for automotive, commercial, marine and RV applications. The six different QuickPower Isolators range from 90 amp to 200 amp. With vehicles utilizing multiple batteries, a QuickPower Isolator prevents current flow from one battery to another, thus each battery will be an independent power source. The QuickPower Isolator ensures power to start your engine.

The QuickPower Isolator also allows the user to simultaneously charge both batteries independently of each other. www.quickcable.com

Snap-On Convertible Shop Cart Space and mobility are within arms reach with the new Convertible Shop Cart from Snap-on Tools Company. The shop cart offers cutting-edge styling and interchangeable drawers, all while providing more than 22,000 cubic inches of portable tool storage space.The cart, designed for mobile organization so tools are easier to move and locate, offers more customization options than any other cart in the industry. Drawers can be added or removed and shelves can be adjusted and reconfigured to suit the technicians’ needs. The one-piece, fully welded design checks in at 40 inches wide, 20½ inches deep and 45 inches tall and is the only cart in the industry made with double side walls. www.snapon.com/canada

Canadian Tire “Tires on Demand” Program The race car slowly rolls up to the staging light… setting in motion the methodical flashes of yellow and green. As the clutch pops, the engine revs, the car squeals, quickly reaching speeds of over 150kph. The only thing keeping the car gripped onto the hot asphalt is a piece of rubber.

Rubber - precisely engineered to give the racer their greatest advantage. This rubber is better known as a tire. Modern day tires are made of a highly advanced rubber compound that increases friction for maximum speed, grip and cornering. The tread markings, as complex as they are, attribute to the performance in the race. Where does Canadian Tire fit in? Tires on Demand is a long standing program at Canadian Tire, where automotive experts and racers alike can find almost any brand. www.canadiantire.com 58

Performance Racing News

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Performance Racing News

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2007 MOTORSPORTS POINTS STANDINGS THE OFFICIAL AUTOMOTIVE RETAILER OF NASCAR IN CANADA. The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series marks are used under license by Destination Motorsports LP and Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited. NASCAR® is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.

FIA FORMULA ONE 2007 final

1 Kimi Raikkonen........................................... 110 2 Lewis Hamilton........................................... 109 3 Fernando Alonso......................................... 109 4 Felipe Massa................................................. 94 5 Nick Heidfeld................................................ 61 6 Robert Kubica............................................... 39 7 Heikki Kovalanien......................................... 30 8 Giancarlo Fisichella....................................... 21 9 Nico Rosberg................................................ 20 10 David Coulthard............................................ 14

CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES 2007 final

1 Sebastien Bourdais..................................... 364 2 Justin Wilson............................................... 281 3 Robert Doornbos......................................... 268 4 Will Power................................................... 262 5 Graham Rahal............................................. 243 6 Oriol Servia................................................. 237 7 Bruno Junqueira......................................... 233 8 Simon Pagenaud......................................... 232 9 Neel Jani..................................................... 231 10 Alex Tagliani................................................ 205

IRL INDYCAR SERIES 2007 final

1 Dario Franchitti........................................... 637 2 Scott Dixon.................................................. 624 3 Tony Kanaan............................................... 576 4 Dan Wheldon............................................... 466 5 Sam Hornish Jr........................................... 465 6 Helio Castroneves....................................... 446 7 Danica Patrick............................................. 424 8 Scott Sharp................................................. 412 9 Buddy Rice.................................................. 360 10 Tomas Scheckter........................................ 357

CHAMP CAR ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP 2007 Final

1 Raphael Matos............................................ 341 2 Franck Perera............................................. 310 3 Robert Wickens........................................... 255 4 James Hinchcliffe....................................... 224 5 Jonathan Bomarito..................................... 207 6 Giacomo Ricci............................................. 188 7 JR Hildebrand............................................. 140 8 Alan Sciuto.................................................. 140 9 John Edwards............................................. 125 10 Carl Skerlong.............................................. 114

IRL INDY PRO SERIES 2007 final

1 Alex Lloyd.................................................... 652 2 Hideki Mutoh............................................... 481 3 Wade Cunningham...................................... 423 4 Bobby Wilson.............................................. 393 5 Mike Potekhen............................................ 379 6 Jaime Camara............................................. 373 7 Logan Gomez.............................................. 368 8 Robbie Pecorari.......................................... 344 9 Stephen Simpson........................................ 340 10 Chris Festa.................................................. 313

STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP 2007 final

1 Dane Cameron............................................ 450 2 James Davison............................................ 389 3 Ron White.................................................... 360 4 Nick Haye.................................................... 348 5 Jonathan Goring.......................................... 346 6 Alex Ardoin.................................................. 345 7 Devin Cunningham...................................... 344 8 Lorenzo Manadrino..................................... 329 9 Marco Di Leo............................................... 319 10 Russell Walker............................................ 293

AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES 2007 final

1 2 3 4 5

1 2

LMP1 R. Capello/A. McNish.................................. 246 Marco Werner............................................. 210 Emanuele Pirro........................................... 175 Clint Field...................................................... 95 Chris McMurry.............................................. 89 LMP2 R. Dumas/T. Bernhard................................. 239 S. Maassen/R. Briscoe................................ 186

3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

A. Wallace/B. Leitzinger.............................. 128 G. Smith/C. Dyson....................................... 124 D. Brabham/S. Johansson........................... 115 GT1 O. Gavin/O. Beretta...................................... 246 J. Magnussen/J. O’Connell.......................... 184 Max Papis..................................................... 52 F. Lienhard/D. Theys...................................... 38 Ron Fellows.................................................. 35 GT2 M. Salo/J. Melo........................................... 202 J. Bergmeister/J. van Overbeek.................. 170 Wolf Henzler................................................ 126 T. Milner/R. Kelleners.................................. 107 Dominik Farnbacher..................................... 91

GRAND-AM SERIES 2007 final

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

DP A. Gurney/J. Fogarty................................... 408 Sott Pruett................................................... 406 Max Angelelli.............................................. 395 Memo Rojas................................................ 381 D. Law/D. Donohue/C. Braun....................... 338 GT Dirk Werner................................................. 375 K. Collins/P. Edwards.................................. 365 Bryce Miller................................................. 363 RJ Valentine/A. Lally................................... 348 L. Reese/T. Lewis Jr.................................... 316

NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES 2007 final

1 Jimmie Johnson....................................... 6723 2 Jeff Gordon............................................... 6646 3 Clint Bowyer.............................................. 6377 4 Matt Kenseth............................................. 6298 5 Kyle Busch................................................ 6293 6 Tony Stewart............................................. 6242 7 Kurt Busch................................................ 6231 8 Jeff Burton................................................ 6231 9 Carl Edwards............................................. 6222 10 Kevin Harvick............................................ 6199

NASCAR BUSCH SERIES 2007 final

1 Carl Edwards............................................. 4805 2 David Reutimann....................................... 4187 3 Jason Leffler............................................. 3996 4 Kevin Harvick............................................ 3993 5 David Ragan.............................................. 3739 6 Bobby Hamilton Jr.................................... 3667 7 Stephen Leicht.......................................... 3603 8 Marcos Ambrose....................................... 3477 9 Greg Biffle................................................. 3466 10 Matt Kenseth............................................. 3451

NASCAR CANADIAN TIRE SERIES 2007 final

1 Andrew Ranger......................................... 1896 2 DJ Kennington.......................................... 1793 3 Peter Gibbons........................................... 1770 4 Don Thomson Jr........................................ 1739 5 Derek Lynch.............................................. 1713 6 JR Fitzpatrick............................................ 1710 7 Kerry Micks............................................... 1696 8 Mark Dilley................................................ 1688 9 Jason Hathaway....................................... 1631 10 Scott Steckly............................................. 1630

FIA WORLD RALLY 2007 Final

1 Sebastien Loeb........................................... 116 2 Marcus Gronholm....................................... 112 3 Mikko Hirvonen............................................. 99 4 Daniel Sordo................................................. 65 5 Petter Solberg............................................... 47 6 Henning Solberg........................................... 34 7 Chris Atkinson............................................... 31 8 Jari-Matti Latvala.......................................... 30 9 Manfred Stohl............................................... 13 10 Francois Duval.............................................. 12

NHRA DRAG RACING SERIES 2007 final

1 2 3

TOP FUEL Tony Schumacher..................................... 3186 Rod Fuller.................................................. 3167 Brandon Bernstein.................................... 3149

4 Larry Dixon................................................ 3135 5 Bob Vandergriff......................................... 2358 6 Doug Herbert............................................. 2292 7 JR Todd..................................................... 2273 8 Whit Bazemore.......................................... 2182 9 Melanie Troxel........................................... 1173 10 Doug Kalitta.............................................. 1045 FUNNY CAR 1 Tony Pedregon.......................................... 3178 2 Robert Hight.............................................. 3159 3 Gary Scelzi................................................ 3092 4 Ron Capps................................................. 3067 5 Jack Beckman.......................................... 2358 6 Mike Ashley............................................... 2337 7 John Force................................................ 2191 8 Jim Head................................................... 2163 9 Del Worsham............................................. 1050 10 Ashley Force............................................... 960 PRO STOCK 1 Jeg Coughlin............................................. 3217 2 Greg Anderson.......................................... 3173 3 Dave Connolly........................................... 3126 4 Allen Johnson........................................... 3086 5 Jason Line................................................. 2292 6 Kurt Johnson............................................. 2278 7 Larry Morgan............................................ 2233 8 Warren Johnson........................................ 2180 9 Richie Stevens Jr...................................... 1056 10 V. Gaines................................................... 1025

IHRA DRAG RACING SERIES 2007 final

TOP FUEL 1 Bruce Litton................................................ 948 2 TJ Zizzo....................................................... 907 3 Scotty Cannon............................................. 864 4 Bobby Lagana Jr......................................... 712 5 Terry McMillen............................................ 558 6 Jeffrey O’Neill............................................. 387 7 Doug Foley.................................................. 299 8 Jack King.................................................... 292 9 Jim Cavalieri............................................... 182 10 Clay Millican............................................... 179 PRO MODIFIED 1 Scotty Cannon Jr......................................... 759 2 Mike Janis.................................................. 737 3 Pat Stoken.................................................. 639 4 Ed Hoover.................................................... 583 5 Quain Stott.................................................. 571 6 Kenny Lang................................................. 567 7 Matt Hagan................................................. 481 8 Danny Rowe................................................ 477 9 Jason Hamstra............................................ 426 10 Shannon Jenkins........................................ 383 ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR 1 Mark Thomas.............................................. 999 2 Rob Atchison............................................... 984 3 Terry Munroe............................................... 927 4 Paul Noakes................................................ 514 5 Larry Dobbs................................................ 490 NITRO FUNNY CAR 1 Dale Creasey Jr......................................... 1108 2 Jack Wyatt.................................................. 768 3 Bob Gilbertson............................................ 735 4 Terry Haddock............................................. 721 5 Andy Kelley................................................. 645 PRO STOCK 1 Robert Patrick............................................. 858 2 Pete Berner................................................. 808 3 Frank Gugliotta........................................... 777 4 Brian Gahm................................................. 668 5 John Montecalvo......................................... 643 6 Steve Spiess............................................... 606 7 Robert Mansfield......................................... 519 8 Rickie Smith................................................ 479 9 John Nobile................................................. 477 10 D. Gorforth/C. Goforth................................. 436

FIM MOTOGP CHAMPIONSHIP

2007 final

1 Casey Stoner............................................... 367 2 Dani Pedrosa............................................... 242 3 Valentino Rossi........................................... 241 4 John Hopkins.............................................. 189 5 Marco Melandri........................................... 187 6 Chris Vermeulen.......................................... 179 7 Loris Capirossi............................................ 166 8 Nicky Hayden.............................................. 127 9 Colin Edwards............................................. 124 10 Alex Barros................................................. 115

AMA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP 2007 final

1 Ben Spies.................................................... 652 2 Mat Mladin.................................................. 651 3 Jake Zemke................................................ 468 4 Aaron Yates................................................. 465 5 Tommy Hayden........................................... 454 6 Jamie Hacking............................................ 403 7 Eric Bostrom............................................... 362 8 Miguel Duhamel.......................................... 360 9 Jason DiSalvo............................................. 359 10 Roger Lee Hayden....................................... 344

CANADIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP 2007 Final

1 Jordan Szoke.............................................. 298 2 Steve Crevier.............................................. 290 3 Clint McBain................................................ 254 4 Kevin Lacombe........................................... 247 5 Brett McCormick......................................... 224 6 Francis Martin............................................. 164 7 Andrew Nelson............................................ 161 8 Pascal Picotte............................................. 148 9 Jean-Paul Tache......................................... 133 10 Frank Trombino........................................... 125

AMA SUPERSPORT SERIES 2007 final

1 2 3 4 5

Roger Lee Hayden....................................... 297 Jamie Hacking............................................ 294 Josh Hayes................................................. 261 Steve Rapp.................................................. 247 Tommy Hayden........................................... 216

AMA SUPERStock SERIES 2007 final

1 Ben Spies...................................... 292 2 Ben Bostrom............................................... 264 3 Aaron Yates................................................. 231 4 Geoff May.................................................... 229 5 Scott Jensen............................................... 207

AMA FORMULA XTREME SERIES 2007 final

1 2 3 4 5

Josh Hayes................................................. 324 Steve Rapp.................................................. 279 Anthony Gobert........................................... 247 Larry Pegram.............................................. 244 Ben Attard................................................... 231

CANADIAN PRO 600 SPORT BIKE SERIES 2007 final

1 2 3 4

Jordan Szoke.............................................. 311 Steve Crevier.............................................. 287 Andrew Nelson............................................ 224 Francis Martin............................................. 203 Brett McCormick......................................... 203

CMRC MOTOCROSS SERIES 2007 final

MX1 1 Paul Carpenter............................................ 368 2 Colton Facciotti........................................... 272 3 Jeff Gibson.................................................. 271 4 Marco Dube................................................ 238 5 Jean-Sebastien Roy.................................... 233 6 Simon Homans............................................ 223 7 Mason Phillips............................................. 188 8 Kyle Keast................................................... 179 9 Ryan Lockhart............................................. 168 10 Jeff Northrop............................................... 154 MX2 WEST 1 Jimmy Nelson............................................. 148 2 Ben Evans................................................... 140 3 Kyle Beaton................................................. 132 4 Gray Davenport........................................... 125 5 Eric Nye....................................................... 123 MX2 EAST 1 Michael Willard........................................... 179 2 Tim Tremblay.............................................. 128 3 Tyler Medaglia............................................. 124 4 Freddy Karrle.............................................. 116 5 Jacob Saylor............................................... 109

final 2007 standings

Performance Racing News

61

Bell Racing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Buffalo Turbine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Canadian Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Castrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 G-Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Grand Prix Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 HANS Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Krown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Jiffy Tite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Lincoln Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Mopac Auto Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 NGK Spark Plugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Nitro Moose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Rocket Rally Racing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 SCCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Speedorama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Toyo Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Valvoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Yokohama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Red Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Lucas Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Live Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Kymco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Gatorz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Eagle One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 BMW Motorcycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Angel Wings Trading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 2-wheel news