2005 Mosport International Raceway

The Canadian Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (CASCAR) was founded in 1981 by Anthony Novotny. By the late ‘90s, CASCAR had three successful professional championships – the Eastern, Western and the Super Series, which included selected events in eastern and western Canada. The winner of the Super Series was crowned the national champion. Eventually, the eastern division and Super Series merged while the western championship continued. In 2005, CASCAR had a number of divisions - the Super Series, EMCO Western Series and a Sportsman category.

The 2005 CASCAR Super Series season kicks off in late May at Delaware Speedway. The opening round was followed by races at Autodrome St. Eustache and the Mosport road course. The series remains in southwestern Ontario with events at Barrie Speedway and the high profile Toronto street circuit at Exhibition Place. The teams then travel west, competing at Calgary and Sun Valley Speedway in Vernon, British Columbia. In August, the series makes a stop for another race at Mosport, but this time it was on the oval. These events are followed by a race at Peterborough Speedway and the second visit to Delaware Speedway. The penultimate round is held at Cayuga International Speedway, with the finale being held at Kawartha Speedway. There is a total of twelve race weekends in four different provinces.

The cars competing in the championship are constructed to specifications and rules common to most stock car series. The chassis is a steel tube frame design covered with a fiberglass body. Cars are required to weigh no less than 2,850-lbs. Body styles are from manufacturers such as Pontiac (Grand Prix), Dodge (Charger), Ford (Taurus) and Chevrolet (Monte Carlo). Engine type and displacement are dictated by the make and model of the vehicle. The carbureted eight-cylinder motors used in the series produce approximately 500-horsepower. Depending on the gearing, these cars are estimated to have a top speed of 160-mph.

The event at the Mosport road course was round three of the 2005 CASCAR Super Series championship. The Clarington 200 would be presented by Berms-R-US and was a fifty-one lap contest around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

Don Thomson, Jr. entered the 2005 CASCAR Super Series season with an impressive four consecutive championships. Thomson opened the year with two fourth-place finishes. He qualified second at Mosport and jumped into the top spot at the start race. Thomson returned to first place after the final rounds of pit-stops and led the final twenty-six-laps of the contest. The victory put him on top of the point standings.

Jeff Lapcevich was recognized as the CASCAR Super Series ‘road course ringer.’ Lapcevich had obtained his road racing experience competing in the Grand Am Cup sports car series. His record included five road course wins in a row, extending back to the 2003 Toronto Indy - two of his victories were at Mosport. Unfortunately, his streak would come to an end. Lapcevich qualified fifth and finished in the runner-up spot.

2005 would be the second CASCAR Super Series season for the seventeen-year-old J.R. Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick had an inspiring rookie year, which included four top-ten finishes and eleventh in the final standings. In the first race of the season at Delaware, Fitzpatrick was fifth, but he failed to finish at St. Eustache. At Mosport International Raceway, he redeemed himself. Fitzpatrick started and finished third.

Another driver that was always a threat on the road courses was Peter Gibbons. Since 1999, the two time Super Series champion had three victories and two pole positions at Mosport International Raceway. In qualifying for the Clarington 200, Gibbons captured another pole and set a new lap record. At the halfway mark of the contest, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet Monte Carlo would lead four laps but finish fourth.

The CASCAR points leader heading into round three at Mosport was Ron Beauchamp, Jr. Beauchamp, driver of the No. 60 Mopar Parts Dodge Charger, won the season opener at Delaware and captured the final podium spot at St. Eustache. During qualifying for race three, he was sixth fastest. Unable to maintain the pace of the leaders, Beauchamp finished seventh and now trailed Don Thomson by twenty-seven markers.

The other half of the Fastline racing team was Jim Lapcevich. Lapcevich drove the No. 25 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with backing from EMCEA Transport. To date, his season included a sixth-place result in race one at Delaware Speedway, followed by a disappointing fifteenth at St. Eustache. At Mosport, Lapcevich’s luck would turn around. He was started twelfth but battled his way to his best result of the year, fifth.

After qualifying third fastest for the season opener at Delaware CASCAR Super Series veteran, Kerry Micks finished twenty-fourth. The mechanical problems were resolved for race two at Autodrome St. Eustache. Micks qualified fifth fastest in the No. 02 Power Water Ford Taurus and captured his first victory of the season. At Mosport, he started fourth and moved into the lead on lap-16 when Don Thomson pitted. Unfortunately, Micks encountered issues and was the first car to finish one lap behind the leaders.

Dodge arranged for CASCAR Super Series veteran Mark Dilley to campaign the No. 9 Dodge Charger. Dilley started his season with a third-place finish at Delaware Speedway. In race two, at St. Eustache, he was gridded seventh and finished sixth. At Mosport, Dilly would continue his streak of top-ten finishes with a sixth-place at the checkered flag. He would leave round three, third in the championship chase.

FINISH	START	DRIVERS	SPONSOR / CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	2	Don Thomson, Jr.	Home Hardware / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	51	-
2	5	Jeff Lapcevich	Fastline Motorsports / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	51	-
3	3	J.R. Fitzpatrick	Cambridge Rigging / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	51	-
4	1	Peter Gibbons	Canadian Tire / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	51	-
5	12	Jim Lapcevich	Fastline Motorsports / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	51	-
6	8	Mark Dilley	Mobil 1/Exide / Dodge Charger	51	-
7	6	Ron Beauchamp, Jr.	Mopar Performance Parts / Dodge Charger	51	-
8	11	Brad Graham	Challenger Motor Freight / Dodge Charger	51	-
9	14	Dave Whitlock	Avenue Motor Works / Dodge Charger	51	-
10	13	Howie Scannell, Jr.	Scannell Moving & Storage / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	51	-
11	17	John Fitzpatrick	Latta Cranes / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	51	-
12	16	Mark Swain	Nighthawk / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	51	-
13	22	Dave Connelly	Vector / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	51	-
14	4	Kerry Micks	Power Water / Ford Taurus	50	-
15	21	Bryan Cathcart	Meyers Transport / Dodge Charger	50	-
16	24	Stu Robinson, Jr.	Snap-On Tools / Dodge Charger	50	-
17	27	Marv Wilder	Longbow Freight Systems / Ford Taurus	50	-
18	30	Tara McLeod	Central Merchant Services / Ford Taurus	49	-
19	18	Dave Jacombs	Lou's BBQ / Ford Taurus	49	-
20	31	Bob Merrifield	Team Re/Max / Dodge Charger	49	-
21	32	Chad McGlynn	Ultimate Garage / Ford Taurus	49	-
22	7	D.J. Kennington	Castrol / Dodge Charger	48	-
23	9	Marc Miller	Carhartt Clothing / Dodge Charger	45	Did Not Finish
24	15	Joe Goncalves	Bolt-On Performance / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	41	Did Not Finish
25	19	Scott Steckly	ERB Group / Pontiac Grand Prix	40	Did Not Finish
26	23	Sean Stafford	L.E. Walker / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	37	Did Not Finish
27	29	Mark Graham	Motel 6 / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	31	Did Not Finish
28	33	Scott Watkins	- / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	28	Did Not Finish
29	10	Derek Lynch	Berms-R-Us / Dodge Charger	24	Did Not Finish
30	20	Ron Van Es	All Cover / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	23	Did Not Finish
31	25	John Tsoumaris	Mama's Pizza / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	14	Did Not Finish
32	28	Lain Venditelli	Nobel Biocare / Ford Taurus	14	Did Not Finish
33	26	Doug Brown	Autopro / Chevrolet Monte Carlo	6	Did Not Finish

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