2008 Coke Zero 200

Background

Cayuga Speedway (now Jukasa Motor Speedway) was opened in 1966 as a dirt track but was paved the following year when the vehicles started to become too dangerous fast for the dirt tracks. It was considered to be one of Canada's premier racing facilities. It is a 5/8 mi oval similar in size to Martinsville Speedway. The track has held a variety of different racing groups including CASCAR, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the American-Canadian Tour, NASCAR Busch North, Hooters Pro-Cup, USAC, ISMA Supermodifieds, DIRT Modifieds and the ARCA RE/MAX Series (which is considered to be one of the developmental milestones to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Set on 300 acre of land, Cayuga offers campgrounds with electricity, concession booths, and free parking.

On June 8, 2006, a group of developers from Toronto purchased the 5/8 mi track from its original owners and made improvements for the 2007 season, hoping to attract NASCAR Nationwide Series (now called the Xfinity Series) to have a race at Cayuga Speedway. Instead, the race went to Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve due to its larger population and recognition in the international community. Cooper Construction of Oakville was announced as the vendor to re-build the track. Cayuga Speedway hosted the first NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race in series history on May 26, 2007.

Race report

Qualifying

Don Thomson Jr. would clinch the pole position for this race by driving up to 107.645 mph during the same-day qualifying sessions. Time trials began at 5:15 PM and they were finished just before the green flag start at 7:35 PM.

John Fletcher would be the slowest driver during qualifying; making a lap in over 22 seconds. Jason Hathaway would qualify on a provisional. Lap times of approximately 20–21 seconds were considered to be standard qualifying times for the drivers.

Prior to the race, a pre-race invocation was given which was followed by the singing of the American and Canadian national anthems.

Race

There were 22 drivers on the grid; all of them were born in Canada. Out of this 203-lap event, about 23% of this event was held under a caution flag while the average green flag run was 20 laps. Anthony Simone would be credited as the last-place finisher due to problems with his suspension on the fourth lap. He would commit a false start violation and be black flagged. However, Thomson Jr. was not disqualified and went on to continue the race. Whitlock was black flagged for dumping Nuhn; causing people who were in attendance at the race to doubt the professionalism of both the drivers and the NASCAR officials who were in charge of the race. Steckly suffered mechanical issues after getting spun by Kennington while battling for the lead early on. This would cause him to finish well behind John Fletcher in 18th place, even though he had still had commanding lead for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series championship after the race.

At lap 81, the lights from turn 1 all the way to turn 4 went out leaving only the front stretch lights on.

The average speed of the race was 69.552 mph and the event lasted for one hour and forty-nine minutes; not counting the 165-minute delay that occurred due to the instability of the racing lights. Mark Dilley would defeat Andrew Ranger by nearly three-quarters of a second in front of an undisclosed number of spectators. A problem with their electricity generator caused a 10-lap caution with all the cars forced to stop where they were. At the end of the race, 12 cars made up the lead lap. Most of the field were driving vehicles that were affiliated with either the Chevrolet or Dodge manufacturer.

Notable crew chiefs for this race were Thatcher Krupp, Ted McAlister, Scott Fletcher, Warren Jones, Bill Burns, Greg Gibson, Brian Uptigrove, Mike Knott, Hugh Nunh, David Wight, Don Jacobson, Kelly Hallett, Rino Montanari, Alex Nagy, Sandy Hamilton, Guijio Montanari, Terry Wilson, and David Hernen.

Major sponsors for the drivers on the starting grid include Wal-Mart, Tim Hortons, Home Hardware, Interstate Batteries, and Ubisoft. Individual driver winnings for this event ranged from $8,200 for the winner ($ when adjusted for inflation) all the way to a meager $980 for the last-place finisher ($ when adjusted for inflation). Due to the small qualifying grid typically found at NASCAR Canadian Tire Series racing events, everyone qualified for this racing event. Although the price of gas was recorded at nearly $1.30/litre ($5.20/gallon) just prior to race day for some of the busier gas stations, those who could afford to go to the race greatly appreciated the race prior to the lengthy blackout.

Due to the mostly regional atmosphere of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, this race was never aired in any other country besides Canada.

Finishing order

Timeline

Section reference:

• Start of race: Don Thomson Jr. started the race with the pole position.
• Lap 3: D. J. Kennington took over the lead from Don Thomson Jr.
• Lap 4: Anthony Simone had problems with his suspension; causing him to withdraw from the event.
• Lap 5-12: Jason Hathaway and Kent Nuhn crashed into each other, causing the race's first caution flag.
• Lap 13: Scott Steckly took over the lead from D. J. Kennington.
• Lap 14: D. J. Kennington took over the lead from Scott Steckly.
• Lap 24: Kerry Micks took over the lead from D. J. Kennington.
• Lap 50-54: Jason White would spin hazardously into turn three, bringing out the second caution flag.
• Lap 54: Doug Brown's vehicle had an issue with his ring gear, forcing him to leave the race.
• Lap 57: D. J. Kennington took over the lead from Kerry Micks.
• Lap 70: Mark Dilley took over the lead from D. J. Kennington.
• Lap 81-91: Lighting failure at the track caused the third caution flag.
• Lap 95-97: Kent Nuhn spun dangerously into turn three; causing the fourth caution flag.
• Lap 137: Ron Beauchamp Jr. took over the lead from Mark Dilley.
• Lap 162-166: D. J. Kennington would spin unsafely into turn four, causing the fifth caution of the race.
• Lap 163: Mark Dilley took over the lead from Ron Beauchamp Jr.
• Lap 164: Kent Nuhn took over the lead from Mark Dilley.
• Lap 167: Ron Beauchamp Jr. took over the lead from Mark Dilley.
• Lap 184-191: Kerry Micks performed a hazardous spin into turn four, causing the sixth caution of the event.
• Lap 192: Mark Dilley took over the lead from Ron Beauchamp Jr.
• Lap 196-201: John Gaunt caused the final caution of the race by stopping dangerously into turn four, making the race go into overtime.
• Finish: Mark Dilley won the race.

Standings after the race

References

Notes

References

1. [http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/postalcode/N0A%201E0/2008-08-30 Weather information for the ''2008 Coke Zero 200''] at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. The Simcoe Reformer - June 8, 2006
3. [http://www.racing-reference.info/race/2008_Coke_Aero_200_Pres._by_Sicard_Holiday_Campers/T ''2008 Coke Zero 200''] racing information at Racing Reference
4. [https://www.motorsport.com/au/nascar-cdn/news/cayuga-ii-round-10-preview/2779930/?nrt=118 Cayuga II: Fastline Motorsports preview] at Motorsport.com
5. [http://www.racing-reference.info/getqualify/2008-10/T Qualifying information for the ''2008 Coke Zero 200 Pres. by Sicard Holiday Campers''] at Racing Reference
6. [https://www.racing-reference.info/entrylist/2008-10/T/C 2008 Coke Aero 200 Pres. by Sicard Holiday Campers crew chiefs] at Racing Reference
7. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080829162557/http://www.hamiltongasprices.com/ Local gas prices prior to the ''2008 Coke Zero 200''] at HamiltonGasPrices.Com (Wayback Machine)