Whitteker Has Strong Finishes at Granby and Cornwall; Inches Closer to First Win of the 2011 Season
July 26, 2011 (Craig Revelle – Finish Line Web Design) — After spending the first half of the 2011 racing season driving for Clement Henri and the CH Racing entry at Autodrome Granby and Autodrome Drummond with minimal success, Luke Whitteker decided to field his own car for the rest of the season, allowing him to get more seat time their own Bicknell car, and bettering their overall Whitteker Motorsports team by being able to concentrate on their own agenda.
“I really appreciate the opportunity that they gave me, but it did not work out for us with the CH Racing team”, says Whitteker. “I feel that we will be better off as a team ourselves with more seat time in our own car”.
Whitteker traveled to Autodrome Granby on Friday night for a 100 lap 358 Modified Mid Season Championship. Whitteker started from the back of his qualifying heat and made it up to fourth place at the checkered flag, locking himself into the 100 lap main event. Whitteker rolled off the starting grid from the 10th position and steadily worked his way forward. By lap 21 he was up to sixth place, and began to challenge for the top five. On lap 26 he took over the fifth position but after a caution on lap 33 he briefly lost the spot on the ensuing restart. Whitteker pressed on though, and got the fifth position back just two laps later, and then moved to fourth at lap 37. Just one lap later Whitteker was up to third, and took second just before the caution came out again on lap 49. For the next several laps, Whitteker was battling at the front of the field. Whitteker continued to chase the leader before contact with another car sent him all the way back to sixth on lap 75. With 25 laps to go, Whitteker began to work his way forward again, getting back up to third on lap 82. For the remaining 18 laps, Whitteker held the third spot, and finished with a very impressive run in his Whitteker Motorsports entry.
“We had a great car here tonight. We were able to run with (David) Hebert, and (Martin) Roy and all the top guys here”, says Whitteker. “We lost some ground there with about 25 laps to go and had to work our way back up. We may have had a good chance at the win”.
On Sunday at Cornwall Speedway, Whitteker had double features on the agenda as rain postponed the 358 Modified feature last week. In the first 30 lap feature Whitteker started from the fifth position. At lap 10, Whitteker was up to third place and moved to second just before halfway. He maintained that spot for the rest of the race, picking up his best finish of the season. Qualifying heats were up next for the scheduled portion of the night’s event and Whitteker started from fourth place. He finished in second, qualifying for the second 30 lap feature of the evening. Whitteker started from inside row five in the ninth position, and struggled early, dropping to 13th as the caution came out on lap seven. On lap ten, Whitteker was involved in a turn two wreck that caused some heavy damage to the right side of the car. After a lengthy pit stop, Whitteker returned to the track several laps down and finished a disappointing 13th.
Whitteker Motorsports have recently had t-shirts and can cozies made, and they can be purchased at the team trailer at the track. The t-shirts are $25 and the cozies are just $3. The proceeds of the merchandise sales are being donated to the CHEO Foundation in Ottawa for sick kids, and to date, Whitteker has donated $800 to the organization.
Whitteker Motorsports would like to thank all of their sponsors for the support as they go into a brand new season. Their Sponsors include Rust Check, Coldwell Banker, Steve Summers Coburn Realty, Jim’s Performance Plus, Parcoll Products/Napa Auto Parts, Quaker State, Riverside Pontiac, Toy Storage, Wells and Son Construction, 730 Truck Stop, Lloyd McMillan Equipment Ltd., ERD Engine Research and Development, and Finish Line Web Design.
To stay up to date on Luke Whitteker and the Whitteker Motorsports team, please visit our website, www.lukewhitteker.com or follow us through Facebook at www.facebook.com/whittekermotorsports or through Twitter at www.twitter.com/lukewhitteker.
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