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