May 21, 2017. David Thorndyke and the #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet team spent plenty of hours during the off-season preparing their car for the new year of competition in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series season opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). While they had to battle a few mechanical gremlins during the weekend it was all worth it, Thorndyke gained nine positions during the race to finish 13th.
Much of the off season work was done by Car Chief Adam Thorndyke who explained it as “just taking the time to clean up a bunch of things. Moving some of the lines and just making everything a little simpler and up to date”.
During Saturday practice and qualifying there were some expected hiccups during the first race weekend. “Just a few little things” said David Thorndyke. “We got them all looked after before the race.
The #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet would roll off from 22nd at the start of the 51-lap event Sunday afternoon but the team knew they wouldn’t be there for long. “I did gain a few spots in the early going,” said the driver. “But we also had a strategy for the race we thought would work well for us and it did”.
While the track conditions changed and caused others to try and stay ahead of things by switching from rain tires to slicks the #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet remained on grooved rain tires for the duration. “We knew rain was coming and we thought it was better to stick with the rain tires rather than losing time on pit road switching a couple of times as others did” he explained.
The call worked and as conditions again deteriorated David Thorndyke kept the #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet on track and looking to gain track position. “It did get a little dicey in the late going. The rain was pretty heavy and even with all we did it was tough to see with the windshield fogging up” he stated.
Thorndyke persevered and brought the #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet home with a satisfying 13th place result. “We had a good car today, we gained a bunch of positions and the car is perfectly in tact. If the rain came a bit earlier we would have done even better, but still, it was a good day for us” he summed up. “
David Thorndyke and the #67 Thorsons EVT Chevrolet team will be in action next at the Pinty’s Grand Prix on July 15th during the Toronto Indy weekend.
