Luke Whitteker and his Iroquois, Ontario based Whitteker Motorsports team made their final start of the season at Cornwall Motor Speedway this past Sunday afternoon for the rescheduled Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified/Canadian Nationals Series event held over from Labor Day Weekend.
Before the rain came back on September 4th, Whitteker had posted the third fastest speed in him time trial group and was set to start his heat race from the third position. Racing continued on Sunday afternoon and picked up where it had left off earlier and Whitteker started from third place. He needed to maintain that position to lock himself into the redraw for a top 12 starting position, and he was able to do that. The redraw took place during driver introductions, and he picked the fifth spot, placing him inside of row three to start the 125 lap main event. Through the first 30 laps of the race, Whitteker had slid back to 12th place, but disaster struck soon after a Whitteker was caught in a wild crash on lap 35. He managed to drive the car back to the pit area to the attention of the Whitteker Motorsports crew, but the damage was severe enough to end their night.
“We have quite a bit of damage to the rear of the car, a bent axle tube and possibly more damage”, says a disappointed Whitteker after the race. “This certainly isn’t how we wanted to end our season”.
With the costs associated with running Syracuse, and the time off from school for Whitteker, the team has decided not to attend Super DIRT Week this year. At this time, we don’t plan to race anymore this season. It is possible that the team may decide to run the Fall Nationals at Brockville, but a final decision has not been made.
Whitteker will travel back to North Carolina next month for the Race 101 program, and will drive a Race 101 prepared Late Model at the famed Hickory Motor Speedway for some practice laps. Whitteker will graduate from the program at the end of year.
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.
Luke Whitteker and the Whitteker Motorsports team are currently looking for sponsors for the 2012 racing season. For more information, please contact Luke Whitteker at [email protected].
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.