BOWMANVILLE , ON, Sunday May 29, 2011: Kerry Micks driver of the Dickies/Beyond Digital Imaging Ford Fusion started the Dickies 200 in seventh place. The No. 02 had mechanical problems right from the drop of the green flag, but was still in contention for a podium finish before the last restart when Micks was taken out. When all was said and done Micks wound-up 13th.
The No. 02 team was quick early on in practice and held onto the top spot on the chart for the first half, however Micks fell to the fifth position when practise wrapped up. In qualifying the No. 02 Dickies/Beyond Digital Imaging Ford Fusion turned a time of 21.962 which earned Micks the seventh qualifying position.
Micks Started the Dickies 200 on the inside of row four and when the green flag dropped he settled into the seventh spot. By lap 18 Micks had moved up to the fourth position and was challenging for third. However, the No.02 Ford Fusion was beginning to have brake problems. “The brakes were not right from the very beginning of the race” commented Micks, “But we didn’t have any early cautions so I just kept driving the car the way it was”.
The Dickies/Beyond Digital Imaging Ford Fusion was running in fourth on lap 120 when the first caution came out. Micks came in and took right side tires, it was a quick stop and he was the third car off pit road. The No. 02 team opted to come back in under the same caution and top up on fuel, as did most other teams. Both pit stops for the No. 02 team were flawless and after taking fuel Micks was the first car to exit pit road taking over the lead.
Micks had a great re-start and got out to the front of the pack and held onto the lead for six laps. However, Micks was having further mechanical problems as the power steering had also been fading throughout the race. With the brakes and power steering failing Micks couldn’t maintain the lead and slipped back to fourth.
Micks was still handling the car well and was even gaining on the third place car. However, a caution came out on lap 171 and Micks, who was struggling with the car on restarts, slipped back to sixth.
As the race was nearing completion, there was another caution on lap 186 and under that caution Micks came on the radio and informed his crew that he had no power steering left. On the restart the No. 02 was spun in turn four and the race was under caution for the fifth time. Micks came down pit road to survey the damage and change the right front tire; however, the spindle was broken and with only 6 laps remaining in the Dickies 200 Mick’s night would end.
The Dickies/Beyond Digital Imaging team finished the night with a 13th place finish. Micks was disappointed with the results, but after the race was in high spirits as he is looking forward to the next oval track. “The car is so fast” Micks said with a smile at the end of the race “I think it’s the fastest car I’ve ever had and good things will happen. I was still able to drive the car and pick up track position with little brakes and power steering” Micks added.
The Dickies 200 will air on TSN on Saturday, June 4, at 1 p.m. ET.
The next stop for Micks and the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will be the inaugural visit to Circuit ICAR in Quebec, and don’t forget to go to Dickies.ca before the race and make your picks for the Race to Win Challenge for a chance to win some great prizes.
For more information on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series please visit www.nascarlocalracing.com.
Kerry Micks is supported by the following sponsors: Williamson-Dickie Canada Co., Beyond Digital Imaging, Prostate Cancer Canada, Steadymate, Seguin Marina, Thor Motors, NGK Spark Plugs, Castrol, Samester and Cathcart Trucking.
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