The Dodge Dealers 200 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is the first NASCAR stock car race in Canadian soil and Dodge Avenger driver Mark Dilley aimed to win it to complement his feat of winning the last CASCAR race last September. While he has prepared well for the race, he fell short and only finished second after Don Thomson Jr. Nevertheless, his performance was good enough to make him a strong contender for the series’ championship early in the season. On September 12 last year, NASCAR completed the purchase of CASCAR and announced that the Canadian Tire Series will take over the previous racing activities in Canada.

Early in the race, Dilley seems to be in control and at one time even led the race. An incident with Kerry Micks though saw Dilley pushed at the back of the field. “It was pretty crazy, that’s for sure,” says Dilley about the whole race. “One of the things I feel badly about was getting into Kerry. That was my fault. I just drove it in way too hard. Then we got sent to the back and we had some different issues. I was spun around and that may have been a bit of a payback, but I kind of deserved it and I’ve got no problem with that.”

After Dilley was pushed at the back of the field, his team worked on the steering system of his car with it’s Dodge body parts to enable him to get back to the race. The improvements took three stops which finally gave him the chance to get back to the front of the field. “We came in and could only take two right-side tires during our first stop because of when the caution happened and how far back we were. Then when we did make the stop for the two left-side tires, the set just didn’t match up. We came in after that and made an adjustment and then the car was good at the end.”

During the later stages of the race, Dilley made his move and with 15 laps remaining, he managed to get to the fifth spot. After a yellow flag flew, Dilley found himself on the third spot. With five laps remaining, he managed to overtake Peter Gibbons. Eventually, he caught up with the race winner Thomson during the last lap. Going on a tight race to the finish, Dilley was not able to take the win but he finished only 0.126 seconds behind Thomson.

This year’s season of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, specifically the first ever NASCAR Car of Tomorrow (COT) race will be the stage for the racing debut of Chrysler Group’s all-new 2008 Dodge Avenger. After several test drives for the 2008 Dodge Avenger, the team is now heading in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee to put the car on its first racing appearance next week, followed by 15 other racing events of the NASCAR Car of Tomorrow.

Mike Accavitti, Director of Dodge Motorsports and SRT Marketing, Chrysler Group said:

“Dodge is ready for the challenge at Bristol, and we think the Dodge Avenger is the car to beat. We believe that the Avenger can bring Dodge a championship in the future, and we can’t wait to start that campaign this weekend.”

“And, for the first Dodge driver to win a COT race, we will donate an all-new Dodge Avenger to the charity of his choice,” he added.

The 2008 Dodge Avenger is equipped with a Word Engine that offers an improved fuel efficiency and low exhaust emissions without affecting the car’s powerful performance. The 2008 Dodge Avenger also comes with quality interior parts like those VW GTI parts found on the VW GTI model.

The drivers of major Dodge teams are excited on the racing debut of the new 2008 Dodge Avenger. They are pleased to join the 2008 Dodge Avenger at the NASCAR Car of Tomorrow racing events. Here is what they said.

David Stremme, driver of the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge:

“You can test it all you want, but we’re not going to know what we’re really dealing with until we race it. Some of the guys have been complaining about it, but I’m anxious to race it. Anything can and usually does happen at Bristol, so it should be a very interesting race for the competitors and a very entertaining one for the fans.”

No. 2 Miller Lite Crew Chief Roy McCauley:

“With the Avenger there’s a large window of opportunity, and the people that do their homework the most will exploit that window of opportunity initially. The garage area is full of the smartest racers in the world, and they will catch up. Everybody will catch up, but I think a couple of cars will be dominant initially because they’ve done their homework ahead of time.”

Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge and former Bristol winner:

“I think we’re all excited about getting the Avenger on the racetrack for the first time and to carry it to Bristol of all places, we’re definitely going to test its durability and how it holds up under pressure. Bristol is an action-packed race, and it’s always a tough race. Being the first COT race in the history of NASCAR makes it even more exciting.”

“Everybody will bring their best stuff. You want to get started on the right foot. The Avenger is a great tool. We feel like Dodge has done a great job giving us everything to work with correctly. Hopefully, we can put it all into motion and have a good weekend.” he added

Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge:

“That will be the first bigger track we have with the Avenger. It’s going to be an eye-opening weekend. It’s going to be tough to make that car work there. It’s going to be much different than what it’s been in the past, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. I think Darlington is going to be a bigger change in the way cars run than Bristol. I think Bristol will be similar to what it’s been in the past with the COT, and Martinsville will be similar. Darlington will be a big change, and that’s when all 43 drivers and teams will figure out the cars are a lot different than what we’ve been racing.”

Lastly, Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Avenger who won last year’s Food City 500 commented:

“I just always get a spring in my step when we come back to Bristol. I enjoy this place like no other. At this place, 500 laps is without a doubt the hottest ticket in NASCAR. We’re definitely excited about the Dodge Avenger and what it can do for our team. Having the first COT race at Bristol will be just like jumping into a full tank of sharks and swimming around with them. It’ll probably come down to survival.”