Showdown Offers International Flare, Canada & Mexico Represented

By admin October 18, 2007

Andrew Ranger heads to Irwindale Speedway this weekend looking to showcase the talent that earned him the 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series championship.

As well, former NASCAR Mexico Series champion Rogelio Lopez makes his way west following his first full season in the NASCAR Busch East Series, where he became a force to be reckoned with.

As to Ranger he came into the 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season with just one stock car race under his belt, but that wasn’t enough to deter the talented 20 year-old from Roxton Pond, Quebec. He made the move to NASCAR last winter from the ranks of the CHAMP Car World Series in which he finished 10th in points for both the 2005 and 2006 seasons. In 2005, at just 18 years of age, he became the youngest driver in series history to notch a podium finish.

However, his move to the heavier cars of NASCAR has been seamless. He picked up his first NASCAR win in the season’s second race of the year – his third start in a stock car. En route to this year’s championship, he posted seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes throughout the 12-race schedule.

The NASCAR Grand National Division cars that will be used in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown are different from those used in the Canadian Tire Series, but Ranger does not foresee any difficulty in adjusting. He will be driving a car owned by fellow Canadian Dick Midgley, owner of Midgley Motorsports of Victoria, B.C.

Former NASCAR Mexico Champion Lopez is making his move

Rogelio Lopez, 27, of Aquascalientes, Mexico scored his first career NASCAR Busch East Series victory at the fabled Music City Motorplex fairgrounds oval in Nashville, Tenn., midway through the season. Lopez won his first career Budweiser Pole Award at New Hampshire International Speedway in September, and converted the start to a third-place finish. He finished the season seventh in series points with a record of five top-5s and six top-10s in 13 starts.

Lopez has the whole package needed for success

He’s a bonifide star entering the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. By virtue of his Music City win, Lopez won a guaranteed starting position in the 250-lap all star race. After winning the 2006 NASCAR Mexico Series championship, in 2007 he joined up with NASCAR Busch East Series team owner Dave Davis, and promptly became a contender in the No. 03 Telmex/Lucas Oil Chevrolet.

Lopez also has a place in NASCAR history as the first driver from Mexico to compete in a NASCAR Touring event with the series in 2005. Like most of the tracks the NASCAR Busch East Series visited in 2007, Lopez has never laid eyes on Irwindale Speedway.

All-Star experience

Eight drivers have competed in all four previous Toyota All-Star Showdown events. Two of those drivers – Mike Duncan and Matt Kobyluck – have already secured a spot in this year’s event by virtue of winning a Grand National Division race this season. In addition to Duncan and Kobyluck, others to compete in all four previous events were Bryan Chew, Scott Gaylord, Mike Johnson, Joey McCarthy, Mike Olsen and Jack Sellers.

Four races, four winners: None of the first four winners in Toyota All-Star Showdown competition have been able to repeat. The four post-season events featured four different winners – Austin Cameron (2003), Mike Johnson (2004), David Gilliland (2005) and Matt Kobyluck (2006).

Finishing up front: Matt Kobyluck has the most top-five finishes in Showdown competition, with three. He is tied with Brian Hoar and Joey McCarthy for the most top-10 finishes, with three each.

Best average finish: Matt Kobyluck has the best average finish of 4.25, among drivers with three or more starts in Toyota All-Star Showdown competitition. His win last year and runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2005, followed a 12th-place finish in the inaugural event in 2003.

Leading the way: David Gilliland has led the most laps in Toyota All-Star Showdown competition. The Riverside, Calif., competitor – who since graduated to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series – led a total of 133 laps, 91 circuits in 2004 and 42 in 2005.

Race distance: The race distance for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown has varied. The inaugural event in 2003 was 125 laps. The race distance for events from 2004 to 2006 were 150 laps. This year’s event is slated for 250 laps.

Last to lock in: Eric Holmes was the last driver to lock in a spot to this year’s event by winning a Grand National West Series race, taking the victory in the season finale. Holmes won the Elite portion of the Showdown in 2004.

D.W. as Showdown Grand Marshal

Eighteen years after finally reaching Victory lane in the Daytona 500, three-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip will serve as the Grand Marshal for the race that has become the ‘Daytona 500’ of the NASCAR Developmental Series: the 2007 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.

Showdown coverage on TV

The 2007 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, Oct. 19-20, is SPEED TV’s fifth consecutive year of live coverage of the event. The cable network also televised 22 Grand National events this season as part of its Racing Across America series.

Schedule: Pacific Coast Times

Friday: Super Late Model Practice, 10-10:45 a.m. Grand National Practice, 10:55-11:55 a.m. Super Late Model Practice, 12-12:45 p.m. Grand National Practice, 12:50-1:50 p.m. Super Late Model Time Trials, 2:30 p.m. Grand National Time Trials, 5 p.m. Super Late Model Race, 6:15 p.m. Grand National Open Qualifier (50 laps), 7:30 p.m.

Saturday: Grand National Division Race, 7:30 p.m.

Check speedtv.com for complete broadcast schedule and time zones.

Sources: NASCAR PR

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