Mosport: Dodge Motorsports race report

DODGE GETS ANOTHER PODIUM FINISH AT MOSPORT, PULLS TO WITHIN ONE POINT IN MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (September 4, 2006) -- Dodge Motorsports' SCCA drivers braved the rainy weather to bring home another solid weekend for Dodge. After the races in Mosport, Dodge Motorsports pulled to within one point of the GT manufacturer's Championship with a podium finish in the GT race. Between both the GT and Touring Car series, Dodge had four drivers with a finish inside the top-10.

For the second event in a row, Dodge Motorsports and Tommy Archer grabbed a podium finish in the GT series. Archer brought his No. 5 AutoHaus Motorsports/C3 Controls/Dodge SRT Dodge Viper home in the second position after starting eighth in a soggy round nine of Speed World Challenge Competition.

"The weather played to our hand. I've driven at Mosport many times in the rain and it appeared that a lot of the guys in the World Challenge series did not like the rain because they were going slower than usual." Archer said after the race. "We didn't have the greatest qualifying--we got blocked in traffic on each of our runs between bouts with rain--but the finish was great and it boosts us up in the points, and most importantly it puts Dodge just one point out of the manufacturer's championship, so that's pretty cool."

Bob Woodhouse in the No. 13 Woodhouse Auto Family/Kicker/ Dodge Viper was the second highest finishing Dodge driver in the GT series, rounding out a solid weekend with a fifth place finish. He stepped up his game in Canada, qualifying in the fourth position and improving on his typical-top-10 ways with his top-five finish.

"This track is wanted on the resume of every established race driver who is alive to tell about it. It is two-and-a-half miles of the fastest high speed blind vertical drop corners found anywhere. So a fifth place finish, hey, this is considered a good day in our book," Woodhouse said with a smile after the race. "To all you Chrysler and Viper enthusiasts, thank you for the interest and support you provide. We will keep the momentum for Road Atlanta next. "

Woodhouse now sits fifth in the championship points standings, having posted seven top-10 finishes on the season, with this being his third in the top-five.

Rob Foster in his No.17 LTI Contracting/Race Craft Dodge Viper posted a strong tenth place finish, the third of the three Dodge drivers to finish in the top-10. The rest of the Dodge finishers included Ritch Marizale in the 16th position, Lenny Diller in the 17th position, Stu Fredrick in the 18th position, and Mike McCann in the 19th position.

In the Touring Car series, Robb Holland brought the No. 63 Fila/3R Racing Dodge SRT4 home in the highest finishing position for Dodge, crossing the finish line in eighth place.

"I'm satisfied [with the weekend.] I think we could have finished better but there were a lot of circumstances that just didn't work in our favor so with everything we had to consider I think the eighth place finish was definitely good," Holland said after the race. "The 3R guys set up the car perfectly for the rain and I was able to handle the conditions. I was able to maintain position and gain a couple of spots but once I got up to eighth place it was tough for me to really progress all that much until I got the rain line figured out."

Brian Smith in the No. 13 Woodhouse Auto Family/Kicker/Dodge SRT4 took the Sunoco Hard Charger award, picking up 10 positions on the way to an 11th place finish.

"Winning the [Sunoco Hard Charger] award was good. We ran up through the field pretty good today," Smith said after the race. "There were a lot of cautions and there was rain when we ran so that was kind of fun because it was slippery and the conditions were a little more challenging than normal."

You can watch Archer, Woodhouse, Holland and Smith on the Speed Channel when it airs Touring Car and GT series competition from Mosport on Sunday, Sept. 10 starting at 3 p.m. (EDT).

-credit: dodge motorsports