August 15, 2010. Calgary’s Jarrad Whissell and the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford team traveled to Trois Rivieres, Quebec for round number eight of the NASCAR Canadian Tire series with hopes of changing the luck they’ve had in the past at the tight road course. The weekend proved to be a battle of the brakes for the team.
With the first practice session the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford would experience issues with brakes. “We found that the front brakes on the car were heating up very quickly” explained Whissell. “In addition, they became so hot that they actually damaged the brake rotors after only a few laps” he added.
The #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford team attempted to correct the problem for qualifying but to no avail. Whissell would line up eighteenth for the main event Sunday and the team would make further changes attempting to correct the problems.
Not knowing exactly how the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford would behave following the adjustments Whissell took a cautious approach to the start of the race. “I wanted to take it easy to see how the car behaved” said the driver. “I didn’t want to be the cause of anyone else’s problems he added.
With the race underway Whissell unfortunately would experience similar issues in the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford that occurred all weekend in the . “It’s too bad but no matter how much rear brake we dialed into the car it was still not performing. So much of my race was spent trying to avoid others instead of challenging for position.
Though Whissell would struggle with the #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford during the race he did manage to gain several positions on the track and was running just outside the top-ten in the closing laps. An incident involving the #19 car occurred directly in front him and the combination of traffic blocking him and faulty brakes made contact inevitable. “I feel bad about bumping into him” said Whissell but I had absolutely no where to go and I just couldn’t stop in time. We lost several spots on track as well” he added.
The five NASCAR Canadian Tire Series road course events are a part of some of the largest race weekends in
Attached Photo: The #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford in paddock at Trois Rivieres
Photo Credit: Sue Chisholm and www.racetimeradio.com
