The weekend of July 26, 2008 saw the #14 Van Domselaar Motorsports team back in action on Edmonton’s 1.97 mile airport road course. Twenty-two NASCAR Canadian Tire Series cars were in town over three days to compete in the 32 lap event. The VMS team had spent many months preparing for their 2008 appearance on the NCTS circuit. The team had two goals for the race this year: to finish in the top 15 and to raise $10 000 for the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society of Canada. The team is pleased to announce that they have been successful on both counts.
Tight scheduling was one of the hallmarks of the weekend’s race, and the VMS team was up before dawn on move-in day getting the #14 Monte Carlo ready for NASCAR technical and safety inspections. Team members were also up bright and early the next day, in order to be on-track for the 7:30 AM practice session. Practice went very well for the team, and they logged the 16th fastest lap time of 22 competitors. A few changes were made to the car’s set up for the afternoon qualifying session, but the VMS machine would remain in a similar position and start 17th in the feature event.
All three Indy event races were held on the same day this year, with the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series 100 getting underway first. The race started cleanly, with all cars making their way through the tight confines of Turn 1 unscathed. The team had improved its engine program in the off season and the extra horsepower was obvious as Jr. passed his way up to 13th position by Lap 16. A series of three full-course cautions over the remaining laps resulted in Jr. losing one spot on a difficult re-start. Some minor transmission problems meant that Jr. had run out of laps before he could press for a return to 13th position. The team was satisfied with its 14th place finish, which ties their best-ever finish on the course, but is eager to compete for a top ten spot next year. After the race, Jr. remarked, “The car was not perfect but we learned more again this year. It’s tough only running one race a year, but we improve every time out. I had trouble shifting up to fourth on the restarts and we got snookered a few times…that new transmission will solve that problem.”
In 2007 the Van Domselaar Motorsports family was given the news that James Jr.’s wife Tamera was expecting, and that she’d been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. Six days after giving birth to a healthy baby girl in January of 2008, Tamera began six months of chemotherapy. With the help of research funded by the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma has a very high cure rate. The VMS team was very honored to be raising funds for the Society with this year’s Lap-A-Thon: fans could sponsor James Jr. as he raced at the Edmonton Indy. And sponsor him they did! Donations topped the ten thousand dollar mark on July 29.In addition to the Lap-A-Thon, friends, family and work colleagues also supported the fund raising drive. Jr. notes, “Tamera’s workmates from Agrium kicked in their safety award dollars as well….how can you thank them for that? It speaks volumes about how they care for Tamera and our family.” Primary race sponsor Northgate Industries also helped out in a big way, raffling off last year’s #14 car hood, and then matching the funds raised to donate to the Lap-A-Thon. James Jr. commented, “I could not race without the help of all our sponsors, especially Northgate Industries, and they went above and beyond by donating to the Lap-A-thon.”
Donations to the Lap-A-Thon, raising funds for the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society of Canada, are still being accepted and can be made by following the link below. |
