TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. (Aug. 11, 2013) – D.J. Kennington claims he isn’t a road racer, but he keeps proving himself wrong.
Kennington of St. Thomas, Ont., won the JuliaWine.com 100 in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 action on Sunday at the 44th Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres after holding off road-course specialists Andrew Ranger and Jacques Villeneuve in a harried green-white-checkered finish in front of a crowd in excess of 30,000.
After starting eighth, Kennington passed former Formula One and IZOD IndyCar Series champion Villeneuve on Lap 38 before the fifth caution flag of the day flew on Lap 40 to set up the exciting finish. On the final restart, Ranger, who had gotten around Villeneuve just after Kennington made his pass, tried in every turn of the 11-turn, 1.53-mile street circuit to rattle Kennington, but was forced to settle for the runner-up position.
Ranger, a four-time Trois-Rivieres winner, started from the rear of the field due to missing Saturday’s qualifying session after competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
Villeneuve, who led a race-high 29 laps, finished third for his best finish in three career Canadian Tire Series starts. He finished fourth in this event in 2009.
It was the first win of the season for Kennington, who set a single-season series record with seven victories a year ago and the 19th career win for the driver of the No. 17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge which tops the series’ all-time list. Three of those triumphs have come on road courses with the last coming in July 2012 at Edmonton, Alta.
Alex Tagliani claimed the pole position for the JuliaWine.com 100 in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 qualifying on Saturday at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.
Jason Hathaway finished fourth followed by IndyCar Series regular Alex Tagliani in fifth. Tagliani set a new track record in Saturday’s qualifying session for his fourth series career pole win. He led the first eight laps of the race before getting tangled up Louis-Philippe Dumoulin in a battle for the lead.
Martin Roy, Alex Labbe, Scott Steckly, Jeff Lapcevich and Trevor Seibert completed the top ten.
The race was slowed due to caution five times for 16 laps. The five cautions equaled the series high at the track that was established in the 2007 race.
In the championship standings, Steckly saw his lead shrink to just four points over Kennington. Hathaway holds down the third spot, just 14 points behind the leader while Dumoulin dropped from second to fourth, but is still within striking distance at 16 tallies back.
The JuliaWine.com 100 will be telecast on TSN on Sunday, Aug. 18 at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 is in action next on Saturday, Aug. 17 at Riverside International Speedway in Antigonish, N.S., in the Wilson Equipment 300 supporting Red Cross Disaster Relief.
Contact: Shon Sbarra/ NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications
(704) 309-5493
ssbarra@nascar.com
UNOFFICIAL: NASCAR CANADIAN TIRE SERIES presented by MOBIL 1-JuliaWine.com 100 Results
Sunday, August 11, 2013
At Circuit de Trois-Rivieres, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
Lap length: 1.53 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (8) D.J. Kennington, St. Thomas, Ont., Dodge, 46 laps, 57.297 mph.
2. (28) Andrew Ranger, Roxton Pond, Que., Dodge, 46.
3. (4) Jacques Villeneuve, Montreal, Que., Dodge, 46.
4. (12) Jason Hathaway, Dutton, Ont., Dodge, 46.
5. (1) Alex Tagliani, Lachenaie, Que., Dodge, 46.
6. (7) Martin Roy, Napierville, Que., Dodge, 46.
7. (6) Alex Labbe, St. Albert, Que, Dodge, 46.
8. (14) Scott Steckly, Milverton, Ont., Dodge, 46.
9. (13) Jeff Lapcevich, Grimsby, Ont., Dodge, 46.
10. (25) Trevor Seibert, Williams Lake, B.C., Dodge, 46.
11. (30) Jason White, Sun Peaks, B.C., Dodge, 46.
12. (29) Patrice Brisebois, Montreal, Que., Dodge, 46.
13. (5) J.R. Fitzpatrick, Ayr, Ont., Chevrolet, 46.
14. (2) L.P. Dumoulin, Trois-Rivieres, Que., Dodge, 46.
15. (18) Ryley Seibert, Williams Lake, B.C., Dodge, 46.
16. (20) Noel Dowler, Sherwood Park, Alta., Dodge, 46.
17. (11) J.F. Dumoulin, Trois-Rivieres, Que, Dodge, 46.
18. (19) Ron Beauchamp, Jr., Windsor, Ont., Dodge, 46.
19. (23) Ray Courtemanche Jr., Montreal, Que., Dodge, 46.
20. (10) Alex Guenette, Terrebonne, Que., Dodge, 39.
21. (21) Isabelle Tremblay, St. Hippolyte, Que., Dodge, 38.
22. (16) Hugo Vannini, Repentigny, Que., Ford, 38.
23. (17) Xavier Coupal, St. Jean, Que., Dodge, 37.
24. (27) Paul Jean, Mirabel, Que., Chevrolet, 37.
25. (15) Howie Scannell Jr., Milton, Ont., Dodge, 32, suspension.
26. (22) Benoit Theetge, Boischatel, Que., Chevrolet, 29, driver fatigue.
27. (9) Kerry Micks, Mount Albert, Ont., Ford, 28, accident.
28. (24) Dexter Stacey, Kahnawake, Que., Dodge, 23, accident.
29. (3) Marc-Antoine Camirand, St. Léonard-d’Aston, Que., Chevrolet, 9, accident.
30. (26) Simon Dion-Viens, St. Joseph de Kamouraska, Que., Dodge, 0, mechanical.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 13 minutes 42 seconds
Margin of Victory: .455 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: A. Tagliani (82.111 mph, 67.08 seconds)
Caution Flags: 5 for 18 laps.
Lead Changes: 2 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Tagliani 1-8; J. Villeneuve 9-37; D. Kennington 38-46.
Standings: 1. S. Steckly, 308; 2. D. Kennington, 304; 3. J. Hathaway, 294; 4. L. P. Dumoulin, 292; 5. J.R. Fitzpatrick, 281; 6. M. Roy, 271; 7. R. Beauchamp,Jr., 255; 8. J. White, 254; 9. N. Dowler, 252; 10. T. Seibert, 246.
{fcomment}
Discussion about this post