ST. THOMAS, ON (August 2, 2021)- DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team expected to have a strong start to the 2021 NASCAR Pinty’s Series during the opening round this past Sunday at Sunset Speedway in Innisfil, Ontario.
Kennington scored a second-place finish in the second of two 125-lap races at the 1/3-mile oval, however a part failure cost them a better result in race one.
During preseason testing the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge was quick at Sunset Speedway and in the early stages of race one, The First Responders 125 Kennington had no difficulty keeping up with the leaders.
The race was halted for several hours after only seven laps due to rain in the area. Once the action resumed Kennington continued his strong pace. However just before the midpoint of the race he suddenly lost power to the engine.
Diving to pitlane the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team went to work and diagnosed the problem as faulty fuel pump. A straightforward issue to resolve, but race one was ruined
“It was a brand-new part, just one of those quirky things that it failed” explained Kennington.
In the nightcap event, The General Tire 125, Kennington lined up third in the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge at the start and had plenty of pace to keep up with the other frontrunners runners.
In the closing laps Kennigton was running third in the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge when the second-place car spun out moving Kennington up one spot and setting up a two-lap dash to the finish. On the restart Kennington pushed as hard as he could but raced clean on the final two laps securing a second-place result.
“I got really close to the bumper of the leader but I’m not going to deliberately spin someone out” said Kennington after the race. “Great bounce back by the Castrol Edge Dodge team to fix the issues from race one. We got good result in race two and we expect to be running up front every week” he added.
“Thank you to all our supporters, Castrol, Spark Power coming on board with us this year. And of course, to all the fans that came out and for waiting out the rain delay” added Kennington.
Race fans can follow DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team on their official social media platforms:
Twitter www.twitter.com/@djkracing
Instagram www.instagram.com/djkracing
Website www.djkracing.ca
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DJKenningtonRacing/
Photo: DJ Kennington racing the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge at Sunset Speedway
Credit: Matthew Manor
Prepared by TL Sports & Entertainment, toddlewissports@gmail.com (239) 961-2618
