BOWMANVILLE, ON (September 6, 2021)- DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge did everything in their power to ensure another strong and consistent run during round number six of the 2021 NASCAR Pinty’s Series at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) on Sunday afternoon. Sometimes however, even a superhuman team effort is undone by a mechanical failure.
Kennington has averaged a sixth-place finish in three road course events this season and when he noticed that something wasn’t right with the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge during the morning qualifying session, he made the bold decision to change out the engine.
“One of the readings wasn’t right, so rather than chase the problem, we looked to eliminate it” explained Kennington.
Making the engine change to the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge meant Kennington would lose his starting position and begin the 51-lap race from the back of the field.
“We felt it was the right call after how well the car performed during the race on Saturday, we’d be back in the hunt as the race went on” he explained.
Kennington never got the chance to test the theory. Almost immediately after the drop of the green flag Kennington’s years of experience told him that something was seriously wrong.
“I could hear it right away,” said the dejected driver. “The new motor that we put in was down on power and it was only going to get worse, so I pulled behind the wall, our day was over”.
The early exit is particularly hard to stomach after such a concerted effort by the entire team to change engines before the race.
“I feel bad for everyone,” said Kennington. “All the guys did amazing work to get the car ready in time for the race. I hate it for all the great people that support us. We’re out here to contend for a championship. We’ll get back to the ovals and dig in to put everything we have into winning some races down the stretch”.
Next up DJ Kennington and the Castrol Edge Dodge team return to the ovals with a doubleheader event at Flamboro Speedway near Hamilton, Ontario on Sunday September 12th.
Prepared by TL Sports & Entertainment
