( #NCATS • @CastrolCanada • @DJKRacing ) DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team opened the 2014 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season during the Victoria Day Speedfest presented by Castrol at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park this past weekend. The challenge of working through the growing pains of a new car proved difficult but Kennington claimed a hard fought top five result in the race.
Practice for the team was limited to a handful of laps as the team worked to improve the handling of the car. That battle continued through qualifying and Kennington posted the 13th quickest time.
“It’s not up to our normal standard of performance so we discussed a plan to make changes for the race” said the driver.
As the scheduled 51 lap race began Kennington worked hard to improve his position in the field. Through scheduled pit stops the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge continued to make adjustments in the handling of the car to assist the driver.
Kennington maneuvered his way into the top ten and in the closing stages made one final push. A red flag situation stopped the race for a lengthy track clean up period and when the green waved for a two lap sprint to the Kennington knew this was his final opportunity to move forward.
On the final lap as every driver aggressively looked for opportunity Kennington jumped ahead to score a fifth place result.
“It got a little hectic in those laps and there was some contact out there. From where we started this weekend we’ll take a top five finish. We’ve got a baseline on this car now and we’ll better moving forward” he added.
Next up is the series first ever visit to the Autodrome Chaudière in Valle-Jonction, Quebec on Saturday June 14th.
Race fans are encouraged to keep up to date with the latest team news in several ways. Race fans should bookmark the team website www.djkracing.ca and follow them on twitter, @djkracing and also on Instagram. Fans should also “like” the DJK Racing Fan Page on Facebook.
Prepared by Todd Lewis & TL Sports & Entertainment, todd@tlsportsent.com (239) 961-2618
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