EDMONTON, ALBERTA (July 22, 2012) – D.J. Kennington charged into the lead in a wild scramble at the finish of the Edmonton 100 at the Edmonton City Centre Airport on Sunday to score a record fourth consecutive victory in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1.He gained the lead when the first and second-place cars of Scott Steckly and J.R. Fitzpatrick came together on a restart as the field headed for a green-white-checkered finish.
Kennington – the 2010 series champion from of St. Thomas, Ontario – led the final two laps for his 15th career series win, which puts him in a tie with Andrew Ranger for the most career series wins. Jason Hathaway was second. Steckly, the pole-sitter who had dominated the event, managed to recover to finish fourth behind Trevor Seibert. Martin Roy was fifth. Kerry Micks, Andrew Ranger, Ron Beauchamp Jr., Jarred Whissell and Ryley Seibert rounded out the top 10. Fitzpatrick was unable to limp his car back around after the incident and finished 17th, two laps down.
Steckly, who established a track record in qualifying on Saturday, had dominated the event – dominated the event as it appeared the two-time series champion might gain his first career win on a road course. He maintained a considerable margin for much of the race over Fitzpatrick, leading by more than four seconds at times. That margin was erased, however, when the caution flew in the closing stages of the event.
An incident involving Andrew Ranger on an initial restart led to another caution and the subsequent restart when Steckly and Fitzpatrick came together going through the technical Turn 2 area. The race was slowed due to caution just two times for four laps. It marked the first race for the series on the 2.256-mile, 13-turn Edmonton course. Previous series events from 2007 to 2010 were staged on a 1.96-mile layout at the airport.
In the championship point standings, Kennington extended his lead to 35 points over Scott Steckly, who moved into the second position. Ranger remains in third place – 37 points in back of the leader – while Fitzpatrick fell to fourth. The Edmonton 100 will premiere on TSN2 on Saturday, July 28 at 3 p.m. ET and on RDS2 on Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 10 p.m. ET.
The Edmonton event, the third of five road course races this year, was part of a three-race swing by the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series through Western Canada that concludes with the Velocity Prairie Thunder presented by Bayer Crop Science at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, Sask., on Wednesday, July 25.
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NASCAR CANDADIAN TIRE SERIES presented by MOBIL 1 Edmonton 100 UNOFFICIAL Results
Sunday At Edmonton City Centre Airport
Edmonton, Alberta // Lap length: 2.256 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (6) D.J. Kennington, St. Thomas, Ont., Dodge, 31 laps, 70.268 mph.
2. (8) Jason Hathaway, Dutton, Ont., Dodge, 31.
3. (10) Trevor Seibert, Williams Lake, B.C., Dodge, 31.
4. (1) Scott Steckly, Milverton, Ont., Dodge, 31.
5. (13) Martin Roy, Napierville, Que, Dodge, 31.
6. (7) Kerry Micks, Mt. Albert, Ont., Ford, 31.
7. (2) Andrew Ranger, Roxton Pond, Que., Dodge, 31.
8. (9) Ron Beauchamp, Jr., Windsor, Ont., Dodge, 31.
9. (11) Jarrad Whissell, Calgary, Alta., Ford, 31.
10. (12) Ryley Seibert, Williams Lake, B.C., Dodge, 31.
11. (17) Noel Dowler, Sherwood Park, Alta., Dodge, 31.
12. (5) Robin Buck, Campbellville, Ont., Dodge, 31.
13. (18) Joey McColm, Ajax, Ont., Dodge, 31.
14. (15) Jason White, Sun Peaks, B.C., Dodge, 31.
15. (14) Kevin Dowler, Sherwood Park, Alta., Dodge, 31.
16. (21) Mike Scholz, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Chevrolet, 30.
17. (3) J.R. Fitzpatrick, Cambridge, Ont., Chevrolet, 29, accident.
18. (20) Todd Nichol, St. Albert, Alta., Chevrolet, 14, suspension.
19. (16) James Van Domselaar, Ft. Saskatchewan, Alta., Chevrolet, 14, suspension.
20. (4) L.P. Dumoulin, Trois-Rivieres, Que., Dodge, 3, engine.
21. (19) Kelly Admiraal, Edmonton, Alta., Chevrolet, 3, off track.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 0 hours 59 minutes 43 seconds // Margin of Victory: .312 seconds // Fastest Qualifier: S.Steckly (85.003 mph, 95.545 seconds) // Caution Flags: 2 for 4 laps. // Lead Changes: 1 among 2 drivers. // Lap Leaders: S. Steckly 1-29; D. Kennington 30-31. // Standings: 1. D. Kennington, 274; 2. S. Steckly, 239; 3. A. Ranger, 237; 4. J. Fitzpatrick, 231; 5. J. Hathaway, 223; 6. R. Beauchamp,Jr., 211; 7. L. Dumoulin, 205; 8. J. White, 203; 9. M. Roy, 194; 10. N. Dowler, 180.
From Shon Sbarra /Integrated Marketing Communications
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