SASKATOON, SK – The “Kennington Express” continued to rumble across Canada on Wednesday as D.J. Kennington scored his fifth straight win in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 with a victory at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in the Velocity Prairie Thunder presented by Bayer Crop Science.
With each win, the 2010 series champion from of St. Thomas, Ont., has extended the series record for consecutive victories. Kennington’s win at Saskatoon also puts him atop the list of career series victories, with 16.
Kennington, who started fifth on the grid in his No. 17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge, led briefly just past the midway point of the race before being passed by Jason Hathaway. Kennington gained the lead back when Hathaway’s car broke on a Lap 196 restart. From there he held off numerous challenges from pole-sitter J.R. Fitzpatrick and Mark Dilley. Kennington held on for the win, despite contact with Dilley in Turn 3 on the last lap. Dilley took second, with Fitzpatrick crossing the line in third. Defending series champion Scott Steckly finished fourth, with Jim White in fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Andrew Ranger, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin, Ron Beauchamp Jr., Nick Jewell and Martin Roy.
The 250-lap race featured five lead changes among four drivers – Kennington, Fitzpatrick, Steckly and Hathaway. The pace of the event was slowed by six cautions covering 46 laps.
Kennington became the first driver with multiple wins on the .333-mile Saskatoon track, having also won there in 2010.
In the point standings, Kennington has opened a formidable lead of 41 points over Steckly with Ranger and Fitzpatrick holding down the third and fourth positions, respectively.
The Velocity Prairie Thunder presented by Bayer Crop Science will be telecast by TSN2 on Saturday, Aug. 4 at 6:30 p.m. ET and RDS2 on Sunday, Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The event was the seventh of 12 races on this year’s schedule and the third in a three-race swing by the series through Western Canada that featured races at Motoplex Speedway and Event Park in Vernon, British Columbia, and Edmonton City Centre Airport in Edmonton, Alberta.
The next event for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 will be the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres (Que.) on Aug. 3-5.
Contact:
Shon Sbarra
Intergrated Marketing Communications
(704) 309-5493
ssbarra@nascar.com
NASCAR CANDADIAN TIRE SERIES presented by MOBIL 1-Velocity Prairie Thunder presented by Bayer Crop Science UNOFFICIAL Results
Wednesday
At Auto Clearing Motor Speedway
Saskatoon, Sk.
Lap length: 0.333 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (5) D.J. Kennington, St. Thomas, Ont., Dodge, 250 laps, 59.323 mph.
2. (2) Mark Dilley, Barrie, Ont., Ford, 250.
3. (1) J.R. Fitzpatrick, Cambridge, Ont., Chevrolet, 250.
4. (7) Scott Steckly, Milverton, Ont., Dodge, 250.
5. (12) Jim White, Kamloops, B.C., Dodge, 250.
6. (8) Andrew Ranger, Roxton Pond, Que., Dodge, 250.
7. (11) L.P. Dumoulin, Trois-Rivieres, Que., Dodge, 250.
8. (6) Ron Beauchamp, Jr., Windsor, Ont., Dodge, 250.
9. (14) Nick Jewell, The Pas, Man., Dodge, 249.
10. (3) Martin Roy, Napierville, Que, Dodge, 248.
11. (22) Jarrad Whissell, Calgary, Alta., Ford, 246.
12. (16) Mike Scholz, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Chevrolet, 245.
13. (17) Ryley Seibert, Williams Lake, B.C., Ford, 245.
14. (13) Dan Shirley, Saskatoon, Sask., Chevrolet, 245.
15. (15) Bob De Lorme, Calgary, Alta., Chevrolet, 244.
16. (18) Noel Dowler, Sherwood Park, Alta., Dodge, 243.
17. (21) Jason Hankewich, Kindersley, Sask., Dodge, 243.
18. (4) Nathan Weenk, Lethbridge, Alta., Chevrolet, 238.
19. (19) James Van Domselaar, Ft. Saskatchewan, Alta., Chevrolet, 231.
20. (20) Jason White, Sun Peaks, B.C., Dodge, 214.
21. (9) Jason Hathaway, Dutton, Ont., Dodge, 195, suspension.
22. (10) Trevor Seibert, Williams Lake, B.C., Dodge, 148, engine.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 24 minutes 12 seconds
Margin of Victory: .122 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: J.Fitzpatrick (81.801 mph, 14.655 seconds)
Caution Flags: 6 for 46 laps.
Lead Changes: 5 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J.R. Fitzpatrick 1-78; S. Steckly 79-131; J. Fitzpatrick 132-138; D.J. Kennington 139-160; J. Hathaway 161-194; D. Kennington 195-250.
Standings: 1. D.J. Kennington, 321; 2. S. Steckly, 280; 3. A. Ranger, 275; 4. J.R. Fitzpatrick, 274; 5. J. Hathaway, 247; 6. R. Beauchamp,Jr., 247; 7. L. Dumoulin, 242; 8. M. Roy, 228; 9. J. White, 227; 10. N. Dowler, 208.
From Shon Sbarra / IMC
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