BARRIE, ON – September 9, 2012. Normally at NASCAR Canadian Tire Series events we see DJ Kennington piloting the familiar #17 Castrol Edge Dodge. But for round number 10 at Barrie Speedway on Sunday Kennington caught the racing world of guard with an eye catching new look. For this one event Kennington would race the #17 SuperClean Dodge.
The project was kept very quiet in advance with only a handful of people aware of the surprise to be revealed. “It was an idea that came up a few weeks ago” said Kennington. “We’re happy to have SuperClean products as part of our program this year and for the Barrie race we had coupons and sample giveaways and then we had this idea to make an even bigger splash and we came up with this great look for the #17 SuperClean Dodge and it sure got a lot of attention from everyone he explained.
Once the action began on the track though he had a different look to the car Kennington’s #17 SuperClean Dodge was running well. Rain sprinkles fell on the track just before qualifying and Kennington was one of the first to attempt time trails. He would manage the sixth quickest time.
As the 300 lap feature event began Kennington began looking for opportunities to move the #17 SuperClean Dodge forward in the field. “We didn’t have the best qualifying but as the race started to get going it was getting better” said the driver.
Continuing his steady progress in the #17 SuperClean Dodge Kennington ran comfortably inside the top five and following scheduled pit stops for service felt they were in a good position for the second half of the race. Suddenly, their fortunes changed.
Without warning the #17 SuperClean Dodge slowed on the track and fell back in the field. Kennington quickly brought the car to the attention of the crew. After diagnosing the problem with the fuel pump the team made the change and returned him to the race many laps down, their opportunity at a good result was lost.
“From there we just soldiered on as best we could. The car was right back to running fast after we changed part change, unfortunately these things happen”.
The #17 SuperClean Dodge would be classified 21st at the finish and tighten up the championship battle that Kennington still leads. “We knew even with a good lead that this sort of thing sometimes happens” explained Kennington. “We’re not hanging out heads though; we’ll be back next week ready to go at Riverside. I feel bad we couldn’t have a better finish for SuperClean with them on the car this weekend”.
Even with the disappointing result at Barrie Kennington sits atop the overall championship standings, 14 points ahead of second place.
DJ Kennington will be back in his familiar #17 Castrol Edge Dodge as the team returns to action this coming Saturday September 15th at Riverside Speedway near Antigonish, NS.
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 fans should also “like” the team Facebook Page DJK Racing.
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Prepared by Todd Lewis & TL Sports & Entertainment
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