Saskatoon, SK, Wednesday July 17, 2013: – Scott Steckly did what a lot of drivers have dreamt of doing, he swept the two race NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Western swing with back to back victories in Vernon, BC and Saskatoon, SK. The Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 presented by Bayer Crop Science was the sixth event and the half way mark of the 2013 season.
Steckly driver of the 22 Racing/Canadian Tire Dodge posted the fastest time during the two half hour practice sessions on Wednesday afternoon. Next up for the team was technical inspection,then qualifying for the 250 lap event.
Steckly drew the short straw and would have to go out first of the twenty two cars to complete his timed laps.
“The track sits empty for two or three hours between practice and qualifying so a lot of dust builds up on it,” said Steckly. “When you go out first you are dealing with that more so than the other drivers will later in the session.” Steckly would overcome the disadvantage and qualify 7th overall. “I think we will be fine in the race as we are better than our seventh place qualifying effort.”
The 250 lap event had Steckly quickly move into the top five where he ran for the first 50 laps. The team pitted for race fuel around lap 65 and returned to the track in third position. The next caution flag waved around the half way mark of the race and the Canadian Tire Dodge driver came back to pit road to the attention of his crew.
Two right side tires were bolted on and Steckly was now ready to go the distance. Steckly battled his way to the front and with about fifty to go he took the lead for the final time.
“The car was great again, thanks to my crew,” said a smiling Steckly after the race. “After our slow start now we have put together a string of great finishes that will help us to move up in the Championship point standings. We love coming to Saskatoon, the fans here are amazing and we had a great contingent of Canadian Tire fans here cheering us on. Doesn’t get any better than that.”
The 22 Racing/Canadian Tire Dodge team are now shown tied for second in the 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Championship point standings, just five points out of the top spot.
The Velocity Prairie Thunder presented by Bayer Crop Science will air on TSN/TSN2 on Sunday July 28 at 11:00 a.m and on RDS/RDS2 on Fri. Aug. 16 at 11 p.m.
The team will get a much needed weekend off and then prepare for the next event as they return to Autodrome St. Eustache on Saturday July 27th.
Scott Steckly and the 22 Racing Team is supported by the following sponsors: Canadian Tire, Sylvania, Mobil 1, Erb Group, Johnsonville and AW Millwrights.
For more information on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series please visit www.nascarhometracks.com
Follow Scott Steckly and his team at www.22racing.ca or on Twitter @ScottSteckly22
For more information please contact:
Linda Jones/ (705) 730-4044 / ljones@drivenmi.com
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