ST-EUSTACHE, QC – Seven races into the 2013 season, Scott Steckly driver of the 22 Racing/Canadian Tire/Sylvania Dodge held off challenges from J.R. Fitzpatrickk & rookie Alex Guenette to win his third straight NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 event and take over the Championship points lead.
The Milverton, Ontario driver has now strung three wins together starting with the two Western swing races at Motoplerx Speedway, Vernon, BC and Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, SK. Steckly has this track to add to his favourites list as in 5 appearances here he has three wins and a worst finish of 4th.
The 22 Racing Team again gave Steckly a great car right from the start of practice as Steckly consistantly notched times that had him at the top of the charts.
When practice ended the Canadian Tire Dodge was shown in the number one spot with a practice time of 17.288.
Steckly was eighth off the grid with his 22 Racing Dodge to qualify later in the afternoon. He quickly went to the top of the charts, a position he held until the last qualifier went out and posted a lap that was 8/1000’s quicker leaving Steckly starting from the second position in the National 250. “I am a little disappointed because we knew we had a car that could qualify first and track position is so important here,” said Steckly after practice. “We are on the front row though so that is good. My challenge will be getting to the inside groove at the start of the race. I will rely heavily on my spotter Ken Catteau to help me to do that.”
The Canadian Tire driver would start on the outside of row one for the National 250 and as it is very hard to pass on the outside groove at this .4 mile bullring, he fell back to sixth. Steckly would just set his own pace and run in the top six for the next 175 laps when the caution finally waved and he could bring the car down pit lane for tires and adjustments. “My team is incredible – they knew the changes we needed to make on the pit stop and the car was very fast after that,” said Steckly after the race. During the final 40 laps Steckly and J.R. Fitzpatrick would battle for the lead with each taking the point several times.
After the final caution on lap 243, Steckly was able to go to the front and hold off a hungry Alex Guenette for the win. “There are no words that cover this,” said a smiling Steckly. “My crew, led by crew chief Randy Steckly, car chief Greg Gibson and Tyler Case who works in the shop full time and is crew chierf to my teammate LP Dumoulin, just do such a terrific job. The entire 22 Racing Team are second to none in this sport and I have to take my hat off to them for giving me another winning race car.”
The National 250 will air on TSN/TSN2 on Sunday Aug. 4 at 11:00 a.m and on RDS/RDS2 on Sat. Aug. 24 at 11 p.m. and Sun. Aug. 25 at 10 a.m.
Next on the schedule for the 22 Racing Team is the Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres, QC and the JuliaWine.com 100 on August 11th.
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
From Linda Jones
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