July 24, 2011. DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team began the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series swing through western Canada with another strong outing. Now at the half way point of the season, Kennington and the team have hit their stride and grabbed a second place finish at round number six at Motoplex Speedway near Vernon, BC.
Kennington posted the quickest practice time during afternoon practice on the half mile “D shaped†oval and was just nudged off the pole position late in the qualifying session. The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge would line up on the outside of row one for the start of the grueling 300 lap feature event. “We had a really great car right from the start, we made some small adjustments to try and help it turn and anticipate the changing track conditions†said Kennington.
When the race began Kennington immediately jumped in front to secure five bonus points for leading a lap. He would keep the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge in the lead for the first 130 laps of the race. “Everything was going really well in the first half of the race†said the driver. “I didn’t have to push the car at all and we were able to stay out front and end up leading the most laps in the race for another five bonus points†he added.
Kennington would surrender the lead after bringing the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge to pit road for a scheduled a pit stop. “Our plan was to make our final stop for tires and then push to the end†he stated.
As the race laps wound down Kennington had the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge in good position for another great finish and perhaps a victory. Circumstances worked against him however with several late caution periods. “Our car was fantastic, but we just needed about ten laps or so for the handling to be perfect†he described. “We just didn’t get a long enough run at the end to run down the #22 carâ€Â.
Kennington would bring the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge to the finish line scoring a second place finish. “What a great job the whole team did†said the driver. “Getting ready for this trip is a lot of work and then traveling across the Country, we just couldn’t do it without all of our partners. Castrol of course and I want to thank Dwight Kennedy at Northern Provincial Pipeline who always helps us out on this western swing as well. We got one win earlier this year and we plan on some more so why not start with Saskatoon in a couple of days†he stated.
DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team will next be in action next on Wednesday July 27th at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon Saskatchewan. Once again this year fans will be able to watch all twelve races on TSN.
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, www.twitter.com/djkracing and look for the new DJK Racing Fan Page on Facebook.
Photo: The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge practicing at Motoplex Speedway by Todd Lewis
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