Submitted by Todd Lewis & TL Sports & Entertainment
Photo Credit: Gary Grant
June 26, 2011. Castrol Edge Dodge driver DJ Kennington’s season is officially back on track following round four of the2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at Mosport International Raceway. Following a third place finish at the last event Kennington scored his first win of the season on the famed road course near Bowmanville, Ontario and jumped to third in the overall point standings.
The weekend began under misty skies on Saturday where a damp track limited the number of on track laps and cancelled the qualifying session. By rule the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge would line up fourth on the starting grid. “We didn’t get a lot of laps because of the weather but the car felt good so we used our best guess on the set up for a dry and warm race day on Sunday” said Kennington.
When the 200km event began Sunday afternoon Kennington mixed it up with the front runners but as always gave each of his challengers plenty of racing room. “I would have liked to have led a lap earlier but I also wanted to pace myself and make sure our car was good for the end of the race” explained the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge driver.
Kennington along with Crew Chief Dave Wight had set up a strategy before the race that they would make a necessary pit stop for fuel when the window opened to allow them to go the rest of the distance and assess the tire situation. During the second caution period of the day the team made the stops. “The caution came out at the right time and we got our fuel” said Kennington. “The rest of the front runners came for tires so we did as well and we knew that now we were ready to go the distance” he added.
During the middle portion the race Kennington continued to spar with the rest of the leaders kept the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge continuously inside the top-five. “We still had a long way to go so I still didn’t want to push things too much” he stated.
Following the last caution period Kennington restarted the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge in third position. And from his position he could see there might be an opening before the race concluded. “The #84 and the #66 were fighting pretty good and I kept looking for a chance to grab another spot” he stated.
With the #84 car with his close friend J.R. Fitzpatrick leading Kennington moved the #17 Castrol Edge Doge past the #66 with only a couple of laps remaining. “I knew J.R. wasn’t going to give me much but I got a good run on him and when he was a little wide in corner eight I slid up inside” said the driver.
The victory was far from assured as Fitzpatrick immediately sought to retake the lead. Kennington ran the final laps perfectly and was first to the checkered flag to claim the win for the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge. “It’s so great to finally get this first road win in NASCAR” said Kennington. “It was a lot of fun racing with J.R. all day. We’re such good friends and we race each other hard but fair and that makes the win really special. It’s great for Castrol Edge, Mahindra, Hitachi Power Tools and all our sponsors that help us out so much” he stated.
DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team return to action during the Toronto Indy weekend on the streets at Exhibition Place July 8 & 9. Once again this year fans will be able to watch all twelve races on TSN. You can watch DJ Kennington race to victory at Mosport on Saturday July 2nd at 1:30PM.