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| NASCAR/MUNAGAN |
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- For those chasing Scott Steckly in the championship point standings heading west to Motoplex Speedway and Event Park is not good news. The Vernon, B.C., half-mile tri-oval is perhaps Steckly’s strongest track.
In four starts there, the Milverton, Ontario, driver has a win and three second-place showings. The victory came last season as he beat out eventual NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion D.J. Kennington.
He was about 300 yards from the win in 2007 as he and J.R. Fitzpatrick came out of Turn 4 side-by-side, but Fitzpatrick was able to get a nose in front at the line to win by a scant .029. Steckly finished second to Don Thomson Jr. in 2008 and Andrew Ranger in 2009.
Steckly, the 2008 series champion, has a 92-point advantage on Kennington in the standings and has finished inside the top five in all five races this season including a win in the season opener at Mosport Speedway in Bowmanville, Ont.
Just as it was in that championship season of 2008, Steckly has been atop the point standings from the outset. As a comparison, after five events in 2008 he had an 111-point lead before winning the title by much slimmer 24 points over Thomson.
He is looking to bring Canadian Tire its first title after Steckly picked up the sponsorship in 2009 from Peter Gibbons.
“Canadian Tire has been so good to our race team and is so deserving of a championship,” Steckly said. “We’re going to do everything in our power to make it happen.”
There is not a specific reason for the success at Motoplex according to Steckly.
“It’s a great track to race. The surface is good. The lights are good. There’s little to not like,” Steckly said. “I think we‘ve earned our success there, but it’s probably more circumstance than anything. I doubt we have something figured out there that no one else does.”
Secrets or not, it will be a long shot for anyone to make a sizeable dent in Steckly’s points lead before the series heads to Saskatoon, Sask., for a Wednesday date at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway for its second event in a five-day span.
| Race | A&W Cruisin’ The Dub 300 |
|---|---|
| Place | Motoplex Speedway & Event Park, Vernon, B.C. |
| Date | Saturday, July 23 |
| Time | 8 p.m. PT |
| TV Schedule | TSN, Sat., July 30, 2 p.m. ET |
| Track Layout | Half-mile tri-oval |
| 2010 Winner | Scott Steckly |
| 2010 Polesitter | D.J. Kennington |
| Event Schedule | Practice: 1:30-2:30 p.m.; Qualifying: 5:30 p.m.; Autograph Session: 6:30 p.m. |
| Track Contact | Bob Newcombe, (250) 542-9090, info@motoplexspeedway.com |
| NASCAR IMC Contact | Shon Sbarra, (704) 309-5493 or ssbarra@nascar.com |
FAST FACTS
The Race: This event is the sixth of 12 races on the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule and the third of seven races this season on ovals. This is the series’ fifth visit to the track. It also is the first of a two-race swing to Western Canada.
The Race: This event is the sixth of 12 races on the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule and the third of seven races this season on ovals. This is the series’ fifth visit to the track. It also is the first of a two-race swing to Western Canada.
The Procedure: The starting field is 20 cars, including provisionals. The first 17 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 300 laps covering 150 miles.
The Track: The Motoplex Speedway half-mile banked tri-oval is 55 feet wide on the front and back straights, and 60 feet wide in the turns. Banking in Turns 1 and 2 is 11 degrees, while Turns 3 and 4 are banked at 14 degrees. The facility has seating for 7,500 spectators, including corporate hospitality facilities and VIP suites. The track's first event took place on August 12, 2000. The track was known as SunValley Speedway through the 2009 season.
The Records: The one-lap qualifying record for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at the track is 18.168 seconds (99.075 mph), set by D.J. Kennington on July 31, 2010. The 300-lap race record was established on July 18, 2009 by Andrew Ranger at 1 hour, 52 minutes, 29 seconds for an average speed of 81.612 mph.
The History: Four different drivers – J.R. Fitzpatrick, Andrew Ranger, Scott Steckly and Don Thomson Jr. – have won at the Vernon, B.C., track. Last season, Scott Steckly earned the win by the widest margin in series history at the track at just .811. Kennington, Thomson, Mark Dilley and Anthony Simone rounded out the top five.
RACE NOTES
Long Haul: Not only is Vernon, B.C., the longest trip most of the teams make in a season, the A&W Cruisin’ The Dub 300 at 150 miles is the longest race of the season. There are two other 300-lap events on the schedule – Barrie (Ont.) Speedway and Riverside International Speedway in Antigonish, N.S. – but they are both on .333-mile tracks.
Long Haul: Not only is Vernon, B.C., the longest trip most of the teams make in a season, the A&W Cruisin’ The Dub 300 at 150 miles is the longest race of the season. There are two other 300-lap events on the schedule – Barrie (Ont.) Speedway and Riverside International Speedway in Antigonish, N.S. – but they are both on .333-mile tracks.
Three’s Company: Sarah Cornett-Ching will be making her NASCAR Canadian Tire Series debut in the A&W Cruisin’ The Dub 300 and she will become the sixth female driver to compete in the series. She will be joined in the field by fellow females Shannon Harding and Isabelle Tremblay. It may be the second time that three female drivers have started a series race. Last season in Montreal, Tremblay was joined by Caitlin Johnston and Maryeve Dufault.
Just Turn Left: After competing in three road-course events, Noel Dowler, 18, will make his first series start on an oval track. He finished 22nd in his last start at the Streets of Toronto 100. Joining Dowler in making his oval-track debut is Jarrad Whissell, who has 15 series starts on road course under his belt.