Saskatoon, Sask., Canada (Aug. 4, 2010) – DJ Kennington has been the king of the ovals in 2010. He picked up his third win of the season on an oval track by taking the checkered flag Wednesday night in the Velocity Prairie Thunder at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway.
The St. Thomas, Ont., driver - who had started from the pole after setting the fast time in qualifying - gained the lead following a round of pit stops late in the race. He led a race-high 132 laps en route to his seventh series victory.
JR Fitzpatrick, who is locked in a back-and-forth battle for the championship with Kennington and held a six-point edge coming into the event, charged from 14th on the grid to finish second. Fitzpatrick had made a run at Kennington on the restart just after all the leaders pitted, but could not make it stick.
With the win, Kennington vaulted back past Fitzpatrick to take a 14-point lead in the standings.
Third place in the race went to Don Thomson Jr., with Scott Steckly finishing fourth and John Gaunt in fifth. Jason Hathaway, Kerry Micks, Mark Dilley, Anthony Simone and Nathan Weenk completed the top 10.
After starting alongside each other on the front row, Thomson and Kennington exchanged the lead throughout the first half of the race. Thomson began to pull away midway through the 250-lap event, but his margin was erased when the caution came out. Pit stops put him back to fifth, but he fought back to get past Steckly late in the race.
The race was slowed just three times due to caution for 36 laps and the race lead changed five times between Kennington and Thomson.
In the championship point standings, Steckly and Thomson are closing in on the top two, as they try to make a push for the title as the season winds down.
The TSN telecast of the Velocity Prairie Thunder will air on Saturday, August 21 at 1 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 returns to road-course action in its next outing for the GP3R 100 in Trois-Rivieres, Que., on Sunday, Aug. 15 as part of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.
For more information, contact: Shon Sbarra, NASCAR Public Relations, (704) 309-5493 or ssbarra@nascar.com
NASCAR CANADIAN TIRE SERIES presented by MOBIL 1-Velocity Prairie Thunder UNOFFICIAL Results
Wednesday
At Auto Clearing Motor Speedway
Saskatoon, Sask.
Lap length: 0.333 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) DJ Kennington, St. Thomas, Ont., Dodge, 250 laps, 64.828 mph, $8,800.
2. (14) JR Fitzpatrick, Cambridge, Ont., Chevrolet, 250, $8,800.
3. (2) Don Thomson, Jr., Hamilton, Ont., Chevrolet, 250, $4,400.
4. (3) Scott Steckly, Milverton, Ont., Dodge, 250, $5,400.
5. (8) John Gaunt, Barrie, Ont., Dodge, 250, $4,400.
6. (6) Jason Hathaway, Appin, Ont., Dodge, 250, $3,700.
7. (5) Kerry Micks, Mt. Albert, Ont., Ford, 250, $2,600.
8. (9) Mark Dilley, Barrie, Ont., Dodge, 249, $3,250.
9. (13) Anthony Simone, Holland Landing, Ont., Chevrolet, 248, $2,400.
10. (10) Nathan Weenk, Lethbridge, Alberta, Chevrolet, 248, $2,300.
11. (4) Ron Beauchamp, Jr., Windsor, Ont., Dodge, 248, $2,700.
12. (16) Joey McColm, Ajax, Ont., Dodge, 247, $2,100.
13. (18) Pierre Bourque, Ottawa, Ont., Dodge, 247, $2,000.
14. (15) James Van Domselaar, Ft. Saskatchewan, Alta., Chevrolet, 246, $1,900.
15. (17) Dexter Stacey, Kahnawake, Que., Dodge, 246, $1,800.
16. (12) Todd Nichol, St. Albert, Alta., Chevrolet, 244, $1,700.
17. (7) Derek White, Kahnawake, Que., Chevrolet, 206, $1,600.
18. (11) Jason White, Sun Peaks, B.C., Chevrolet, 185, $1,550.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 17 minutes 3 seconds
Margin of Victory: .507 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: D.Kennington (80.869 mph, 14.824 seconds)
Caution Flags: 3 for 36 laps.
Lead Changes: 5 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Thomson,Jr. 1-6; D. Kennington 7-36; D. Thomson,Jr. 37-58; D. Kennington 59-118; D. Thomson,Jr. 119-208; D. Kennington 209-250.
Standings: 1. D. Kennington, 1178; 2. J. Fitzpatrick, 1164; 3. S. Steckly, 1095; 4. D. Thomson,Jr., 1049; 5. K. Micks, 1036; 6. J. Hathaway, 968; 7. M. Dilley, 917; 8. A. Simone, 873; 9. R. Beauchamp,Jr., 870; 10. P. Bourque, 840.
