July 25, 2010. DJ Kennington, driver of the #17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors/Hitachi Tools Dodge had been a model of consistency through the first four events of the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season. After posting two victories and recording an average finishing position of 2.8 Kennington appeared to be continuing on that path as the series opened the swing through western Canada at the Edmonton Indy weekend.
On the final lap of the 100km event fortunes for the #17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors/Hitachi Tools Dodge team changed dramatically when a part failure caused Kennington to spin sideways out of the fifth position he was running in.
The entire weekend for the #17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors/Hitachi Tools Dodge team had gone according to plan. Kennington as usual was among the top runners in all sessions and scored the sixth quickest time during qualifying. “We had a good lap to give us a solid starting spot, and then afterwards we made some adjustments to the car for the race” explained Kennington. “I was pretty confident that we’d be very competitive” he added.
As the 100km event began Kennington had the #17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors/Hitachi Tools Dodge in the middle of the battle by competitors from third through sixth spot. “It was some very good racing by everyone” said Kennington. “We all looked to improve our spot, and gave each other room to race it was a lot of fun” he added.
The battled between the #17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors/Hitachi Tools Dodge and the other drivers continued into the late stages and Kennington was able to slip by the #02 car and into the top-five. “That was our minimum goal and we got into the top-five” said the driver.
As Kennington accepted the white flag indicating the final lap for the #17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors/Hitachi Tools Dodge he headed for home appearing to have the position secured. However without warning a powerful part failure occurred and sent the car spinning in one of the final corners. “I don’t know what happened the car just snapped out from under me” said the disappointed driver. "This is very out of character but it does happen, we’ll just have to bounce back next week in Vernon with the car that’s won twice this year” he stated and smiled with confidence.
The series continues its run in western Canada with a stop next Saturday July 31st at Motoplex Speedway near Vernon, BC. Follow the progress of the #17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge all season on the newly redesigned website www.djkracing.ca plus you can follow their daily activities at www.twitter.com/djkracing. You’re also invited to join the Facebook Group DJK Racing.
Photo: DJ Kennington confers with Crew Chief Dave Whyte prior to qualifying the #17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors/Hitachi Tools Dodge in Edmonton
Photos Credit: Todd Lewis
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