May 29, 2011. DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team began their defense of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Championship this past weekend at Mosport Speedway near Bowmanville, Ontario. Kennington had a typically fast car but got tagged by other drivers on two separate occasions but still managed to bring home a top five finish.
The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge was near the top of the time sheets all during afternoon practice and Kennington would claim the fourth starting spot. “All the guys did a great job preparing the car and we were good right away” said Kennington. “We were able to try a couple of changes during practice and see how they might work during the race” he added.
As the 200 lap feature event began Kennington took the initial laps cautiously and settle into a comfortable pace. The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge got stronger as the race proceeded to the quarter mark and Kennington would take his first race lead of the season on lap 47 an claim the bonus points for leading a lap. “Everything was going according to plan early on” said the driver. “We got out front to get some bonus points and didn’t want to do anything too aggressive that early so I gave up the lead to a faster car” he explained.
After a green flag run of more than 100 laps the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge finally was able to stop for fuel and tires and once all stops cycled through Kennington found himself near the front of the field and late in the race was in position to claim if not the win then a top result. “Things got pretty aggressive at the end” said Kennington. “We got bumped by the #7 car and that set us back a bit” he stated.
As a result of losing several positions from the first incident, Kennington found himself back in more traffic and was again the victim. “That first knock put us back in tighter traffic and I got hit again, this time by the #19 car said Kennington.
The second bump while frustrating only fueled Kennington to push in the final few laps to gain as many positions back as he could. The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge would cross the finish line and claim a fifth place finish, a great accomplishment with so few laps remaining to make up spots. “We didn’t have the fastest car tonight and that’s why I let the #22 go earlier” stated Kennington. “It’s unfortunate we got bumped around a bit, but we did finish fifth which is one place better than we did last year at this race, and we lead some laps for bonus points. All in all things worked out okay” he summarized.
DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team return to action this coming weekend, June 4 & 5 at Circuit ICAR near Montreal, Quebec. Once again this year fans will be able to watch all twelve races on TSN. Check local listings for times.
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 Fans are also suggested to join the Facebook Group DJK Racing.
Photo: The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge Challenger at Mosport Speedway.
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