NCATS: DJ KENNINGTON SNAGS POLE, BUT NIGHT ENDS EARLY FOR CASTROL DODGE

May 27, 2007. The first ever event in the new NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, The Dodge Dealers 200, at Cayuga Speedway started out perfectly for DJ Kennington and the Castrol Dodge Crew, however a mechanical failure would bring their day to a premature end.

The Castrol Dodge team began the day with solid practice times and was among the quickest participants through the entire practice session. “The car felt good when we tested at Cayuga a couple of weeks ago, and it was solid again” said the Kennington.

Throwing down the gauntlet Kennington put in a blistering qualifying lap time of 20.785 seconds or an average speed of 108.251 mph to take pole position in the first event series event. “It was a great lap” smiled Kennington afterwards. “Everything hit just right and we had the starting position we wanted.”

As the green flag waved on the Dodge Dealers 200 Kennington lead the field of 23 cars into corner number one and emerged out front and looked to settle into an even pace early in the race. However after only one lap into the race things began to unravel for the Castrol Dodge team. “I knew something was wrong right away” said the Castrol Dodge driver. “The car was all over and I could barely hang on. Once we got to pit road and the guys had a look we knew how serious it was”.

Crew Chief Dave Whyte and the Castrol Crew diagnosed it was a broken trailing arm on the right rear of the car. Serious enough that the Castrol Car was pushed behind the pit wall for lengthy repairs. Showing their “no quit” attitude the team worked feverishly to make repairs and though they were many laps down Kennington did return briefly later in the race. “We just wanted to show everybody how fast this Castrol Dodge was said Kennington later. “It was just an unfortunate mechanical failure that really cost us a top finish in this first ever. Now we’re going to be hungrier than ever for the next race at Mosport, and track where we’ve had some success”.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire series resumes with round two of the season on the Fathers Day weekend at Mosport International Raceway. The rest of the season will feature events from coast to coast in Canada including stops at the best ovals in the Country along with temporary street circuits in Edmonton and Trois Rivieres. Look for more information all season at www.nascarlocalracing.com All twelve races of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will also be broadcast on TSN.

Prepared by Todd Lewis, TL Sports & Entertainment