VERNON, BC – The 22 Racing team headed out to Sun Valley Speedway in Vernon, BC for the first of two western races in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. Scott Steckly, driver of the Erb Group Dodge Charger was looking to turn around what has been a disappointing start to the season, with good showings at the race in Vernon this past weekend and Edmonton this week. The team was able to qualify up front like they have all season, this time starting in fourth.
The 300 lap event went on Sunday night. Steckly had the most dominant car of the race right from the get go. Starting in fourth, Scott was able to work his way into the lead by lap 60. The Erb Group Dodge would relinquish, when Steckly pitted under caution on lap 109. Scott then restarted the race in ninth place.
Again, Steckly started heading right back to the front. Steckly would go on to lead most of the laps, until the end. A green/ white checkered flag set up a two lap showdown between Scott and JR Fitzpatrick. Steckly’s car always took about three laps to get up to full speed. The two drivers raced door to door for two full laps.
Both cars where even entering the final turn of the final lap. As they approached the finish line, Fitzpatrick appeared to have edged Scott. Nobody in the crowd knew for sure who had won the race. As the cars slowed down to enter turn one, JR Fitzpatrick was declared the winner. He beat Steckly by the slim margin of .029 seconds. Steckly went on to lead 142 of the 300 laps in the race. During one stretch Scott opened a four second lead on his next closest competitor.
Following the race Scott was both encouraged by the strong run, but disappointed he could not bring home the victory in a race he clearly dominated. “My car was awesome tonight and felt really, really comfortable, but it took me about three laps to get it going,” said the disappointed Steckly. “And Fitzpatrick knew that from the previous restarts and took advantage of it.”
The next race in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is Saturday, July 21 at the Edmonton Grand Prix.
The 22 Racing team is proudly sponsored by: Erb Group of Companies, AW Millwrights, International Dealers: Diamond International (Edmonton, AB), Sommers Motor Generator Sales, D.H. Jutzi Limited, Groeneveld, Thermo King of Eastern Canada, Twin City Graphics, Chris Root Precision Machine, Stratford Motor Products, Generation Filtration, Mr. Transmission (Guelph), Commercial Babcock, Classy Collectibles, Glasvan Great Dane, Motorsport Design, Milverton Garage.
Contact kyle_erb@sympatico.ca for more information or visit www.nascar.ca for the latest news on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.
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