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[/media-credit]In race number two of the three oval races stretch, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series heads to Delaware Speedway for the Emco 200. It will mark the fourth race of the season when the field takes the green flag on the half-mile.
It will mark the fourth race on the oval located in London, Ontario. in the previous three races, D.J. Kennington has found victory lane twice while Don Thomson Jr. found victory lane once.
For Kennington, his two victories came in 2009 and 2010 while he finished third last season while leading a total of 293 laps in those three starts. It’s no surprise to anybody at Kennington’s success so far as he began his racing career at Delaware as a kid.
The 2010 series champion will be looking for his second straight victory of the season as he won last weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s half-mile oval. Kennington’s consistency of five straight top-fives and six consecutive top 10s has paid off as he currently sits second in points, one point behind J.R. Fitpatrick.
Fitzpatrick will come into the event with experience on his pit box as last year’s winner Thomson Jr. is now his crew chief. Fitzpatrick has had success at Delaware in the past as he finished runner-up in 2010 and fifth last year, while leading a total of 64 laps over the past three years. Fitzpatrick will look to continue his string of consistant finishes after opening the season with a win at CTMP’s road course.
“The goal of this team is to win the championship. Period,” Fitzpatrick said at the start of the season.
However, part of that will be making sure communication with Thomson Jr. is solid. Back at CTMP after he won the race, he said that it was good as they clicked well together. Though he said earlier this week that there are some issues they need to work through.
“We do need to communicate better during the race in terms of adjustments,” Fitzpatrick says. “I need to be more specific on how the car is handling, so that we can get the right adjustments made.”
He also adds that part of it is the fact that he’s gets a little frustrated at times and he knows he has to get that better.
“J.R. is intense behind the wheel. That’s who he is and you’re not going to get that out of him,” Kennington says. “He’s just got to manage it. So far, it’s working for him.”
Beyond those pair, another driver to keep an eye on is Andrew Ranger as he enters this weekend sitting third in points, six points behind Fitzpatrick. This will mark Ranger’s first start at Delaware since racing there in 2009, where he finished eighth. However, he is on a roll as he has top 10 finishes in his last six Canadian Tire Series starts and has finished inside the top 10 in 25 of his last 26 starts, dating back to 2008.
Not in the championship picture, but one to watch is Mark Dilley. Last week in his 2012 season debut, he finished second at CTMP. He is splitting driving duties with Kerry Micks in the No. 02 PartSource/BDI/Leland Ford as they look to become the first to win the owner’s championship in a team effort. They currently sit eighth in owner’s points, 30 points behind the No. 84, which is driven by Fitzpatrick and owned by his father John. Last season, Dilley scored his best finish at Delaware when he finished 11th.
There are other drivers that bring momentum to Delaware as both Steve Côté and Noel Dowler (No. 5 notched their first series-career top-10 finishes. Côté’s finish allowed him to move up to first in the Rookie of the Year standings, one point ahead of Martin Roy. They will both be making their first starts at Delaware this weekend, along with L.P. Dumoulin, Roy, Ray Courtemanche Jr., Larry Jackson, Howie Scannell Jr. and Mike Scholz.
While he has not yet to find victory lane, Ron Beauchamp Jr. could break that spell as he has an average finish of 6.3. Last year, he finished ninth and had a runner-up finish in 2009. He is also coming into Delaware riding a wave of momentum as he has scored back-to-back top 10s in his last two series starts.
