The strong season in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series for St. Thomas, ON driver DJ Kennington continued Saturday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge was up front at the final road course event of the season and Kennington recorded his ninth top five finish of the year in as many events.
The race in Montreal at the historic track always attracts a large contingent of road racing specialists and this weekend was no exception as 39 cars attempted to qualify for the race. The goal was to secure another solid result and maintain the overall points lead.
Throughout practice Kennington was strong in the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge posting the fourth quickest lap time. During qualifying he went one better and scored a third place starting spot. “I got everything I could out of that lap” said Kennington afterwards. “I was really working hard and it paid off with a great time” he added.
As the 100km event began Saturday morning Kennington kept the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge within striking distance of the leaders. “It was a fast pace early and I didn’t want to push too hard right away” said the driver. “The goal was to stay close and be there to take advantage if we have the chance like earlier this year in Edmonton when we grabbed the win” he stated.
The disciplined driver stayed in the hunt throughout the race and was in position to capitalize on what turned out to be the final restart of the race. Sadly for the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge driver a yellow flag on the final lap stalled his progress and he would cross the finish line fifth. “We had another solid race, another top five is a good day for us in the points” he said. “Now we’ve got three oval races left in the season and we’ll be looking for more wins” he added.
With the fifth place result in Montreal Kennington sits atop the overall championship standings, 33 points ahead of second.
DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team return to action on Saturday September 8th at Barrie Speedway just north of Barrie, ON.
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, @djkracing and fans should also “like” the team Facebook Page DJK Racing.
