Statistical Advance: Analyzing The Clarington 200 At The Speedway At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 18, 2013) – The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 makes its final visit to the Speedway at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario on Saturday, June 22. The Clarington 200 is scheduled to take the green flag at 7 p.m. ET. Below is a statistical look at the recent performance of selected drivers at Delaware, as well as some other statistical trends:

CTMP Speedway Race Setup

·         This is the final NASCAR Canadian Tire Series event at the track as track management recently announced that it will cease operation at the oval track later this summer to continue the extensive renovation of the facility and road-course circuit over the past couple years.

·         D.J. Kennington is the defending race champion and leads active drivers with 260 laps led on the half-mile oval at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

·         Scott Steckly, who has three top-10 finishes in six starts on the CTMP oval including a win in 2011, is coming off a pair of sub-par performances to start the 2013 season.

·         Ron Beauchamp Jr. has a streak of four straight top-10 finishes at the Bowmanville oval.

·         Jason Hathaway has scored a top 10 in five of his six outings on the CTMP half-mile track.

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series At The Speedway At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

·         This is the series’ seventh and final visit to the Ontario half-mile oval.

·         Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford each have two wins. Don Thomson Jr. took Chevy in 2007 and 2010. Kerry Micks (2008) and Andrew Ranger (2009) drove Fords to the win. And Steckly (2011) and Kennington (2012) took Dodge to the winner’s circle in each of the last two years.

·         There has been an average of 6.83 caution periods for an average of 48.67 laps in the six prior races with the earliest coming at Lap 5 in 2007 and the latest at Lap 201 in 2007 during attempts at a green-white-checkered finish.

·         The average starting position of the winner is 4.83, while the polesitter has an average finish of 9.5.

·         The highest number of cautions in the previous five events is 10 in 2010 while the fewest is five accomplished three times (2009, 2011 and 2012).

·         The most laps led by a race winner are 181 by Don Thomson Jr. in 2007 and the fewest is two by Kerry Micks in 2008.

·         The Clarington 200 has been run in August four times and once in May and June

·         There has been an average of 6.17 lead changes in the previous six events.

·         Two – 2007 and 2011 – of the six events have gone beyond the 200-lap advertised distance, but four of the last five races ended at the scheduled 200-lap mark.

·         The race’s television premieres are scheduled for Sunday, June 30 at 1 p.m. ET on TSN and Friday, July 9 at 11 p.m. ET on RDS2.

CTMP Speedway Data

Race: #3 of 12 (6/22/13)

Track Layout: Half-mile paved oval

Race Length: 200 laps (100 miles)

Records

1-Lap Qualifying: Pete Shepherd III, Dodge, 21.517 seconds, 83.655 mph, June 16, 2012

200-Lap Race: Scott Steckly, Dodge, 1 hr., 30 min., 21 sec., 66.740 mph, May 28, 2011

Race Winners

Don Thomson Jr. …………………………. 2

D.J. Kennington ………………………….. 1

Kerry Micks ………………………………… 1

Andrew Ranger ……………………………. 1

Scott Steckly ……………………………… 1

Pole Winners

J.R. Fitzpatrick ……………………………. 2

D.J. Kennington ………………………….. 1

Pete Shepherd III …………………………. 1

Don Thomson Jr. …………………………. 1

Manufacturer Wins

Chevrolet …………………………………… 2

Dodge……………………………………….. 2

Ford …………………………………………. 2

Laps Led

Don Thomson Jr. ……………………… 311

D.J. Kennington ……………………….. 260

Scott Steckly …………………………… 248

Selected Driver Information:

Ron Beauchamp Jr. (No. 60 Mopar/Exide/Pennzoil Dodge)

·         Finished eighth last season in the Clarington 200.

·         Scored a career-best CTMP oval finish of fourth in 2009 and 2010.

·         Has four consecutive top-10 finishes in six starts at the Ontario oval.

·         One of four drivers to start all 77 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

Mark Dilley (No. 02 Leland/Beyond Digital Imaging/Dickies Ford)

·         Was the runner-up a year ago on the CTMP speedway.

·         Also finished second in 2007 and 2008.

·         Has led 72 laps in his series career on the Bowmanville half-mile track.

·         Has posted top-10 finishes in three of his last five series starts dating back to last season.

·         Has three career series wins with the last on Sept. 10, 2011 at Barrie Speedway.

Noel Dowler (No. 5 EMCO/Praxair/Safety Kleen Dodge)

·         Finished 10th last season in the Clarington 200 in his only start at the track.

·         Has scored a top 10 in four of his last five series starts dating back to last season.

·         Posted a third-place finish last season at Barrie (Ontario) Speedway for his first series top five.

L.P. Dumoulin (No. 47 WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge)

·         Scored a 12th-place finish in his CTMP oval debut last season.

·         Registered his first Canadian Tire Series victory in the season opener on May 19 on the road course at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

·         Scored his first career pole win last season at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

·         Was the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Rookie of the Year.

·         Made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut on Aug. 20, 2012 at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

J.R. Fitzpatrick (No. 84 Equipment Express Chevrolet)

·         Finished third last season in the Clarington 200.

·         Best track finish was second in 2010.

·         Has four top-10 finishes in five starts on the oval at CTMP.

·         Has led 33 laps at the Ontario half-mile track.

·         Seven of his eight career series wins have come on road courses – CTMP (3), Edmonton (2) and Montreal (2); his oval track win came in July 2007 at Motoplex Speedway.

Jason Hathaway (No. 3 Snap-on Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge)

·         Finished fifth last year in this event.

·         Scored his best finish of fourth at the track in 2007.

·         Has a top-10 finish in five of his six starts on this Ontario oval.

·         One of four drivers to start all 77 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

D.J. Kennington (No. 17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge)

·         Won last year’s Clarington 200 after starting fifth.

·         Finished third in the 2008 and 2009 events on the CTMP oval.

·         Worst finish in six starts at the track is 10th in 2007.

·         Leads active drivers with 260 laps led on the flat half-mile track.

·         Tops the all-time Canadian Tire Series wins list with 18.

·         Won 2010 and 2012 series championships.

·         Scored a single-season series record of seven wins in 2012.

·         One of four drivers to start all 77 NCATS races.

Jeff Lapcevich (No. 76 Tim Hortons Dodge)

·         Scored a career track-best finish of fourth last season.

·         Has a pair of top-10 performances in four starts on the Bowmanville oval.

·         Has posted a top-10 finish in 10 of his last 14 series starts dating back to the 2011 season.

·         Changed car number to 76 from 23 to honor the passing of his father, Joe, earlier this year.

Steve Mathews (No. 15 Bill Mathews Motors Ford)

·         Finished sixth last year in the Clarington 200.

·         Has top 10s in three of his four starts on the CTMP speedway.

·         Has two series career pole wins – Kawartha (2011) and Barrie (2012).

Martin Roy (No. 90 Batteries Expert/Gamache Dodge)

·         Registered a 19th-place finish in last year’s Clarington 200 in his only start at the track

·         Won 2012 series Rookie-of-the-Year honors.

Pete Shepherd III (No. 7 National Exhaust/Diamond Material Handling Dodge)

·         Ended up in 16th last season due to a broken axle after starting from the pole position.

·         Finishes second in 2011 and fifth in 2010 at the CTMP speedway.

·         Has led 117 laps at the track in three starts.

·         Picked up his fourth career victory on June 15 at Delaware Speedway.

·         Has top-five finishes in his last four Canadian Tire Series starts dating back to last season.

Scott Steckly (No. 22 Canadian Tire/Johnsonville Dodge)

·         Finished 14th in last year’s Clarington 200.

·         Won the 2011 event on the oval at CTMP and finished second in 2009.

·         Has led 248 laps in six starts at the track.

·         His 11 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series victories rank third on the all-time list.

·         Won 2008 and 2011 series championships.

·         One of four drivers to start all 77 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

Jason White (No. 21 Bowers & Wilkins Dodge)

·         Finished 11th in last year’s Clarington 200; his best finish in five trips to the CTMP oval.

·         Was 2008 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Rookie of the Year.