Following a top three finish at Barrie Speedway, D.J. Kennington extended his lead slightly in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series standings. Heading into the final event this weekend at Kawartha Speedway, the two-time series champion leads Scott Steckly by five points.
“In the big picture, we’re in good shape,” he commented after the race. “The Castrol Edge team is vying for the championship here and hopefully we get it finished up at Kawartha.”
From 2007 to 2009, Kennington came close each of those years – either finishing second or third. It was 2010 that he finally broke through and won the championship.
In 2010, Kennington won at both Riverside Speedway and Barrie Speedway to take a 40 point lead into Kawartha Speedway and seal the deal, 87 points ahead of J.R. Fitzpatrick.
Kennington finished second to Steckly in 2011, before winning the championship once again in 2012. He had a mechanical problem at Barrie, though rebounded by winning both Riverside and Kawartha to win the title, 27 points ahead of Fitzpatrick.
This year, Kennington has had 10 top 10s in 11 races with his worst being a 16th in Quebec at St. Eustache. He also takes momentum with him to the final race at Kawartha Speedway, having scored a top five in each of the last four races, including a win at Trois-Rivieres.
To add to that, Kennington has had success at Kawartha in the past, winning three races and scoring five top fives in the past six years. He also has led 277 laps on the oval.
If Kennington is able to lock up the championship, he will become the all-time series championship leader having broken a tie with Steckly and Ranger. Each of the three drivers has a pair of championships in the seven years that the series has existed. Topping the all-time series win list with 19 wins, it would seem fitting that Kennington would hold the record.
When I asked Kennington a couple weeks ago at Barrie his thoughts going into Kawartha and his thoughts on the championship, he kept his answer simple and to the point.
“That’s what we’re going to do.”
