February 23, 2017 – DJ Kennington of St. Thomas, Ontario will realize a lifelong dream this Sunday and for the first time since 1988 a Canadian will race in the Daytona 500. In a car fielded by Gaunt Brothers Racing with support from Kennington’s long time sponsor Castrol Canada and Lordco Auto Parts, DJ Kennington will start the 59th running of the Daytona 500 from the 30th position.
Only the first two qualifying positions are locked in on speed during time trials so Kennington needed to race his #96 Castrol/Lordco Auto Parts Toyota into the field. With a 15th place finish in the second of two 150-mile qualifying races that set the field and was able to qualify for the 500-mile event set for Sunday afternoon.
Immediately following the race it was an emotional Kennington who spoke about the accomplishment and becoming only the 8th Canadian to participate in the race.
“The most amazing feeling in the world” is how Kennington responded when asked what it felt like to make the show. “This is one of the biggest moments of my whole life”.
It was a battle right to the finish for Kennington and the Castrol/Lordco Auto Parts team. The afternoon practice session was rained out so Kennington had very little time practicing working in the draft with a full field of cars. Kennington said to his team at one point during the qualifying race “I’m doing a whole lot of learning”.
Pushing hard right to the finish to make it into the race Kennington nosed his #96 Castrol/Lordco Auto Parts Toyota across the finish line ahead of the #7 car that was also racing to get into the race and secure his spot in the race Sunday afternoon.
DJ Kennington and the #96 Castrol/Lordco Auto Parts team now have two practice sessions Friday and one final practice session on Saturday to prepare for the Daytona 500 Sunday afternoon. Canadian fans can see the race Sunday beginning at 1PM ET on TSN.
Race fans are encouraged to keep up to date with the latest team news by following the social media accounts @DJKRacing @CastrolCanada @LordcoParts and @GauntBrosRacing on twitter.
About Castrol
Since 1906, Castrol’s business has developed around a passion for racing and today around the globe as well as here in Canada. With more than 100 years satisfying customer needs, Castrol Liquid Engineering provides a “strength within” that delivers in performance throughout the life of a vehicle, and in so doing, provides peace of mind and security.
Today, Castrol operates in over 60 countries. In Canada, Castrol lubricants are marketed and distributed by Wakefield Canada, a privately owned, entrepreneurial company focused exclusively on servicing the Canadian Automotive and Commercial Heavy Duty aftermarket.
With well over 100 years of experience and 13 R&D centres globally, Castrol is a technology leader.
Complete information on Castrol products can be found at Castrol.ca.
That is fantastic, go DJ go !!!
So proud to be Canadian and supporting your achievements.
I will be at the race supporting you!Go get um DJ !!