D.J. Kennington Making NASCAR Canadian Tire Series History, One Win at a Time
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[/media-credit]The past two months of racing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series have gone perfectly for D.J. Kennington as he won five consecutive races, becoming the eighth driver to complete the feat in NASCAR Touring Series history. Nobody has gone six races in a row so everybody is asking who will be the one that can stop the streak, if possible.
With this weekend’s race begin at Circuit de Trois-Riveries, everybody is betting on Andrew Ranger as he won three of the five races won on the 1.53-mile temporary road course. Meanwhile, Kennington has yet to score a win on the road course, scoring a best career finish of third. He has scored four straight top 10s and considering the St. Thomas, Ontario driver has been getting better each year on road courses, a win could quite possibly happen.
The string of success by the 2010 series champion is surprising, though equals the promise he offered at the beginning of the year. After finishing second to Scott Steckly last year, Kennington vowed to come back this year even stronger to get his crown back. Now, with the five wins, Kennington leads the standings by 41 points over last year’s champion Scott Steckly.
So far this year in seven starts, Kennington has won five of the races while finishing second and fifth in the other two. History shows that in championship strings, there’s always one race that deals the championship team a bad finish to force them to fight harder.
In the inaugural season of the Canadian Tire Series in 2007, Ranger had one win, seven top fives and 10 top 10s in 12 starts. He finished 13th at both Mosport and Kawartha.
In 2008, Steckly had four wins, nine top fives and nine top 10s in 13 starts. He was handed a 21st at Mosport, an 18th at Cayuga and a 17th in the season finale at Kawartha.
In 2009, Ranger had six wins, eight top fives and 13 top 10s in 13 starts. His worst finish was ninth, coming at Barrie and Kawartha.
As previously stated, Kennington had five wins, nine top fives and 11 top 10s in 13 starts in 2010. He finished 15th at Edmonton and 28th in Montreal.
Last year, Steckly had three wins, nine top fives and 10 top 10s in 12 starts. He was handed a 20th in Saskatoon and a 14th at Barrie.
So where is it most likely that Kennington will have a hiccup this year?
Well, this weekend doesn’t look like a likely chance as he has finished in the top 10 in his four last starts with a 12th in his first start at Trois-Rivieres
Circuit de Villleneuve is a likely spot as he has finished 28th and 18th in his last two starts there, despite finishing fourth in his first three starts in Montreal.
Barrie Speedway isn’t a likely spot despite being a tight track as he finished no worse than 10th, including three wins.
Riverside Speedway has been a mixed bag for Kennington as he has a third, 21st, 18th, first and fourth in five starts.
Despite finishing 25th in his first Kawartha Speedway start, Kennington has finished no worse than third since so that’s a solid spot for the St. Thomas, Ontario native.
No matter how the final five races of 2012 go, it’s no question that Kennington has made history this season already and could easily expand on that before the season is over in September.
Inside View of Watkins Glen with the Glen’s President
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[/media-credit]As the season continues on, we near closer to the second road course race of the season at Watkins Glen. The Glen always in a phenomenal race and after last year’s race, it is a must see race. Last year we saw some spectacular crashes, a first time winner and great racing action. Watkins Glen is a driver favorite track because of the high speeds it offers and especially because of the wineries that surround the region. The race at Watkins Glen has taken on new meaning in the last few years because of the potential for a driver to win and move into the wild card hunt and have a shot at making the Chase. The Glen is a fan favorite track and track officials expect one of the biggest crowds in the tracks history to show up in a few weeks.
Recently I discussed the changes at the track from the previous year and different aspects of the circuit with Watkins Glen’s president Michael Printup. He gave me some insight on what to expect in the coming race and shared some of his past with the track.
How did you become associated with Watkins Glen International?
“I have been with International Speedway Corp for 12 years. (I) started off as a VP of another business unit, lobbyist in NYC when we were trying to build a NASCAR facility there, MIS and now here.”
What changes have been made to Watkins Glen International in preparation for this year’s NASCAR events?
“We have been spending 1-3 million every year making The Glen a better place for the fans. This race properties always need upkeep and we always try to use capex monies to enhance the fan experience. Better bathrooms/showers, addition to The Glen Club, racetrack improvements for competitors and fans and even an ice cream machine for all of our media.”
After David Reutimann’s scary crash in turn two in last year’s Sprint Cup Race, what did Watkins Glen International do to improve the turn two wall setup?
“Well, that crash was scary and David is a good friend. We took the Armco on both sides of the track and pushed it back about 30 feet. Increased the size and length of the catch fence and added more curbing.”
With only weeks until NASCAR comes to Watkins Glen International, when will a race sponsor be made for the Sprint Cup Race?
“I have been saying 2 weeks for 3 months. We had a solid deal going in the right direction but I am not so confident right now. We’ll see.”
Are ticket sales up at Watkins Glen for the NASCAR events so far?
“We have been trending in the “black” since last November and we are really proud of that. We are the only race track in the country that has added seats so right now I am hoping we can sell all of those out!”
How did Watkins Glen International decide on the new grandstand names?
“We sent out on twitter and facebook a note to all or our fans and used a bit old fashion democracy routine. We let the fans vote on what they wanted.”
Do you think Watkins Glen would be interested in bringing the Camping World Truck Series to the Glen someday?
“I would love to have the trucks here but we are working on a few things right now. We’ll see if we can do that!”
What do you expect for the coming NASCAR weekend at Watkins Glen?
“I expect that our team will make all of our fans have the best darn race of the year. We have had the best racing of all the track(s) the last 3 years and I expect that to continue. The new short tracks are what some of the media is calling The Glen! I always look forward in just seeing the smiling faces of our crowd that historically just falls shy of 100k. That is fun and that is why I have the best job ever.”
Race No. 8: JuliaWine.com 100 at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres (Que.)
Last week, D.J. Kennington picked up his fifth consecutive NASCAR Canadian Tire Series victory at Saskatoon. The victory tied the NASCAR touring series record in the modern era among currently sanctioned series as he joins former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitor and current ESPN analyst Ricky Craven in 1991 (NASCAR K&N Pro Series East), legendary West Coast driver Herschel McGriff in 1972 (NASCAR K&N Pro Series West), NASCAR Hall of Fame member Richie Evans in 1985 (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and nine-time NASCAR champion Mike Stefanik (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) as winners of five straight races at the NASCAR touring series level.
The victory also put Kennington at the top of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series all-time win leaders list with 16 victories.
“It’s really been an amazing run,” Kennington says. “We’ve worked hard for it, but we’ve had some luck, too. You have to for a streak this long.”
This weekend, if Kennington is able to pick up his sixth win at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres in Quebec, he will become the only driver in NASCAR touring series modern era to win six straight races.
“We have stepped up our road-course program over the years, but I’m an oval guy,” Kennington adds. “The ability level of road racing in this series is really high with Ranger, (Robin) Buck, (J.R.) Fitzpatrick, (Kerry) Micks and the list goes on and on. The guys in front of me giftwrapped that Edmonton race. That’s the luck I was talking about. You can bet we’ll show up in (Trois-Riveres), though.”
Kennington has been good on the 1.530-mile temporary street course before as he scored a ninth last year for his fourth straight top-10 finish at the track. The 2010 series champion has yet to finish the race in victory lane as his best finish is a third in 2009, followed by a fourth in 2010. With his current streak of nine straight top five finishes and 10 consecutive top 10s, Kennington will look to continue that consistancy to keep the points lead. He currently leads by 41 points.
While Kennington has yet to find victory lane at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres, Ranger has found victory lane on three separate occasions. He won three straight races from 2008 to 2010, before finishing runner-up to Robin Buck last year. He is arguably the best driver in the Canadian Tire Series at Trois-Riveries as his worst finish is a second in five starts, while leading a series-best 48 laps. Ranger has been consistant during his time in the Canadian Tire Series as he has finished inside the top 10 in 28 of his last 30 series starts dating back to 2008. The two-time series champion sits third in points, 46 points behind Kennington.
Two other drivers have found victory lane at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres, those being Robin Buck and Kerry Micks.
Buck won last year’s event for his second career series victory while finishing outside the top 20 in his three other starts at the Circuit de Trois-Rivieres. Buck is known for only racing the road courses, scoring six top 10s in his last eight series starts.
Micks, meanwhile, won the series’ inaugural visit to Circuit de Trois-Rivieres in 2007. He finished 21st last year for his only finish outside the top 10 in five starts as he was the runner-up in 2010 while finishing ninth in 2008 and sixth in 2009. He has a top 10 in six of his seven last starts dating back to Montreal last year. Micks is splitting driving duties of the No. 02 PartSource/BDI/Leland Ford with Mark Dilley, hoping to win the owner’s championship. They currently sits fifth.
The one closest though to catching Kennington in the driver’s championship standings is last year’s champion Scott Steckly. He finished third last year at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres while his best finish is a second that came in 2008. The two-time series champion has top-10 finishes in four of his last five starts on the 1.53-mile Quebec track. He has eight top five finishes in his last nine series starts as he currently sits 41 points behind Kennington.
