Driver: D.J. Kennington

Hometown: St. Thomas, ON

Primary Sponsors: CASTROL

Website:
www.geocities.com/17cascar

(Peterborough, Ontario) – Sunday, September 18th, D.J. Kennington, and his Castrol Canada Dodge Charger wrapped up the 2005 CASCAR Super Series season at Kawartha Speedway. Kennington entered last Sunday’s affair at the 3/8th-mile track third in the championship battle. As soon as points leader Don Thomson Jr. took the green flag in the Ram Tough 250, it officially eliminated Kennington from a shot at the title, but he was still within striking distance of Peter Gibbons, and had to worry about pressure from David Whitlock and Ron Beauchamp Jr. behind him.

The weekend started with practice and Kennington knew that the setup under the body of his Charger was special right off the bat. “We didn’t change a thing. We basically rolled it off the truck, checked the air pressures, ran a few laps, and waited for qualifying. It was turning in the middle, I could feed it coming off, and you just pointed it and it went as straight as an arrow.”

The optimism held true in qualifying, as D.J. hit the track late in the session and took the pole by 1/10th of a second over David Whitlock. For Kennington it was his fourth pole of the season, and he joked, “I always said I’m not a very good qualifier, but I guess I’m getting better. This car being so fast helps as well though.”

The green dropped under perfect skies on Sunday afternoon, and Kennington was able to win the drag race into turn one and took the point. Kennington led until Thomson found his way to D.J.’s bumper. Thomson pressed the issue of the lead and passed Kennington as the # 17 fell back into second-place on lap 34, only to pick his way back by Thomson while in traffic 40 laps later.

Kennington racked up the laps led as he worked through traffic and used the next 100-plus laps to build a ¾ of a track lead over second-place. A yellow flew on lap 180, following a long green flag run and D.J. ducked to the pits and the attention of the Castrol Crew for a pair of right side tires and some fuel. Kennington said afterwards, “The guys talked me into tires. I just wanted to put fuel in it, it was that good. We made the stop and came out second behind Donnie.”

It took Kennington just six laps to pull alongside Thomson, before the pair started to swap the lead back and forth. Finally, after a few lead changes, on lap 199, Kennington put his right foot down and checked out for good. David Whitlock and Gibbons both passed Thomson, but were no match for Kennington as he won his fourth race this season in convincing fashion, leading 195 of the 250 laps. “Between our car today, and our car at Calgary earlier this year, those are the two best cars I’ve ever had. It was really dynamite, and a tremendous way to close the season.”

With the finish Kennington clinched third-place in the points standings, while Thomson captured his fifth consecutive CASCAR Super Series National championship.

1. D.J. Kennington, 2. Whitlock, 3. Gibbons, 4. Thomson, 5. Brad Graham.

Championship Point Standings – 1. Thomson (2208), 2. Gibbons (2118), 3. D.J. Kennington (2069), 4. Whitlock (2021), 5. Graham (1959).

D.J. Kennington and the entire D.J.K. Racing Team would like to thank Castrol and all the other sponsors of the # 17 CASCAR Super Series machine. We would also like to thank CASCAR, their officials, and our fans for a tremendous 2005 season.

Kennington was thrilled with the 2005 season. “We had a fabulous season – just awesome. We won four races (Calgary, Vernon, Mosport, and Kawartha), and I would trade those in for a championship. We also won four poles (Ste. Eustache, Vernon, Molson Indy, and Kawartha). We were also leading at the Indy when we got a flat tire, and had Delaware won on Labour Day before we got punted with a few laps to go. It was a tremendous season, and we put an exclamation mark on it at Kawartha.”

(Nelles Corners, Ontario) – D.J. Kennington, and his Castrol Canada Dodge Charger were back in action for the second-to-last time this season this past weekend at Cayuga 2000 Speedway. The 11th of 12 CASCAR Super Series event of the 2005 season saw Kennington enter the championship battle third in the standings, 120 points behind leader Don Thomson Jr., and 29 markers back of Peter Gibbons.

Kennington‘s weekend started off with practice and after sitting on top of the speed chart through most of the 1 ½ hour session with a lap of 21.185 seconds. Late in the hot lap segment, Gibbons turned a lap that was .022 seconds faster, shuffling D.J. back to second. “Our car was good off the trailer again, and we didn’t have to change a thing on it. It was that good.”

The qualifying session was next and Kennington ripped off a lap of 21.231 seconds, a mere .131 seconds behind pole sitter Don Thomson Jr. “We were looking to pick up some points on Thomson in qualifying and though we were close, we didn’t. I still think I can get a good enough jump on him at the start of the race to take the lead and get some bonus points.”

The ‘Crown Jewel’ 200 kicked off just after the sun went down, and the # 17 machine accepted the green from the outside of the front row. Kennington raced with Thomson for the first few laps before losing the battle and settling into line in second. Kennington would fall to third, as Peter Gibbons got by, but battled back to second before pitting for a new right rear tire on lap 53. Kennington returned action 11th, and moved up a few positions before heading to pit road again on lap 86 for a pair of right side tires. “We were in good shape until the end, and had a car capable of winning.”

When the green dropped again, D.J. was ninth, but by the halfway point he had blasted through to seventh, and was working Mark Dilley for sixth when the pair made contact in turn one. The contact hurt the steering on D.J.’s car and made it a handful. “We bent the toe out about two inches, and it was never the same again after that. It was very disappointing, because we were on our way to the front.”

Kennington pitted under the next yellow to fix the car, but a pit road infraction would net D.J. a stop-and-go penalty. He came to pit road to accept the penalty when the green appeared, but didn’t take the green on the track and would have to come back in and serve it again. “That cost us a lap, and the chance of a solid finish.”

Kennington would never get a chance to make the lap up, and brought his car home with a 15th-place finish. “That pretty much did in our championship hopes. We needed to have a great run and couldn’t afford to make a mistake, and we did. We rallied in the points, and were 10th when we headed west, but I guess a championship just wasn’t in the cards this year.”

Don Thomson Jr. took the lead for the final time on lap 125, and pulled out to a massive lead as the laps wore down. Gibbons, who pitted on lap 145, finally cleared traffic with about 25 laps to go, and started to reel in Thomson. He was running out of laps until a car spun under the flagstand bringing out he races final yellow with three laps remaining. This put Gibbons on Thomson’s decklid for the restart, and with just two laps to go, Gibbons was too much for Thomson as he seized the inside lane in turn one, and went on to claim his second consecutive victory. David Whitlock held off a late charge from Jeff Lapcevich to claim the final position on the podium.

1. Gibbons, 2. Thomson, 3. Whitlock, 4. Jeff Lapcevich, 5. Brad Graham, 15. D.J. Kennington.

Points standings (after 11 of 12 events) – 1. Thomson (2055), 2. Gibbons (1966), 3. D.J. Kennington (1894), 4. Whitlock (1861), 5. Ron Beauchamp Jr. (1845).

Kennington will be back in action this Sunday at Kawartha Downs Speedway just outside of Peterborough for the final championship battle. D.J. is looking forward to putting the finishing touches on a tremendous campaign including a pole at the Molson Indy, three wins in a row, and a championship fight. “Though our championship run is for the most part over, we’re still looking for a win to close out the season. I like the Kawartha track, and we had a great car there last year, so I think we have a good shot at picking up win number four next weekend.”

The weekend will be full of racing, including the Summer Sizzler Late Model race on Friday night, with all of the top Late Model races from Ontario expected to be in attendance. Saturday’s card will feature the final race of the Power Water Sportsman Series, with the CASCAR Super Series taking center stage on Sunday.

(Delaware, Ontario) – D.J. Kennington, and his Castrol Canada Dodge Charger rolled into Kennington’s home track, Delaware Speedway, Labour Day weekend in the thick of a title chase for the 2005 CASCAR Super Series championship. Kennington entered the weekend third in the title chase, 104 points behind championship leader Don Thomson Jr., and just nine markers behind second-place Peter Gibbons.

Kennington’s day started with practice, and the car was decent throughout the session. “We made a couple of adjustments, but they were just minor like changing the sway bar and stagger.”

The car stayed consistent in qualifying as Kennington ripped off the fourth-fastest lap of the session with a time of 15.548 seconds, missing David Whitlock’s pole winning time by just over 1/10th of a second. “The car is still dynamite and I know we’re ready for tomorrow.”

The APC Great Canadian 300 kicked off under a beautiful day, and the # 17 machine rolled from the outside of row two. Kennington fought to gain the inside lane, but was hung on the outside in the early going, and fell back to seventh position in the running order. Kennington picked his way back into the top-five and came to pit road on lap 126 for a new right rear tire. “We made a couple of adjustments during the day. The car was a little tight, so we took some wedge out to free up the car, as well as a little stagger adjustment.”

It didn’t take long for Kennington to work his way to the front after that, and claim four-bonus point, as he took command on lap 138. For the next 50 laps it was all D.J. until his final pit stop under yellow on lap 186.

The Castrol Crew went to work, changing right side tires and preparing for the run to the checkers. D.J. returned to action 12th on the grid for the restart and immediately started picking his way through the field. On lap 222, Kennington dodged a bullet, as he found his way through an eight-car pile-up on the backstretch, emerging in seventh position. He continued to press on, gaining sixth on lap 240, and then fifth a few laps later. D.J. then found himself in a battle for fourth with Ron Beauchamp Jr., which he finally won on lap 265. Kennington continued in fourth, until Brad Graham ran out of fuel just before a restart with five laps left. Whitlock led the field to the green on the final shootout, with Gibbons second and Kennington third. “We were in great position. It was our race to win. I had more car left than both of the guys in front of me, and though I didn’t want to see that yellow flag come out, I knew we were good enough, and could have enough time.”

When the green dropped, Gibbons got a tremendous restart and sprinted to the inside of Whitlock, while Kennington tried to follow him through the hole. Kennington gained the position briefly before being hit by Whitlock. D.J. skated into the third lane, saved the car, and continued until the end, but lost a number of positions in the exchange, finishing sixth. “That was very frustrating. We had the race won, until a purple car hit me. I followed Gibbons under Whitlock as clean as could be, and then we wind up knocked out of the way, and sixth. I’m very disappointed, and am beginning to think that I’ll never win this one.”

1. Gibbons, 2. Thomson, 3. Jeff Lapcevich, 4. Beauchamp, 5. Doug Brown, 6. D.J. Kennington.

Points standings (after 10 of 12 events) – 1. Don Thomson Jr. (1886), 2. Gibbons (1795), 3. D.J. Kennington (1766), 4. Beauchamp (1705), 4. Whitlock (1705).

The next event for Kennington and the D.J.K. Racing Team will be this Saturday night at Cayuga 2000 Speedway. The night will be a make up date for the mid-August event that was rained out, and Kennington is looking forward to having two solid runs to close the season. “We’re going to Cayuga to win, and nothing is going to stand in our way this weekend. There could be some excitement, that’s for sure.”

(St. Thomas, Ontario) – Following a rainout at Cayuga 2000 Speedway, D.J. Kennington, and his Castrol Canada Dodge Charger had to wait an extra week before continuing his assault on the CASCAR Super Series record book last Saturday night at Peterborough Speedway.  Kennington started his hot streak in July as he went back-to-back during the annual Western Canada swing, winning in Calgary and Vernon, and then made a thrilling pass on the outside of four-time defending series champion Don Thomson Jr. at Mosport to make it three in a row.  During that span, Kennington was able to move himself from 10th in the championship standings to third, and entered the Logel’s AutoParts 200 at ‘Canada’s Fastest 1/3rd-mile just 108 points behind Thomson, and only 19 markers behind Peter Gibbons for second. 

The weekend started on Saturday afternoon with practice and Kennington was decent.  Though he didn’t top the charts, he was pleased with the way his # 17 machine was handling.  “We were consistent and I knew we were going to have a car capable of winning the feature.  They don’t pay any money or points to win practice, so I’m not too concerned about being on the top of the speed chart.” 

The first time the cars hit the track for a session that mattered was during time trials, and Kennington was able to rip off the 10th-fastest lap of the session, stopping the clock with a lap of 14.451 seconds.  Though he had nine cars between him and the pole, Kennington was a mere quarter of a second off the pole time of Kerry Micks.  “This is a tough place to pass at, and we’d like to be starting closer to the front, but I know we’re going to be faster in the feature.” 

But, the race wouldn’t go, as the skies opened up, raining out the feature, and forcing the drivers to return under sunny skies on Sunday afternoon.  This seemed like a tremendous omen for Kennington, as the last time a race was delayed a day at Peterborough in 2002, Kennington found victory lane on the Sunday. 

Kennington took the green from the outside of the front row and started to pick his way to the front.  “We’ve won here before, so we know that you have to save the car and the tires for the end.  I was as patient as I could be, and making sure to keep all the fenders on my car.”

During the 200 lap affair, Kennington would visit pit road for fresh tires and fought his way back into the top-five during the late stages, before passing Brad Graham in the closing laps to bring home a fourth-place finish, two spots ahead of point leader Thomson.  “We had another great car today, but it wasn’t good enough.  Though our win streak was snapped here today, we’ll take a fourth-place finish and the points that go with it.”

The finish was enough to shave four points from Thomson’s commanding lead, making it a 104-point gap, while he closed to within nine points of Gibbons for second. 

Pole-sitter Micks paced the field for the first 113 laps before Ron Beauchamp Jr. took over.  Micks continued to work Beauchamp as the laps wore down, but was unable to steal the win from Beauchamp, who claimed his second feature win of the season.  David Whitlock rounded out the podium.

1.      Beauchamp, 2. Micks, 3. Whitlock, 4. D.J. Kennington, 5. Scott Steckly.

The next event for Kennington and the D.J.K. Racing Team will be Labour Day weekend at Delaware Speedway for the APC Great Canadian 300.  Kennington is looking forward to returning to the track where he captured the 1997 Late Model championship, but a facility he has yet to take a Super Series checkered flag at.  “It’s always great to come back to Delaware to race.  It’s the birthplace of CASCAR, and the place where I started my stock car racing career.  I’ve been trying to win at Delaware for a long time, and there would be nothing sweeter than picking up a feature win in the 300 on Labour Day at Delaware.  We’re still in championship contention, and nothing would help us in the points like taking the pole, leading the most laps, and winning the race, and we want to accomplish all three.”

(St. Thomas, Ontario) – D.J. Kennington, and his Castrol Canada Dodge Charger rolled back into Ontario riding a two race win streak from the CASCAR Super Series Western swing, with victories in Calgary and Vernon, and looking to make it three in a row on the paperclip shaped ½-mile oval at Mosport.  Kennington had also used the pair of wins to vault himself to third in the championship standings, and back into the title hunt, just 101 markers behind point leader Don Thomson Jr. 

The afternoon started with practice and Kennington was fast.  The crew made very minor adjustments, but the car was in much the same shape it was when it left the Sun Valley Speedway victory late last Saturday night.  “We made some air pressure and stagger changes, but the car was handling really well right out of the box.” 

Qualifying was next and Kennington clicked off two decent laps.  The front of the field was separated by mere fractions of a second, and D.J. claimed eighth position.  “I’m not too worried about it.  I know that we have a good race setup under it, and it’s more important to be good for 200 laps than just two laps.” 

The 200-lap main event saw the green drop as the daylight faded into darkness, and the field, led by front row starters Don Thomson Jr., and Ron Beauchamp Jr. powered down the long front stretch and into tight corner number one.  Kennington made his way into line in eighth and then started his climb.  With a tremendous amount of patience, and a Charger under him that was flat-out fast, D.J. began to pick off the competition.  He moved to sixth on a lap 43 restart, and then cracked the top-five on lap 60.  D.J. would climb to fourth just before the halfway point.  On lap 99 the races fourth yellow came out and Kennington used the yellow to visit pit road on lap 102 and his ‘Castrol Crew’.

D.J. came out of the pits 10th, as Kennington was boxed in on pit road.”

Exactly as he did earlier in the event, Kennington methodically picked his way through traffic, passing Peter Gibbons on lap 125 for seventh.  He outdueled J.R. Fitzpatrick five laps later for sixth and took Ron Beauchamp for fifth on lap 145.  Just after a lap 165 restart, Kennington moved by Brad Graham for fifth, and started to chase the top three of Don Thomson Jr., Mark Dilley, and David Whitlock.  With Kennington pressuring him, on lap 185, Whitlock made a bid for second on his teammate.  The pair made contact in turn one and Whitlock spun, while Dilley lost a number of positions.  D.J. took evasive action to the outside and was in second when the caution flew.  “That was a break.  I think I could have got Whitlock and Dilley without that, but the yellow gave me a shot at Thomson.”

Kennington kept pace with Thomson on the restart and started to work him on the bottom.  He tried him on the inside once, but couldn’t get it done.  With just a lap and a half to go, and Thomson hugging the bottom of the track, Kennington swung to the outside entering turn three.  And pulled alongside him coming out of four.  After leading by inches at the line taking the white flag, Kennington pulled in front in the middle of one and two, pulling out front to win by .339 seconds over Thomson.  “This is awesome.  We’ve won three in a row, and no one has done that in CASCAR in about 10 years.  That’s pretty neat.  We’re also back in the championship hunt with four races to go, and anything can happen.”

1. D.J. Kennington, 2. Thomson, 3. Beauchamp, 4. Dilley, 5. Gibbons. 

(Unofficial Points Standings – after eight of 12 events) – 1. Thomson (1582 points), 2. Gibbons (1493), 3. D.J. Kennington (1474), 4. Dilley (1443), 5. Whitlock (1412). 

The next event for Kennington and his D.J.K. Racing Team will be Sunday August 14th at Cayuga 2000 Speedway for a 200-lap affair.  Kennington is looking forward to CASCAR’s lone visit to ‘The Crown Jewel of Canadian Motorsports’.  “We’re had three good weeks, and have climbed back into championship contention.  We’re only a few points behind Gibbons and still within range of Thomson.  We just have to do our best to make it four in a row at Cayuga and see if we can gain some more points on Thomson.  We’ve run well at Cayuga before and it’s a pretty cool track, because it’s the fastest oval we race on.”

               (St. Thomas, Ontario) – Fresh off a win in the MOPAR 300 at Calgary’s Race City Speedway, D.J. Kennington, and his Castrol Canada Dodge pulled into Sun Valley Speedway in Vernon, B.C. for event number seven of the 2005 CASCAR Super Series season, on the holiday weekend.  D.J. was looking to put his # 17 machine in victory lane for the second consecutive week.  For the Series it was the first time Sun Valley had ever been part of the National tour. 

              The weekend started with a practice session on Friday afternoon and D.J. was consistently among the fastest cars throughout the session.  “We didn’t have to do much to the car after Calgary, and it ran so strong there.” 

               When the Late Models hit the track again, it was for qualifying, and Kennington was the class of the field.  He turned a lap quick enough to claim his sixth career pole position, and locking himself into the inside of the front row for the start of Saturday night’s feature.  “It’s always nice to win the pole and on these two day events it gives you bragging rights for at least one night.  Now we have to go out and do our best in the sprint race.” 

               Friday night’s card ended with a pair of 100-lap sprint races.  Kennington was in the first race, and after starting on the inside of the front row, backed up his qualifying run by checking out on the field as soon as the green dropped.  The Castrol machine would lead all 100 laps to claim the win.  “It’s always nice to pick up a checkered flag, and these races are for points, so that helps, but we’re focusing on tomorrow night.” 

               Kennington started on the front row again for Sunday’s 300-lap feature, alongside J.R. Fitzpatrick, and when the green came out, D.J. was able to jump into the lead.  Don Thomson Jr. would take the point on lap 26, as D.J. became content to ride within the top-five and staying in touch with the leaders.  “300 laps are a lot and I just wanted to keep my car fresh for the end.  That really helped us in Calgary the weekend before.”

               D.J. took the lead again for 25 laps on lap 101, and then pitted just after the 200-lap mark for a run to the finish.  Kennington moved his way to second and started to pressure Brad Graham, who was searching for his first career Series win.  On lap 298, with just three trips left to the start/finish line, Kennington battled past Brad and took the lead, en route to his second consecutive win.  “Brad raced me clean at the end, and we were able to beat him.  It’s pretty sweet winning both Western races, and it really helped us in the championship standings.”

1. D.J. Kennington, 2. Graham, 3. Thomson, 4. Peter Gibbons, 5. Ron Beauchamp Jr. 

Unofficial Points Standings – After 7 of 12 events) – 1. Don Thomson Jr. (1413 points), 2. Peter Gibbons (1352), 3. D.J. Kennington (1312), 4. Kerry Micks (1291), 5. Mark Dilley (1289). 

               Following a long haul across Canada, Kennington and his D.J.K. Racing Team will be back in action this weekend as the series makes its’ return to Ontario on the oval at Mosport.  The Mosport 200 will be a one-day show on Saturday August sixth, with afternoon practice, dinnertime qualifying, and the feature rolling under the twilight and into the darkness. 

Kennington is looking forward to this year’s visit to the Bowmanville ½-mile.  “We’ve been able to run in the top-five almost every time to Mosport, but just haven’t been able to close the deal yet.  We came just a half a car length short a few years ago, and had a tremendous run going on another night when we lost the brakes.  This pace is a good track, but you have to save your brakes here.  The straights are long and the corners are tight and you really have to get slowed down.”

D.J. Kennington Wins MOPAR 300 at Race City Speedway! 

               (Calgary, Alberta) – D.J. Kennington, and his Castrol Canada Dodge headed West last week for the first of two events in the Rockies.  The MOPAR 500 race weekend at Race City Speedway in Calgary is always one of the highlights of the racing season, and Kennington was looking for a solid weekend to get back into contention for one of the top-five positions in the championship point standings. 

               The weekend started with a practice session, and Kennington was in decent shape on the speed charts as he the crew was only forced to make minor adjustments on the car.  “We were fast off the truck, and I know we’re going to have a great race car for Saturday night.” 

               The weekend would continue with Friday night qualifying and D.J. put his # 17 machine in eighth position following his two-lap run.  “We were decent, but I knew that our Dodge would race better than it qualified.” 

               Friday’s festivities were capped off with a pair of 100 lap qualifying events and Kennington started from outside of row four.  When the green silk fell, Kennington rocketed to the outside of Mark Dilley, and seized third position as the field headed for turn one.  “I got a great jump, and that was all it took to get third.”

               For the next 99 ½ laps, Kennington stayed up on the wheel, working second-place Don Thomson Jr. over, but couldn’t find a way by, while Kerry Micks beat Thomson to turn one and led the entire distance for the win.  Kennington scored a lot of points, but wanted the win, explaining, “All three of us were pretty close.  There were a couple of times where I was close enough to Donnie to get him if he made a mistake, but that was the problem – he didn’t make one, and Kerry didn’t either.  We’ll take a third-place finish and get ready for tomorrow night’s feature.”

1.      Thomson, 2. Micks, 3. D.J. Kennington, 4. Mark Dilley, 5. Petey Shepherd. 

The CASCAR Late Models hit the track again for feature competition on Saturday night and D.J. would roll for the 300-lap event from sixth position.  Kennington was very fast from the start, and while Thomson and pole-sitter David Whitlock took turns up front, it was Kennington who was ripping through the field, taking command from Whitlock on lap 31 and setting sail.  The Castrol machine would pace the field for the next 75 laps, opening up a commanding lead, before pitting for a fresh right rear tire on lap 107 under yellow.  Kennington would get the opportunity to pit again a few stints later, and then made another charge through the field, ending when he took over the lead once more on lap 168 from Whitlock.

For the next 33 laps the field saw nothing but the rear of Kennington’s racer before Peter Gibbons approached with fresher tires on lap 202 and stole the point.  D.J. would get the chance to pit again on lap 218 and take on a pair of right side tires in preparation for a run to the checkers.  When the green flew once more, Kennington was ninth in the running order and started to work his way towards the front again.  “We had fresh tires, but other guys had tires just as fresh.  We just beat them because we had an awesome race car.  It went where I pointed it and never missed a beat all day.”

Kennington cracked the top-five with just over 50 laps to go, and made his way to second, behind leader Peter Gibbons as the laps started wind down.  After a short battle, Kennington made the move on lap 286, and held on for the final 15 circuits to record his fifth career Super Series victory.  “It’s pretty sweet.  We’ve run really well here over the years and have been in positions to win races here, only to have them taken away.  I felt like this place owed me at least one, and we collected tonight.  It helps us in the points and we should be in good shape heading to the second half of the season.”

1. D.J. Kennington, 2. Gibbons, 3. Dave Jacombs, 4. J.R. Fitzpatrick, 5. Kevin Dowler.  

               The next event for Kennington and the D.J.K. Racing Team will be next weekend as the crew heads further into the mountains for a full slate of events at Sun Valley Speedway in Vernon, B.C.  It will be the first visit to Sun Valley for the National Super Series and Kennington is looking forward to tackling the track for the first time.  “All I really know about it is that it’s paved,” joked D.J.  “I’ve heard from the Western guys how great of a facility it is, and I think CASCAR will give the fans there a good show during the inaugural event.”

D.J. Kennington Sits on Pole at Molson Indy

(Toronto, Ontario) – D.J. Kennington, and his Castrol Canada Dodge were on hand last weekend for the fifth event of the 2005 CASCAR Super Series season.  The Atto 100 would be the conclusion to the annual Toronto Molson Indy, and Kennington was coming off a strong finish the weekend before at Barrie Speedway, as he finished third, climbing to eighth in points. 

The weekend started with practice and Kennington was able to post the quickest time of the session, ripping off a lap of one minute, 20.734 seconds.  “I was able to get a good lap in and the car was a rocket.  I knew this road course car was awesome at Mosport and we’re in good shape for qualifying.”

1.      Micks, 2. Gibbons, 3. Gibbons, 4. Mark Dilley, 5. Brad Graham, 22. D.J. Kennington.

D.J. Kennington Finds Podium Again in Barrie

(Barrie, Ontario) – Almost 10 years to the day, the CASCAR Super Series returned to the newly remodeled Barrie Speedway. D.J. Kennington, and his Castrol Canada Dodge were looking to turn their season around following a disappointing run at Mosport, and climb back into championship contention.

The weekend started with practice for the Dodge Charger 300, and Kennington struggled to stay in the top-ten. “Our setup is off, and I think we have a lot of work to do before qualifying”

In time trails, the Castrol machine didn’t pick up at all, as Kennington recorded the 19th-fastest lap of the session. “We missed it today. We came with a different setup, because at this new track we thought it would work. We’re going to go back to our old setup for tomorrow and see what we can do.”

Sunday’s Dodge Charger 300 rolled off under sunshine and beautiful skies, with Kennington on the outside of the ninth row. Saturday’s action had started to tear the track up and despite a concrete patch job, Sunday wasn’t much better for the CASCAR Super Series racers. “The track was tight to begin with, but as soon as the asphalt started to come up there was no upper groove. As soon as you tried to get someone on the outside in turn four you would slide right into the wall.”

D.J. figured that track position would be much more important than new tires and under yellow on lap 22 he came to pit road to top off the fuel tank on his Charger, giving up 13th-place in the running order. The plan worked as he climbed into the top-ten after restarting at the back. Kennington would come to pit road again just before the lap 106 red flag to sweep the marbles off the racetrack, and Kennington hoped it would be his final appearance of the day in his stall.

After restarting ninth, D.J. passed a few cars under green and gained a number more spots when the leaders pitted just after halfway. Kennington was third on a lap 160 restart, behind Don Thomson Jr., and Jim Lapcevich, but Lapcevich was hit by a lapped car, and D.J. slid into second position. On lap 208, Kennington took advantage of Thomson slipping up while trying to lap a car, and D.J. took the top spot away, opening up a two second cushion on second-place Mark Dilley before another late race yellow packed the field. Kenningon couldn’t hold off Dilley, as both he, and Kerry Micks got by, relegating the # 17 machine to a third-place finish. “After all the cars that wrecked today, we’re just happy to have ours in once piece. We pitted early for tires, because I knew track position was going to be everything, but at the end, Dilley and Micks just had fresher rubber, and we were probably a third-place car. The car was so much better today than yesterday, and we took a shot at the win, but just didn’t get it.

With the finish Kennington jumped from 11th in the standings to eighth, just a single point behind Jeff Lapcevich, and 33 markers out of the top-five.

1. Dilley, 2. Micks, 3. D.J. Kennington, 4. Thomson, 5. David Whitlock.

Unofficial Points (after 4 of 12 events), 1. Thomson, (643 points), 2. Dilley (643), 3. Whitlock (577), 4. Peter Gibbons (574), 5. Micks (573), 8. D.J. Kennington (540).

The next event for Kennington and the D.J.K. Racing Team will be next weekend as the CASCAR Super Series makes their annual trek through the streets of Toronto as part of the Molson Indy. The activities will get underway with practice on Friday, followed by qualifying on Saturday and the Atto 100 on Sunday afternoon following the Champ Car feature. Kennington is excited about the return to the streets of Toronto to be part of the Molson Indy festivities. “We ran well there last year and pulled off a third. We also ran well at Mosport this year, other than the shifter problem, so I know that the car and I are capable of running up front. We just have to qualify well, and not make any mistakes.”

D.J. Kennington is ‘Rocked’ at Mosport

               (Bowmanville, Ontario) – The new ‘Ironman’ of the CASCAR Super Series, D.J. Kennington, and his Castrol Canada Dodge traveled to Mosport on Father’s Day weekend.  The event was the Clarington 200 Presented by Berms R Us on the world renowned road course just North of Bowmanville, outside Toronto. Kennington was returning to the site of his 2001 victory, and coming off a huge second-place finish in round number two of the tour at Autodrome Ste. Eustache.

               The weekend started out on Saturday with practice and Kennington was among the quickest cars.  “We were solid all day, and didn’t make a single change on the car at all getting ready for qualifying.”

Later in the day the cars hit the track for a pair of hour long qualifying sessions and Kennington was able to rip off the seventh-quickest lap of the day, turning the road course at one minute, 27.742 seconds, about a second and a half behind pole sitter Peter Gibbons.  “We were still good in qualifying.  The car was consistent and I think we have a shot at winning tomorrow.”

Sunday’s feature saw Kennington roll from the inside of four row.  In the early going, Kennington had a simple game plan, and that was to stay out of trouble, find his rhythm, and be around at the end to have a shot at winning.

The day took a turn for the worse early in the day as a rock came up off the track and became jammed in the shifter linkage.  Kennington couldn’t get the car out of second gear and came to the attention of the ‘Castrol Crew’ with just a handful of laps on the scoreboard.  The crew found the problem and removed the offending stone, but D.J. had lost three laps.  For the remainder of the event, Kennington was able to turn great lap times, but the early problem would lead to a 22nd-place finish.

“We have a pretty good size monkey on our back that we have to shake and turn this season around.  A rock in the linkage is just something that you can’t do anything about.  I’m not saying that we had a good enough car to beat Donnie and Jeff Lapcevich, but I think we had a top-five car for sure, and may have been able to take a shot at winning.”

               Gibbons set a new track record with his qualifying run, while Don Thomson Jr. qualified on the outside of the front row.  Thomson took the lead early and turned it over to Kerry Micks on lap 17.  Mark Dilley would also lead before Gibbons grabbed the top spot, but Thomson and Jeff Lapcevich were on the charge and quickly shuffled Gibbons back to third.  Thomson would pace the field for the remainder of the race and picked up his second career victory at Mosport, by a 0.619 second margin over Jeff Lapcevich, with J.R. Fitzpatrick recording his first career podium with a third-place result.

1. Thomson, 2. Jeff Lapcevich, 3. J.R. Fitzpatrick, 4. Gibbons, 5. Jim Lapcevich, 22. D.J. Kennington.

(Unofficial Points Standings – After 3 of 12 events) – 1. Thomson (487 points), 2. Beauchamp (460), 3. Mark Dilley (436), 4. Gibbons (434), 5. David Whitlock (433), 11. D.J. Kennington (384).

               The next event for the D.J.K. Racing Team and their Castrol Dodge will come on Canada Day weekend at the remodeled Barrie Speedway.  It will mark the first time at the facility for the Series since the mid-90’s, and Sunday’s feature event will be joined by the Power Water / Steam Whistle Sportsman Series on Saturday night.  Kennington is thrilled about returning to Barrie, “It’s been a while since we raced there, and I’m really looking forward to getting back to Barrie.  They spent a lot of money at the track fixing it up to host a Super Series race, and I have heard they have a lot of things planned for the weekend, and I’m excited about it.”

               Qualifying for the Dodge Charger 300 will be held on Saturday night.

For more information on D.J. Kennington, D.J.K. Racing, CASCAR, Mosport, or Barrie Speedway, please visit www.geocities.com/cascar17, www.cascar.ca, www.mosport.com, or www.barriespeedway.com.  Or contact Maudsley Motorsports at maudsleymotorsports@sympatico.ca.

June 8, 2005

D.J. Kennington Becomes CASCAR ‘Ironman’ – Finishes 2^nd in Quebec 

(Montreal, Quebec) – D.J. Kennington and his Castrol Canada Dodge were back in action on Saturday June fourth at Autodrome Ste. Eustache for the Whelen 200 on the flat oval.  For Kennington it was also a record setting performance, as he became the new ‘Ironman’ or CASCAR, setting a new record by making his 116^th consecutive start.  “It’s a pretty neat accomplishment, and says as much about our team as it does me.”  The most amazing part of the feat is that Kennington is just 27-years old, and may be on his way to setting an unbeatable record.

D.J. Kennington Geared Up For CASCAR Kickoff – MOPAR 250

            (St. Thomas, Ontario) – Sunday, May 22^nd, the green flag will drop at Delaware Speedway on the 2005 CASCAR Super Series season, and D.J. Kennington will be among the combatants.  For Kennington, he will again be searching for his first Super Series victory in the MOPAR 250 at his home track, a place where D.J. has had a tremendous amount of success, including a track championship in 1997.

DJ's 2004 Archive can be found here