Analyzing The Alberta Has Energy 300 At Edmonton International Raceway

Daytona Beach, Florida – The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 will begin its annual western swing with the Alberta Has Energy 300 at Edmonton International Raceway on Saturday in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Below is a statistical look at the performance of the series and selected drivers:

Alberta Has Energy 300 Setup:

· Each of the first four NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 events this year has produced a different winner. Only once previously (2011) has a season started with five unique winners in five events.

· Jason Hathaway brings a one-point lead on rookie Gary Klutt in the championship standings to Edmonton International Raceway and the top five are all within 14 points.

· Andrew Ranger won last year’s Alberta Has Energy 300, which was also the last time he reached Victory Lane. Fellow Quebec driver Alex Tagliani, victor of the series’ most-recent oval race, was the inaugural Edmonton polesitter.

· This race will mark the first appearance of the season for western Canada natives Dennis LaForce, Jason Hankewich, Nick Jewell, Jamie Krzysik and James Van Domselaar, as well as the series debut for Adam Dowler.

At Edmonton International Raceway:

· Opened in 1968 as a dirt track.

· Was paved for the first time in 1995, and for a second time just prior to the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1’s inaugural race at the facility in 2014.

· Has been a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series weekly racing member track since 2005.

Edmonton International Raceway Data
Race #: 5 of 11
Track Layout: .25-mile asphalt oval
Banking/Straights: 4 degrees
Banking/Turns: 7 degrees
Race Length: 300 laps (75 miles)
TV Coverage: TSN-July 18, 2:30 p.m. ET; RDS2-July 31, 8 p.m. ET

Qualifying/Race Data
2014 Race Winner: Andrew Ranger, Dodge, 42.290 mph, 1 hr. 52 mins. 5 secs.
2014 Pole Winner/Qualifying Record: Alex Tagliani, Dodge, 71.919 mph, 12.514 seconds, July 11, 2014

Select Driver Highlights:

Mark Dilley (No. 02 Johnsonville/Leland/Dickies Ford)

· Has three wins, three poles, 30 top fives and 49 top 10s in 86 career NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 starts.

· All of his wins and poles have come on ovals, where he has 39 top 10s and an average finish of ninth in 63 starts.

· Finished 19th after starting second in last year’s inaugural event at Edmonton International Raceway.

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

· The 2014 NCATS Champion and 2011 Rookie of the Year has four wins, a pole, 19 top fives and 32 top 10s in 52 career starts.

· Is one of just two drivers with top-10 finishes in all four races this year and ranks fourth in points.

· Has a win (Auto Clearing Motor Speedway, 2014), 16 top 10s and an average finish of 10th in 27 career oval starts. Maintains a streak of nine-consecutive top-10 finishes on ovals.

· Finished as the runner-up to Andrew Ranger last year at Edmonton.

Jason Hathaway (No. 3 Fast Eddie/Choko/HGC Chevrolet)

· Has six wins and 62 top 10s in 102 career starts. Is one of three drivers to compete in every race in NCATS history.

· Is the points leader on the strength of a win (Autodrome Chaudiere) and three top 10s in four starts.

· All six of his wins have come on ovals, where he has posted 45 top 10s and an average finish of eighth in 65 starts.

· Finished third at Edmonton a year ago.

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

· The 2010 and 2012 NCATS champion. Maintains series record for career wins (tied-19), top fives (69) and top 10s (85), and is one of three drivers to start each of the 102 all-time events. Also ranks second in series history in laps led (2,754) and fifth in poles (10).

· Has a streak of 65-consecutive races without at DNF. Last DNF came at Riverside International Speedway in 2009.

· Sits fifth in points after four races with three top 10s.

· His 16 oval wins are tied with Scott Steckly for the most in NCATS history, and all 10 of his career poles have been earned on ovals. He has an average finish of sixth with 42 races led and 55 top 10s in 65 career oval events.

· Finished fifth in the inaugural Edmonton event.

Gary Klutt (No. 59 CLT Corp./Trailcon Leasing Dodge)

· Has a win, two poles and seven top 10s in 10 career NCATS starts.

· Ranks second in points, a single tally behind leader Jason Hathaway, and is one of two drivers with top-10 finishes in all four races this year.

· Has a pole (Sunset Speedway, 2014), two top 10s and an average finish of 12th in three career oval appearances.

· This will be his first start at Edmonton.

Andrew Ranger (No. 27 Mopar/Pennzoil Dodge)

· The 2007 and 2009 champion is tied for the series’ all-time wins lead (19) and ranks second in poles (15). Has 45 top fives and 63 top 10s in 76 career starts.

· Is sixth in points after four events with three top 10s.

· Has four wins, 15 races led, 32 top 10s and an average finish of seventh in 43 career oval starts.

· Won last year’s inaugural event at Edmonton after starting fifth.

Scott Steckly (No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge)

· Has a series-leading three championships (2008, `11, `13) through the first eight years of NCATS competition.

· Owner of 16 wins, 13 poles, 62 top fives and 75 top 10s. His top fives and top 10s totals rank second all-time while his wins and poles sit third in the record book. Is the all-time leader in laps led at 3,953 and is one of three drivers to start each of the 102 all-time events.

· All 16 of his wins have come on ovals, where he’s posted 41 top fives, 48 top 10s, 45 races led and an average finish of 6.5 in 65 events.

· Finished eighth last year at Edmonton.

Alex Tagliani (No. 18 EpiPen/CGI/CanTorque Chevrolet)

· Has a two wins, six poles and 12 top 10s in 28 career NCATS starts.

· Ranks ninth in points despite missing the season opener to qualify for the Indy 500. Has top-five finishes in each of his three starts.

· Has a win (Sunset, 2015) a pole (Edmonton, 2014), five top 10s and an average finish of 13th in 13 oval starts.

· Led the first 268 laps from the pole last year at Edmonton but was involved in a late accident and finished 13th.

Erica Thiering (No. 87 #RaceCarByAva/CBRT Ford)

· Has two top 10s in nine career NCATS starts with a best finish of eighth at Barrie Speedway in 2014.

· Ranks third in Jostens Rookie of the Year points and 13th in the overall standings.

· Seven of her nine starts have come on ovals, where she’s posted an average finish of 12th.

· Has earned six NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track and province championships at Edmonton.

Other Driver Notes

· Joey McColm finished sixth at Edmonton last year, tied for his career-best result.

· With the debut of Adam Dowler, he and brother Noel will become the eighth set of siblings to compete in NCATS. Noel Dowler has 19 top 10s in 46 career starts, including a 10th-place finish last year at Edmonton.

Up To Speed:

· The 2015 season is the ninth for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1.

· The 2015 schedule features 11 races at 10 different tracks across five provinces.

· Rookie Gary Klutt won the season-opening Pinty’s presents the Clarington 200 from the pole at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on May 17.

· Jason Hathaway reached Budweiser 300 Victory Lane for the second year in a row at Autodrome Chaudiere on June 13.

· Alex Tagliani earned his first NCATS oval victory on June 20 when he won the inaugural Sunset Speedway event.

· Kevin Lacroix reached Victory Lane in just his second NCATS appearance when he won at Circuit ICAR on July 5.

· Following the Alberta Has Energy 300 the western swing will conclude with the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 on July 15 at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway.