· Western Swing Continues With Velocity Prairie Thunder 250

· Competition Is Close With Five Races, Five Different Winners

Daytona Beach, Florida – The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 has seen its championship decided by final margins of three and two points the last two years. As the 2015 season reaches the halfway mark, the trend looks to continue.

Jason Hathaway enters Wednesday’s Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 at Saskatchewan’s Auto Clearing Motor Speedway with a one-point advantage on Scott Steckly after five of 11 events. The oval aces have each won an event this year, and both have four top 10s. Steckly was victorious Saturday at Edmonton International Raceway on the first leg of the series’ annual western swing while Hathaway took checkers at Quebec’s Autodrome Chaudiere in mid-June.

It isn’t a two-horse race, however, as the top six drivers in the standings are separated by just 20 tallies. Leading Jostens Rookie of the Year candidate Gary Klutt is seven points back of Hathaway in third and defending champion L.P. Dumoulin is 11 out. Two-time titlists D.J. Kennington and Andrew Ranger are also within 20 points.

The evenness of the competition has carried over to Victory Lane this year as well, as each of the first five events has produced different winners. That only happened once previously, in 2011, and no season has started with six in six.

RACE: Velocity Prairie Thunder 250
PLACE: Auto Clearing Motor Speedway, Saskatoon, Sask.
DATE: Wednesday, July 15
TIME: 7:30 p.m. MT
BROADCAST: TSN - July 25, 12:30 p.m. ET; RDS2 - Aug. 8, 2 p.m. ET
TRACK LAYOUT: .333-mile banked asphalt oval
2014 POLESITTER: Scott Steckly
2014 WINNER: L.P. Dumoulin
EVENT SCHEDULE: Practice 1-1:30 p.m., Final Practice 2-2:30 p.m., Qualifying 5:15 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 6 p.m.
TRACK TWITTER: @ACMS_Racing
EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG: #VPT250

Fast Facts

The Race: The seventh annual Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 will be the sixth of 11 events on the 2015 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 schedule, and the lone trip to Saskatchewan and Auto Clearing Motor Speedway.

The Procedure: The maximum starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 21 cars will have secured starting positions through two-lap time trials while the remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 250 laps (83.25 miles) and will have a five-minute midway break at or near the conclusion of Lap 125.

The Track: Auto Clearing Motor Speedway was constructed as a .333-mile oval with graduated banking in 2005 and opened to stock car auto racing in 2006. The track has welcomed the Canadian Tire Series each year since 2009.

Pole Winners: The first six ACMS races have produced four different pole winners, led by J.R. Fitzpatrick and D.J. Kennington with two apiece. Fitzpatrick set the track qualifying record at 14.665 seconds (81.801 mph) in 2012.

Race Winners: Kennington and Scott Steckly lead the way with two wins apiece. L.P. Dumoulin earned his first oval victory in this race last year.

Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 Notes

Record Run Continues: The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 enters Auto Clearing Motor Speedway having set all-time competition records in each of its previous three outings. On June 13 at Ontario’s Sunset Speedway Alex Tagliani became the first winner to have the entire field lapped at the checkered flag while at Quebec’s Circuit ICAR on July 5 the series experienced its first caution-free event. Then this past Saturday Scott Steckly became the first driver to lead flag-to-flag in an oval event when he paced the field for all 300 laps at Alberta’s Edmonton International Raceway. Could this week feature a series-first six different winners in the first six races of a season?

Can Dilley Break Through?: Perhaps one of the leading candidates to extend this season’s run of different winners is Mark Dilley. The veteran, who has specialized in ovals in recent seasons, has had four second-place finishes in the 26 starts since he last reached Victory Lane at Barrie Speedway in 2011. Two of those runner-ups came in Saskatoon in 2012-13.

Breakneck Pace: Wednesday’s Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 will be the third event in 11 days for the Canadian Tire Series, the most-compact portion of the 2015 event schedule. The series will get a 10-day breather before resuming action on July 25 at Quebec’s Autodrome St-Eustache and then heading up the road for the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres on Aug. 2.

Split Championship?: We’re still a long way from deciding the 2015 Canadian Tire Series championship, but there is an interesting development that could result in split titles for driver and owner. Jason Hathaway has the slim one-point lead after five events for the driver’s championship, but the No. 18 Chevrolet owned by Colin Livingston is two tallies ahead of Hathaway’s No. 3 Chevrolet proprietor Ed Hakonson in the owner standings. Livingston’s car is primarily driven by Alex Tagliani, who has posted top 10s in all four of his starts while Pier-Luc Ouellette piloted the entry to an eighth-place finish in the opener.