By: DJK Racing
July 30 2017
DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team were in high spirits heading to Edmonton for round number eight of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series at Edmonton International Raceway. Kennington was coming off back to back second place finishes and looked to keep the momentum going in the west.
Kennington posted quick lap times during practice and backed it up with a fifth place starting spot for the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge in the 300-lap feature event. “The car felt good again today,” he stated. “We’ve definitely found something that is going to help us,” he added.
As the green flag waved for the race Kennington was on the move quickly chasing down the leaders and then running strong in second position for much of the first half of the race in the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge. “The car was just a little bit loose off,” explained Kennington but we planned for an adjustment at the midway point,” he added.
By rule the race was paused just after the midway point for teams to change tires, add fuel and perform other service. The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge crew worked quickly to complete the work and hopefully move Kennington forward one spot.
The car however reacted badly and at the first opportunity under caution Kennington wheeled the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge back to pit lane for further handling changes. “I don’t know what happened but the car got super tight after the stop. We pitted again but it was still tight. I think it might not have liked that set of tires,” said the driver.
Despite a less than perfect handling car Kennington continued to push the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge as hard as he could to the conclusion of the race crossing the finish line in sixth position. “I expected to be better and we should have been,” said Kennington. “We’ll do a little digging to zero in on the issue and be back strong in a couple of weeks” he stated.
With the sixth place result Kennington now sits fourth in the overall championship standings.
The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team return to action at the Grand Prix of Trois Rivieres on August 13th.
Race fans are encouraged to keep up to date with the latest team news during the off-season in several ways. Race fans should bookmark the team website www.djkracing.ca and follow them on twitter, @djkracing and Instagram. Fans should also “like” the DJK Racing Fan Page on Facebook. Also follow @CastrolCanada on twitter and Facebook.