Category: Other Series PR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 11, 2013) – The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 makes its annual visit to Delaware (Ont.) Speedway for the first oval-track race in 2013. The EMCO 200 is set to take the green flag at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 15. Below is a statistical look at the recent performance of selected drivers at Delaware, as well as some other statistical trends:

Delaware Speedway Race Setup

·         D.J. Kennington has been dominant in winning three of the four Delaware races and leading a series-best 392 laps which is 47.7 percent of the total laps run.

·         Scott Steckly has three top-five finishes in four starts at the track with an average finish of 5.8 and runner-up finishes in each of the last two seasons.

·         Jason Hathaway has top-10 finishes in each of his last three Delaware starts with his best finish of third coming a year ago.

·         Points leader L.P. Dumoulin has just one Delaware start – 10th-place finish in 2012 – under his belt.

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series At Delaware Speedway

·         This is the series’ fifth visit to the half-mile oval in Southern Ontario.

·         Dodge has earned all four wins and starts from the pole.

·         There has been an average of 8.5 caution periods for an average of 65 laps in the four prior races with the earliest coming at Lap 2 in 2010 and the latest at Lap 210 in 2009 during attempts at a green-white-checkered finish.

·         The average starting position of the winner is 3.5, while the pole sitter has an average finish of ninth.

·         The most laps led by a race winner are 130 by D.J. Kennington in 2010 and the fewest is 46 by Don Thomson Jr. in 2011.

·         There has been an average of 10.25 lead changes in the four events.

·         Two of the four events have gone beyond the 200-lap advertised distance, but each of the last two races ended at the scheduled 200-lap mark.

·         The race’s television premieres are scheduled for Sunday, June 23 at 1 p.m. ET on TSN and Monday, July 8 at 9 p.m. ET on RDS2.

Delaware Speedway Data

Race: #2 of 12 (6/15/13)

Track Layout: Half-mile paved oval

Race Length: 200 laps (100 miles)

Records

1-Lap Qualifying: Mark Dilley, Dodge, 19.133 seconds, 94.078 mph, June 6, 2009

200-Lap Race: D.J. Kennington, Dodge, 1 hr., 22 min., 15 sec., 72.948 mph, June 23, 2012

Race Winners

D.J. Kennington ………………………….. 3

Don Thomson Jr. …………………………. 1

Pole Winners

D.J. Kennington ………………………….. 2

Mark Dilley …………………………………. 1

Pete Shepherd III …………………………. 1

Manufacturer Wins

Dodge……………………………………….. 4

Laps Led

D.J. Kennington ……………………….. 392

J.R. Fitzpatrick …………………………. 156

Mark Dilley ……………………………….. 61

Selected Driver Information:

Ron Beauchamp Jr. (No. 60 Mopar/Exide/Pennzoil Dodge)

·         Finished 11th last season in the EMCO 200.

·         Scored a career-best Delaware finish of second in 2009.

·         Has three top-10 finishes in four starts at the Ontario oval.

·         Has competed 818 of the possible 822 laps at Delaware.

·         One of four drivers to start all 76 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

Mark Dilley (No. 02 Leland/Beyond Digital Imaging/Dickies Ford)

·         Finished seventh a season ago at Delaware; his best finish in four starts.

·         Has led a total of 61 laps on the half-mile oval.

·         Holds the 1-lap qualifying track record for the series at 19.133 seconds (94.078 mph) set on June 6, 2009.

·         Has posted top-10 finishes in three of his last four series starts dating back to last season.

·         Has three career series wins with the last on Sept. 10, 2011 at Barrie Speedway.

Noel Dowler (No. 5 EMCO/Praxair/Safety Kleen Dodge)

·         Finished ninth last season at Delaware in his only start at the track.

·         Has scored a top 10 in three of his last four series starts dating back to last season.

·         Posted a third-place finish last season at Barrie (Ontario) Speedway for his first series top five.

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

·         Scored a 10th-place finish in his Delaware Speedway debut last season.

·         Registered his first Canadian Tire Series victory in the season opener on May 19 on the road course at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

·         Scored his first career pole win last season at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

·         Was the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Rookie of the Year.

·         Made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut on Aug. 20, 2012 at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

J.R. Fitzpatrick (No. 84 Equipment Express Chevrolet)

·         Settled for a 14th-place finish last year in the EMCO 200 after a brake line problem scuttled a race in which he led 92 laps.

·         Scored a Delaware-best finish of second in the 2010 race.

·         Also finished fifth in the 2011 EMCO 200.

·         Has led 156 laps at the Southern Ontario half-mile track.

·         Seven of his eight career series wins have come on road courses – CTMP (3), Edmonton (2) and Montreal (2); his oval track win came in July 2007 at Motoplex Speedway.

Jason Hathaway (No. 3 Snap-on Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge)

·         Finished third last year at Delaware; his best finish in four starts.

·         Has recorded three straight top-10 finishes at Delaware.

·         One of four drivers to start all 76 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

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

·         Won last year’s EMCO 200 from the pole position.

·         Also won Delaware events in 2009 and 2010.

·         Finished third in the 2011 edition of the EMCO 200.

·         In four Delaware outings, starts from an average position of 1.8 and averages a 1.5 finishing position.

·         Has led a series-best 392 laps at the Ontario oval; 47.7 percent of the laps run.

·         Tops the all-time Canadian Tire Series wins list with 18.

·         Won 2010 and 2012 series championships.

·         Scored a single-season series record of seven wins in 2012.

·         One of four drivers to start all 76 NCATS races.

Jeff Lapcevich (No. 76 Tim Hortons Dodge)

·         Placed 19th a year ago at Delaware.

·         Scored a track career-best finish of third in the 2010 Delaware race.

·         Has posted a top-10 finish in 10 of his last 13 series starts dating back to the 2011 season.

·         Changed car number to 76 from 23 to honor the passing of his father, Joe, earlier this year.

Steve Mathews (No. 15 Bill Mathews Motors Ford)

·         Finished 17th last year in the EMCO 200.

·         Posted a track-best finish of fourth in the 2011 Delaware event.

·         Has two series career pole wins – Kawartha (2011) and Barrie (2012).

Martin Roy (No. 90 Batteries Expert/Gamache Dodge)

·         Registered a 12th-place finish in last year’s EMCO 200 in his only start at the track

·         Won 2012 series Rookie-of-the-Year honors.

Pete Shepherd III (No. 7 National Exhaust Dodge)

·         Was fifth in last year’s edition of the EMCO 200

·         Finished fifth in his series track debut in 2010 at Delaware.

·         Started from the pole in the 2011 Delaware race.

·         Has top-five finishes in his last three Canadian Tire Series starts dating back to last season.

Scott Steckly (No. 22 Canadian Tire/Johnsonville Dodge)

·         Scored a runner-up finish a year ago at Delaware.

·         Finished second in the 2011 EMCO 200 and third in 2009.

·         Has led 60 laps in four Delaware Speedway starts.

·         His 11 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series victories rank third on the all-time list.

·         Won 2008 and 2011 series championships.

·         One of four drivers to start all 75 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

Jason White (No. 21 Bowers & Wilkins Dodge)

·         Finished sixth in last year’s EMCO 200; his best finish in four visits to Delaware.

·         Placed 10th in the 2011 Delaware race.

·         Was 2008 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Rookie of the Year.

Today’s IZOD IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights and Mazda Road to Indy headlines:

1. Briscoe to race for Panther in Milwaukee

2. Carpenter: Reading is fundamental

3. Of note

1. Briscoe to race for Panther in Milwaukee: Ryan Briscoe will return to Panther Racing’s No. 4 National Guard Chevrolet for the Milwaukee IndyFest at the Milwaukee Mile, team officials announced June 11.

Briscoe made two starts this year with Panther during the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit, and also started in the Indianapolis 500 last month with Chip Ganassi Racing.

 “We’re excited to have Ryan Briscoe back this weekend,” Panther managing partner John Barnes said. “It was great to work with him a few weeks ago in Detroit and he obviously knows his way around the Milwaukee Mile, so we feel like we’ll be able to have a good weekend in the National Guard Chevrolet. We’re working on getting him signed for several other races this season, so hopefully we’ll have that finalized in the short term future.”

Briscoe has seven career IZOD IndyCar Series wins and 13 pole starts in 107 starts. In 2008, Briscoe earned his maiden IZOD IndyCar Series victory and gave team owner Roger Penske his 300th in all forms of motorsports. He started from the pole and finished second in 2009, while placing 11th and 14th the previous two seasons with Team Penske.

“I felt like the team gelled really well when we worked together in Detroit and I’m sure we’ll be able to pick right up where we left off this weekend in Milwaukee,” said Briscoe, who will leave following the June 15 race to continue preparations for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Oriol Servia, who made his Panther Racing debut last weekend in Texas, is confirmed to compete in the No. 4 car June 23 at Iowa Speedway.

2. Carpenter: Reading is fundamental: IZOD IndyCar Series team owner/driver Ed Carpenter held the attention of grade-school children at Indianapolis Public School 60 on June 10 as part of the Indiana Department of Education’s campaign for summer literacy, the Hoosier Family of Readers.

The program, which engages local celebrities to be guest readers and relay to students some of their favorite childhood books, seeks to encourage students to continue reading through the summer vacation.

3. Of note: Coastal.com, the largest online retailer of eyeglasses and contacts in North America, will continue as the primary sponsor of the No. 55 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car driven by Tristan Vautier for the next three races. … The next “INDYCAR 36,” featuring two-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing, will be broadcast at 11 p.m. (ET) June 20 on NBC Sports Network. Earlier that evening, how seats are made for IZOD IndyCar Series drivers will be among the segments on “How It’s Made” on the Science Channel (9 p.m. ET) in the U.S.

***

The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Milwaukee IndyFest on June 15 at The Milwaukee Mile.  The race will be televised live at 4 p.m. (ET) by the NBC Sports Network (Verizon FiOS 90/590, DirecTV 220, DISH 159 and AT&T UVerse 640) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network, including on Sirius and XM Channels 211 and www.indycar.com.The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Milwaukee 100 at 2 p.m. (ET) on June 15 at The Milwaukee Mile. The race will be televised by NBC Sports Network at 3 p.m. (ET) on June 15.

By Clayton Johns (@cjohnsmedia) – Brandon Vanderwel (No. 97) has partnered with Protect the Children for the 2013 OSCAAR Super Late Model season to raise awareness against childhood abuse.

As part of the partnership, Vanderwel will host children at from shelters nearby various race tracks throughout the province as part of his race team for each of the 11 remaining events on the 2013 schedule. The family, siblings, or children who attend the OSCAAR race as part of Vanderwel’s crew will receive a team crew shirt, a photo with the entire team, and all expenses paid for the evening. In association with OSCAAR, the guests will also give the ‘Gentlemen, Start Your Engines’ command to drivers prior to the 50-lap feature event.

Following his initiative with Protect the Children, Vanderwel has also teamed with MyFM Radio Network as well. MyFM has donated 60 seconds of daily ad space for the duration of the summer, on each of its 13 radio stations province-wide, to promote the team’s goals and partnership. The ad will also feature any and all corporate partners who sponsor the No. 97 throughout the season. The advertising space is valued at $10,000.

So far, Vanderwel has secured sponsorship for this season from Shoreline Stone and Garden Centre, Moore Dry Bulk, Harry James Group, Marca Pizza & Pasta, and Kawartha Rock Quarries.

The Port Elgin, Ont. driver last competed with OSCAAR as a rookie in 2011, is preparing for his sophomore season after missing all of the 2012 season due to injury. The former ALSTAR series driver has high hopes for his return to the series.

“My goal would be to finish in the top five,” said Vanderwel. “I would have raced last year, but I had a hand injury.”

Vanderwel severed his pinky finger from his right hand in an accident and was forced to remain in a cast for three months after reconstructive surgery.

When he returns to action, Vanderwel will try to improve on his seventh-place finish in the championship standings in 2011, but is in need of a crew chief in order to do so.

“I love to drive. I’m just not very good with the setup,” said Vanderwel. “I need somebody behind me. A good race team needs a foundation and a crew chief is part of that.”

Vanderwel emphasized his crew chief is a paid position.

“I think I have decent enough equipment to get in to the top-five. I need the knowledge and the guys behind me to get there,” he said. “There are some pretty big names. To be in the top-five would be a pretty decent night considering the field.”

Vanderwel will make his return to the series at Barrie Speedway on June 15. That will be his only tune-up prior to the dual 50-lap features for the Don Biederman Memorial on June 29 and 30, which Vanderwel sees as a positive addition to the tour.

“It’s a great idea. It’s a little bit like hockey where you have seven games to determine who wins,” explained Vanderwel. “One night might be good for one guy, one night might be good for another. When you combine the points, I think it’s pretty cool. I’m excited for it.”

Vanderwel would like to thank each of the sponsors who have signed on for the 2013 OSCAAR Super Late Model season. Additionally, Vanderwel would like to send special thanks to all of his crew members, including Dave Taylor, Mark Eliot, Randy Bates, Burt Buckton, and Garit Bott.

Individuals or businesses interested in joining Vanderwel Racing’s partnership with Protect the Children and MyFM can contact Brandon Vanderwel via email at bvanderwel@shorelinestone.ca. Individuals interested in the crew chief position can contact Vanderwel at the same address.

—

About Protect The Children: Protect the Children was started in 2011 by Carrie Kent and Tania Van Narmen. With a mission to change societal attitudes towards childhood abuse, Protect the Children hopes to assist children everywhere through education and support, starting right here in Ontario. For more information, visit www.protectthechildren.net and www.myinnocencelost.net.

About MyFM Radio: MyFM Radio has 13 local radio stations located across Ontario, with two new stations in Alliston and Orangeville in development. MyFM Radio is owned and operated by My Broadcasting Corporation, Ontario’s Local Broadcast Company. For more information, visit www.myfmradio.ca.

The OSCAAR Super Late Model tour is presented by dedicated sponsors throughout Ontario, including: Knightworks Design, Hoosier Racing Tire, Klotz Synthetics Canada, Race2way.ca, Dave Franks Photos, Dickson Printing, Finishline Fabrication, McColl Racing Enterprises, McGunegill Engine Performance, Stefko Racing Engines, VP Racing Fuels, OntarioOval.com, RaceTime Radio, Inside Track Motorsport News, Jenco Equipment, Midas of Orangeville, Reinhart Trailer Sales, North Toronto Auctions, and South Shore Services.

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Concord, NC (June 10, 2013) – After nearly 40 hours of continuous rain in the Pocono Mountains washed out Friday’s ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards qualifying for the Pocono ARCA 200 the field for Saturday’s race was set by owner’s points, putting Venturini Motorsports (VMS) entries securely into the top-10 starting positions.

Leading the way for VMS was 17-year old rookie, Erik Jones. Jones, who looked like anything but a rookie, led 20-laps and brought his No. 15 Toyota Care – The Truth Band Camry home in second place.

This was the first race under ARCA’s recent rule change allowing approved 17-year old drivers the opportunity to race on intermediate speedway tracks. A test date early in the week gave Jones a day to get acquainted with the car and how it felt to reach peak speeds of over 200 mph. Ending the test on top of the speed charts, Jones felt more at ease going into the race on Saturday.

“Coming out to the test was a big advantage for us today,” stated Jones after his second place finish. “It proved to be an asset since practice and qualifying got rained out on Friday. Starting order was determined by owner points, which the No. 15 was in fifth, so I knew we would still have a solid starting position.”

Nine time series champion, Frank Kimmel, took the lead early in the 80 lap race but failed to hold off Jones as he charged to the lead on lap 23. Gaining a nine second lead over the field, the teenager lost everything he gained on lap-43 when he ran out of fuel while attempting a green flag pit stop, forcing him to coast around the 2.5 mile speedway. Slight trouble re-firing the car and a pit road penalty, meant Jones would have to restart at the tail end of the longest line when the green flag flew.

Using the strength of his Joe Gibbs Racing motor, Jones worked through lap traffic and with less than ten laps to go, closed the gap of five seconds between him and eventual race winner Elliot to .676 seconds when the two crossed the start finish line. During the ten lap shoot out, Jones laid down the fastest lap of the day with a time of 53.072 seconds equating to 169.581 mph.

“Our big advantage today was how our car cut in the corners which allowed us to drive away from everyone,” said Jones after the race. “Kevin Reed and my Venturini Motorsports team gave me a great set up that worked the whole race. We knew we could go around 40 laps without running out of fuel and when a car stopped on the track we thought for sure the caution would come out, it just didn’t happen in time. This kind of second place finish is a little harder to swallow but I’m glad we were able to show off the strength of our Toyota race car and bring it back home in one piece.”

AJ Henriksen, driver of the No.55 Engineered Components Company Toyota Camry, scored his 30th career top-10 finish with his strong seventh place showing at the “Tricky Triangle.” Henriksen will be back in action with VMS in two weeks when the ARCA series makes it first visit to Road America, the first of two road courses on the 2013 series schedule.

Justin Boston, diver of the No.25 ZLOOP Computer and Electronic Recycling Toyota Camry, claimed his third consecutive top-10 finish of the season and gave VMS three cars in the top-10 at Pocono Raceway. Boston who sits in the sixth position in the series point standings is looking ahead to this weekend when the ARCA series rolls into the Irish Hills of Michigan and Michigan International Speedway.

Milka Duno, driver of the No.35 Cantv-Milka Way Toyota Camry, finished 14th scoring her fifth overall top-15 finish of the season.

Next up for VMS and the ARCA series is the ARCA 200 from Michigan International Speedway. Practice for the event is scheduled for Thursday afternoon from 1:05 p.m. through 3:30 p.m. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell is slated for Friday morning at 10 a.m. In addition to live coverage on SPEED at 5 p.m. eastern, the event will feature live timing and scoring of all on-track activity at ARCAracing.com.ya

About Venturini Motorsports
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Kevin Swindell, Miguel Paludo, John Wes Townley, Josh Richards and Johanna Long.

In 2012, VMS and the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano, among others.

After nearly two decades away from NASCAR, 2013 marks VMS’s modern day return to the series with John Wes Townley driving the team’s familiar No.25 in selective NASCAR Nationwide Series events.

Official: www.VenturiniMotorsports.com  |  Twitter: @VenturiniMotor  |  Facebook: Venturini Motorsports

NEW CASTLE, Ind.— June 10, 2013— Tracy Hines never had seen Susquehanna Speedway Park in Pennsylvania, until Sunday afternoon, but he didn’t let that slow him down. He ran second for the majority of the 30-lap event and took the lead for an instant, before a red flag negated that pass, and would end up earning the final spot on the podium to score his best finish of the 2013 Eastern Storm Tour for the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series, following a sixth-place effort on Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway.

The Eastern Storm Tour for the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series was originally scheduled to consist of four races, but the event at Path Valley Speedway on Thursday, June 6 fell to rain. Races at Susquehanna, Port Royal and Grandview Speedway were all completed. In the final point standings for the three-race mini-series, Hines ended up fourth.

Hines, piloting his Hansen’s Welding Inc. DRC, started on the front row on Sunday, June 9 at Susquehanna Speedway Park and ran second to polesitter Shane Cottle in the early going, as the pair pulled away from the rest of the field. The race was slowed on the seventh circuit for a red flag. Hines stayed right with Cottle on the restart and 12 laps later on lap-19 was able to get around Cottle, but another red flag came out before that lap was completed, relegating Hines to second on the restart. The native of New Castle, Ind., lost a spot on the restart and would run third for the remainder of the 30-lapper to finish on the podium.

Hines began the event at Susquehanna Speedway Park by timing in fifth-quickest of the 29 drivers that took to the four-tenths-mile oval, with a lap of 17.525-seconds. He finished third in the first eight-lap heat race to earn a spot in the main event. The third-place finish for Hines was his third top-five of the year with the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series to go along with a pair of wins back in February at Bubba Raceway Park in Florida.

“I had one chance there to make something happen and unfortunately the red flag came out,” said Hines. “That’s just racing. Sometimes it works out in your favor and sometimes it doesn’t. We got better at each of the three tracks we hit during the week and I am feeling pretty good about our package right now. The main thing is to just keep racing to keep the momentum and rhythm going.”

On Saturday, June 8, Hines finished sixth at Port Royal Speedway, to earn his second straight top-10 finish at the track. He opened the night by turning the fastest lap in time trials of the 26 entries, recording a lap of 21.120-seconds around the sprawling half-mile. Hines would charge from the sixth starting spot in the first eight-lap heat race to finish third, which transferred him to the main event, where he also started sixth.

“That was the first big track we have ran the sprint car on all year, so we definitely made the most of hot laps and tried a few things that worked out pretty well,” he shared. “After Midget Week, we have a couple of more half-miles in the sprint car, so I am looking forward to those races to use some of what worked at Port Royal and Susquehanna.”

Hines kicked-off the 2013 Eastern Storm Tour with an 11th-place performance at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa., on Wednesday, June 5. He opened the night as the ninth-quickest qualifier of the 29 entries. The veteran driver crossed the line third in the first eight-lap heat race to transfer to the 40-lap Jesse Hockett Classic. Hines ran near the top-10 for the duration of the main event, crossing the line 11th to earn his fifth straight finish of 11th or better at the high-banked third-mile bullring.

“We were just a tick off it seemed like all night,” Hines noted. “It’s tough to start in the middle of the pack and be in contention with these guys. We just have to keep working on our qualifying package for the smaller tracks, so that we put ourselves in a better position for later in the night. It would have been great to have gotten all four races in, but at least we got three in, and with how the weather has been this year, that was an accomplishment in itself.”

Upon completion of the Eastern Storm Tour, Hines is seventh in the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series standings. He has two wins this season to go along with five top-10 finishes. The 2002 USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series champion returns to the track this week with the annual running of Indiana Midget Week, which will see five races in five nights at five tracks.

Tracy Hines Racing would like to thank: Hansen’s Welding Inc., Parker Machinery, Motor City Auto Transport, Turbines, Inc., Afco Racing Products, Daum Crop Insurance, Schoenfeld Headers, Allstar Performance, Kenny’s Components, Race Bumpers and Bell Racing.

For more information on Tracy Hines Racing, visit http://www.tracyhinesracing.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter atwww.Twitter.com/TracyHinesRacin.

Kennington Sets Standard Of Excellence On Ovals

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 10, 2013) – Round and round he goes. The performance of D.J. Kennington on NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 oval tracks has been nothing short of amazing.

Since the series began in 2007 the driver of the No. 17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge out of St. Thomas, Ontario, has made 47 starts on circle tracks with a record of 16 wins, 35 top-five and 41 top-10 finishes. He also is the series’ all-time leader in wins with 18 and when he is able to string the wins together special things happen. In his championship seasons of 2010 and 2012, he racked up 12 of those wins.

The history supports Kennington’s assertion that he is an “oval track guy,” but he does have a pair of road-course wins on his résumé with a victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, in 2011 and one at Edmonton, Alberta last season.

Kennington’s career was defined by near championship misses in the CASCAR days and early on in the Canadian Tire Series. However, with two titles in the last three seasons, the story has changed.

The biggest noticeable difference over the past few years is the mechanical reliability of the car. His only bobble all of last season was a part failure at Barrie (Ont.) Speedway, but nothing could have been done to prevent it since the part was bad out of the box with no way to foresee the trouble. It was little nagging things that always seemed to bite Kennington at inopportune times.

“We spend a ton of time checking and re-checking everything,” said Kennington. “We’ve had pretty good luck – knock on wood. Things happen to race cars all of the time, but it won’t be because we missed something.”

Last season, Kennington was practically unbeatable on the oval tracks by winning six of the seven dates on the schedule. Only the fuel pump problem at Barrie prevented an opportunity at the sweep. His seven wins was a single-season series record eclipsing the six victories by Andrew Ranger in 2009.

The first five of those triumphs came consecutively. The streak started on the Speedway at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in June and ran through a win in late July at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, Sask.  The five-race win streak tied a then NASCAR touring series record among currently sanctioned series previously accomplished by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), nine-time NASCAR champion Mike Stefanik (Whelen Modified Tour), legendary West Coast driver Herschel McGriff (NASCAR K&N Pro Series West) and longtime NASCAR national series competitor Ricky Craven (K&N Pro Series East). Ander Vilarino of the Euro-Racecar NASCAR Touring Series in Europe established a new mark by picking up his sixth straight win on June 9 at Brands Hatch in the United Kingdom.

It’s a new year for Kennington and he knows that he is a marked man.

“Last year was last year. It was a great year, but it’s in the past,” Kennington said. “We have a standard of excellence we want to meet that measures up to the competition we expect from everyone else. We can only take care of ourselves and tend to our business. If we do that, then everything should take care of itself.”

As of late, everything has taken care of itself.

Race: EMCO 200

Place: Delaware (Ontario) Speedway

Date: Saturday, June 15

Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV Schedule: TSN, Sun., June 23, 1 p.m. ET; RDS2, Mon., July 8, 9 p.m. ET

Track Layout: Half-mile paved oval

2012 Winner: D.J. Kennington

2012 Pole Sitter: D.J. Kennington

Event Schedule: Practice 12:30-1 p.m.; Final Practice 1:30-2 p.m.; Qualifying 4:30 p.m.; Driver Autograph Session 5:40 p.m..; Opening Ceremonies 6:30 p.m.

Track Contact: John Houghton, (519) 652-5068, info@delawarespeedway.com

Track Twitter: @DelawareSpdway

Event Twitter Hashtag: #EMCO200

NASCAR IMC Contact: Shon Sbarra, (704) 309-5493 or sbarra@nascar.com, Twitter: @ShonSbarra

FAST FACTS

The Race: This is the second event of the 2013 season for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 and the first of eight oval-track events on the schedule. This is the series’ fifth time to Delaware Speedway.

The Procedure: The starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 21 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 200 laps covering 100 miles.

The Track: Delaware Speedway is a half-mile, paved stock-car track located just west of London, Ontario. For over 50 years, Delaware Speedway has been the home to some of the finest stock car racing in Canada. Its unique natural amphitheater-like setting allows maximum enjoyment for the fans. The track has undergone extensive remodeling over the past few years. The track was opened in 1952 by Hugh Brodie as a quarter-mile dirt track. The track is currently operated by the DeMelo and Spivak families.

The Records: Mark Dilley holds the one-lap track record in qualifying with a time of 19.133 seconds (94.078 mph), set on June 6, 2009. The 200-lap race record was set last season by D.J. Kennington at 1 hour, 22 minutes, 15 seconds (72.948 mph).

RACE NOTES

No Place Like Home: D.J. Kennington (No. 17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge) began his racing career at Delaware Speedway and his familiarity with the track is evident. In the first four Canadian Tire Series events on the half-mile track the driver from nearby St. Thomas, Ont., has three victories and two pole wins. Last season, he won the race from the pole position.

Dodge Ball: Dodge has been perfect at Delaware in four races. Kennington and Don Thomson Jr. (2011) have combined for the wins while Kennington, Dilley (2009) and Pete Shepherd III (2011) have claimed the pole position.

Getting Started: Of the drivers expected to participate in the EMCO 200, four – Dave Connelly, Mark Dilley and Shepherd – are expected to make their 2013 season debut. Four competitors – Daniel Bois, Alex Guennette, Ryley Seibert and Trevor Seibert – will be making their Delaware debut in a Canadian Tire Series car.

Big Weekend: Friday and Saturday evenings will be full of racing at Delaware Speedway. On Friday night the FT Garage Late Models and Coca-Cola Super Stocks will be on the track with heat races and features. The Canadian Tire Series will be joined by the Delaware Trucks on Saturday. Tickets are available for purchase atwww.delawarespeedway.com.

LAST TIME OUT: Pinty’s presents the Vortex Brake Pads 200

First Timer: By winning at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, Ontario, L.P. Dumoulin became the 14th different driver to claim a victory in the just over six-year history of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.

Growing Up Dowler: It took 20-year-old Noel Dowler 13 races to collect his first Canadian Tire Series top-10 finish, but after an eight-place showing at CTMP the Alberta-born driver has top 10s in three of his last four starts.

Welcome Back: Brad Graham finished 10th in his first series start since the 2011 season finale at Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville, Ontario.

Tough Start: Championship contenders J.R. Fitzpatrick and Scott Steckly didn’t start the season the way neither had planned. Steckly had a Lap 13 accident forcing him to finish 24th and Fitzpatrick had a drive shaft problem while leading the race on Lap 8 relegating him to a 27th-place finish.

NEXT TIME OUT: Clarington 200

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 returns to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the Clarington 200 on Saturday, June 22, the third race of the season, but it’s a visit to the half-mile oval this time around after opening the year on the road course on May 19. D.J. Kennington claimed his first win on the CTMP speedway a year ago which kicked off a five-race winning streak and the run to his second series title.

FORT WORTH, Texas (Saturday, June 8, 2013) – Helio Castroneves dominated the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway to take sole possession of first place in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings through eight of 19 races.

Driving the Chevrolet-powered No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske car, Castroneves led 132 of 228 laps on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval and won by 4.6919 seconds over reigning series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay in the No. 1 DHL car for Andretti Autosport.

Castroneves is the seventh different winner in eight races this season, and the first to win four IZOD IndyCar Series races at Texas Motor Speedway. It was his first win on an oval since 2010 at Twin Ring Motegi.

“It was just the setup; we did a lot of homework. Awesome job everyone,” said Castroneves, who broke a tie with Johnny Rutherford for 12th on the all-time Indy car list with his 28th victory.

Castroneves broke a tie with Marco Andretti, who led 57 laps early and placed fifth, to move 22 points clear heading to the Milwaukee IndyFest on June 15 at the Milwaukee Mile.

It was the first victory of the season for Team Penske and the sixth different team to hoist a trophy in Victory Circle.

“Helio drove a flawless race and a key victory in our season based on where we were in the standings,” team owner Roger Penske said. “It probably was the best execution we’ve had in a long time. Helio now leads the points and that’s critical as we are in this stretch of oval races.”

Tony Kanaan, who started 13th in the No. 11 Sunoco “Turbo” car, finished third and Ed Carpenter posted his best finish of fourth at the track.

Long Pond, Pennsylvania (June 5, 2013) – Year after year Pocono Raceway has been a welcome sight on the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule for Venturini Motorsports (VMS).

In the last six events at the “Tricky Triangle” VMS drivers have captured five pole positions and one victory. Last year’s spring race at Pocono saw Brennan Poole set a new track record (173.554 mph) and dominate the Pocono ARCA 200 leading 77 of 80 earning his third career victory.

Saturday’s running of the Pocono ARCA 200 will be ARCA’s 56th event at Pocono Raceway since 1983.

Returning with another strong driver line-up, VMS is hoping to duplicate their recent success with drivers Justin Boston, AJ Henriksen, Milka Duno and the return of young Erik Jones.

17-year old Erik Jones will be making his 2013 VMS – ARCA series debut behind the wheel of his Toyota Car Care No.15. Jones, one of the top development drivers in the country, is currently splitting time in ARCA and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Jones is one of the young drivers benefitting from ARCA’s new age requirements allowing approved 17-year old drivers to compete on intermediate race tracks.

“I’m really looking forward to getting on a bigger race track like Pocono,” stated Jones. “The ARCA cars are fun to drive and I’m excited to be teamed up with Kevin Reed (Crew Chief) in the Venturini Motorsports car. I’ve talked to a few people about Pocono and it’s a track that is like no other. From what I have heard it’s like running three different race tracks in one, which from a driver standpoint means a lot of fun!”

In ten career ARCA starts Jones has led 103 laps and finished a career best of third at both Winchester and Berlin.

Baltimore, Maryland native Justin Boston will make his first career start at Pocono this weekend behind the wheel of his No.25 ZLOOP Computer and Electronics Recycling Toyota Camry. Boston, coming off back-to-back fourth place finishes, is looking to break out this weekend and continue to ride his recent momentum.

Boston, who participated with his sponsor (ZLOOP) earlier this year during Pocono’s Earth Day Recycling Challenge, will feature winners of the promotion on the side skin of his race car. The Pocono River Otters and the Freedom through Water Foundation were the two top grossing organizations that participated in Pocono’s Earth Day e-Waste collection drive.

To honor both organizations for their impactful contributions, ZLOOP Racing will replace their familiar colors on the side of Boston’s No.25 car and provide in-car camera exposure featuring the logos of each respective group.

On April 20, 2013, Pocono Raceway, Venturini Motorsports and ZLOOP Computer and Electronic Recycling teamed for the annual Pocono Earth Day Recycling Challenge and collected over 100,000 pounds of unwanted e-Waste from entering and contaminating our landfills across the nation.

Chicago area native AJ Henriksen will be making his first start of the 2013 ARCA season with VMS in his No.55 Engineered Components Company Toyota. Last year at the Pocono spring race Henriksen drove his car to an eighth place finish. No stranger to the ARCA circuit, Henriksen has 86 series starts since 1995 including 10 top-5 and 29 top-10 finishes including a career best 2nd at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2003.

Milka Duno, who currently sits in the seventh spot in the national point standings, will be looking to improve her career stats at Pocono. Milka competed in last year’s August race driving for Dave Leiner Racing and finished 19th. This year she is behind the No.35 Cantv-Milka Way Toyota for VMS. In six events so far in 2013 Duno has one top-10 finish and earned her first career ARCA Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell at Talladega Superspeedway.

This year’s Pocono ARCA 200 is the 56th ARCA race held on Pocono’s 2.5-mile triangle since the series debut in 1983. The event will precede the next-day Party in the Poconos 400 Presented by Walmart NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. The Pocono ARCA 200 will air live on SPEED Channel Saturday, June 8th at 1:00 p.m. ET. 

About Venturini Motorsports
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Kevin Swindell, Miguel Paludo, John Wes Townley, Josh Richards and Johanna Long.

In 2012, VMS and the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano, among others.

After nearly two decades away from NASCAR, 2013 marks VMS’s modern day return to the series with John Wes Townley driving the team’s familiar No.25 in selective NASCAR Nationwide Series events.

Official: www.VenturiniMotorsports.com  |  Twitter: @VenturiniMotor  |  Facebook: Venturini Motorsports