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Tag: Scott Steckly

  • Hot 20 – Indianapolis, It is no Wetaskiwin, but it will do

    Hot 20 – Indianapolis, It is no Wetaskiwin, but it will do

    I am just another foreigner. Sure, I’ve been to Daytona. I spent Christmas a couple of years ago on a beach near Malibu. I have been in the Empire State Building, walked the boardwalk in Atlantic City, toured Gettysburg, been to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and drove the strip in Las Vegas. I have walked the Little Bighorn Battlefield more than once, seen Devil’s Tower and visited Mount Rushmore. I have watched the Red Sox play in Seattle, and I believe the scenery in Wyoming is second to none. I’ve been there, but I do not live there.

    I am reminded of that fact as I write this. You see, the big dirt race at Eldora Speedway was slated for this week. Sadly, as a Canadian, that American-based program was not be broadcast on this side of the border, or any truck race for that matter. All was not lost. TSN, our version of ESPN, was slated to run a NASCAR event the same night. It was the Canadian Tire series, from Wetaskiwin, Alberta. A race run nearly two weeks ago and won by 43-year old Scott Steckly from Milverton, Ontario. It was his second win in the six races run to date and he leads the season standings. You might not care. You might not even be Canadian. You might have been stuck having to watch that dirt race broadcast on live television from Iowa. Oh, well, such are the trials and tribulations of being American, I guess.

    This Sunday, NASCAR is back on my television, but not from Wetaskiwin, a place where I understand cars cost less than in, say, Edmonton. No, this Sunday the event is something called the Brickyard 400, from a place called Indianapolis. You might have heard of it.

    In the meantime, as a Canadian, please allow me to politely submit this week’s Hot 20…

    1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (646 Points)
    He and Chad are free agents at the end of the season. Could anyone tempt them?

    2. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (734 Points)
    Disaster struck in the pits…so the best he could do was third. Third. Oh, the humanity!

    3. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS (655 Points)
    Junior was hot last week. Okay, more like p.o.’d, to use the vernacular.

    4. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS (576 Points)
    The forgotten Busch? Little brothers can be so attention getting.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (665 Points)
    It is so good to be a Penske guy right now.

    6. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (628 Points)
    Some guys got the breaks in New Hampshire, other guys were named Truex.

    7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (603 Points)
    Best damn driver in recent weeks not named Kyle Busch.

    8. MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (578 Points)
    It is a good thing they do not hand out demerits for speeding…on pit road.

    9. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (552 Points)
    Hamlin wins Saturday, upsets Austin, but why in hell were either racing in the minor league?

    10. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (487 Points)
    The big difference between Clint and Carl is a single checkered flag.

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 574 POINTS
    Jamie had a lousy day. Still, Bowyer’s was even worse.

    12. JEFF GORDON – 573 POINTS
    Five Indianapolis wins, including just one year ago. Why not six?

    13. KASEY KAHNE – 538 POINTS
    Presently a Chase contender, but best title comes in October…a new dad.

    14. RYAN NEWMAN – 530 POINTS
    Eleventh at New Hampshire means some breathing room heading to Indianapolis.

    15. PAUL MENARD – 528 POINTS
    Fail inspection once, you get a letter. If it happens again this week, they get penalized.

    16. ARIC ALMIROLA – 502 POINTS
    Thanks, Clint!

    17. CLINT BOWYER – 500 POINTS
    Failed inspection, runs into Gordon outside the garage, then car fades to irrelevance in the race.

    18. GREG BIFFLE – 437 POINTS
    If NASCAR had the same rules as MLB, Biffle should demand to be traded by the deadline.

    19. AUSTIN DILLON – 434 POINTS
    Has an idea as to where he would love to shove the XFINITY checkered flag after last Saturday.

    20. CASEY MEARS – 427 POINTS
    #13 proves to be a good number as Casey signs up for another season with Germain Racing.

  • Ron Fellows and Scott Steckly To Appear at Canadian Motorsports Expo

    Ron Fellows and Scott Steckly To Appear at Canadian Motorsports Expo

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    NASCAR fans will get their good dosage worth of content at this year’s Canadian Motorsports Expo as both Ron Fellows’ No. 88 Canadian Tire NASCAR Nationwide Series Show car and Scott Steckly’s No. 22 Canadian Tire/Motomaster Dodge will be on display.

    Both Fellows and Steckly will also be on hand to sign autographs throughout the weekend.

    This will be part of Canadian Tire’s 5,000 square foot display.

    “We’re thrilled to be part of the 6th Annual Canadian Motorsport Expo and to connect with Canadians that share our passion for auto racing,” Allan McDonald, Senior Vice President of Automotive at Canadian Tire, says. “As title sponsors of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series we’ve been blown away by the support and enthusiasm of Canadian fans. We’re committed to fostering the growth of auto racing in Canada through our support of the series and are looking forward to an exciting 2012 season.”

    The display will also include Canadian Tire’s 53-foot racing hauler, a pit stop challenge and a money machine. The money machine, which resembles a glass phone booth, has Canadian Tire Money that swirls around and contestants can keep all the money they grab in 20 seconds. Canadian Tire will also be giving out samples of products during the weekend.

    “We are very proud to welcome Canadian Tire as a major exhibitor at the 6th Annual Canadian Motorsports Expo Powered by Inside Track,” CME Co-promoter Rob Morton says. “From the company’s long-running support of some of Canada’s top racers and events, to their current sponsorship of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Scott Steckly, Ron Fellows and others, Canadian Tire is an undisputed leader in Canadian motorsports. Racers and fans appreciate Canadian Tire’s commitment to their sport and their dedication to offering the best service, expertise and products – many of them race and track-tested.”

    The Sixth Annual Canadian Motorsports Expo will be happening February 10th to 12th at Toronto’s International Centre.

    Ron Fellow is a legendary road racer and the new owner of Mosport, while Scott Steckly won his second NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Championship last season.

  • Scott Steckly Wins Komatsu 300 at Riverside International Speedway, Extending Points Lead

    After a fierce battle, it’d be Scott Steckly coming out on top in the Komatsu 300 presented by Wilson Equipment at Riverside International Speedway on Saturday to take the victory and extend his points lead.

    “It was the best day possible,” the driver of the No. 22 Canadian Tire/MotoMaster Dodge said. “We were the fastest car in practice, won the pole and won the race. I can’t ask for much more than that.”

    Steckly had a racecar driver’s dream day as he was the quickest car in practice and in qualifying.

    “Last year, we came in here and were fastest in practice and qualifying, but came up a little short in the race and finished second,” he stated. “We came here to win the race and my crew came up with a little different pit strategy than what we did last year and it worked out for the best.”

    The victory marks his third of the season and the 11th of his career as the 2008 series champion goes for his second championship. He now leads DJ Kennington by 94 points.

    “We didn’t come here looking to protect the points lead,” Steckly commented. “We wanted to leave here with as big of a lead as possible going into Kawartha. Earlier this year, we lost 80 points at Saskatoon, so we came into the race looking to expand the lead, not protect it.”

    The final 100 laps went green, which worked against Shepherd as he would’ve like to come down pit road for right-side tires.

    “It would have been nice to get a caution there toward the end to get new right sides, but you never know how that might have worked out,” Shepherd, who scored his third top-five of the year in six starts, said.. “With the way it worked out, I could catch (Steckly), but I was never going to get around him. There just wasn’t enough left.”

    Donald Chisholm would get a series best finish, racing on his home track, after passing Kennington for third.

    “Obviously, I wanted to get around (Kennington), but tapping him like that was not intentional,” Chisholm commented. That’s not how I had it planned. It was great, though, to turn in a good performance here at home.”

    Kennington would finish fourth with Kerry Micks in fifth. J.R. Fitzpatrick would get sixth, followed by Jason Hathaway, Ron Beauchamp Jr., Chris Raabe and Mark Dilley.

    The race was slowed due to caution just two times for 32 laps while the lead changed hands eight times among four drivers with Steckly leading a race-high 194 laps.

    The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series closes out the 2011 season on Saturday, Sept. 24 in the Kawartha 250 at Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville, Ont.

  • No. 11 of Canadian Tire Series Schedule: Komatsu 300 at Riverside International Speedway

    No. 11 of Canadian Tire Series Schedule: Komatsu 300 at Riverside International Speedway

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    For race no. 11 of the 12 race schedule, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will be heading to Riverside International Speedway in Antigonish, Nova Scotia for the Komatsu 300 presented by Wilson Equipment on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 4:30 p.m. AT. This marks the series’ fifth visit to the 0.333 mile oval that has been designed based upon Bristol Motor Speedway’s configuration.

    In the past, weather has been a factor as the race has been postponed a day twice in the previous four events.

    Like last week at Barrie Speedway, everybody will have their eyes on the championship battle between Scott Steckly and DJ Kennington. Steckly, who won the championship in 2008, currently leads the points, 69 points over defending series champion Kennington after the Wild Wing 300 last Saturday.

    Steckly has ran decent on the 0.333-mile oval in the past, scoring a second place finish last year. Before that, he only had one other top-10 at Riverside, which came in 2007 with a sixth place finish. He has also led a total of 182 laps at Riverside.

    In contrast, Kennington won last year’s race and finished third in his track debt in 2007. He has led a total of 194 laps, also.

    Other drivers who have won at Riverside include Mark Dilley, Andrew Ranger and Don Thomson Jr.

    Coming off his third career win at Barrie Speedway, Dilley is looking for another solid weekend to possibly crack the top five in points. He won the inaugural series race at Riverside in 2007 and has since finished fourth, third and eighth.

    Thomson Jr. won at Riverside in 2008 while finishing third last year. Thomson is looking for his eighth series win and is hoping experience from leading 53 laps at Riverside over the years will help.

    Ranger, who has been running a limited schedule this year, is not scheduled to participate in this weekend’s action.

    While everybody will have their eyes on the point standings and the lead pack, another battle going on is the Rookie of the Year battle. Currently, L.P Dumoulin leads Isabelle Tremblay by two points, John Farano by seven and Steve Mathews by 13. According to the mathimatics of the award, all of these drivers have a possibility to still win it.

    The rookie points system is a simple one. The top-finishing rookie driver earns 10 points, the next collects nine points and so on down the line to one. Should there be more than 10 rookies in the field no driver earns less than a single point.

    Originally this year, Dumoulin was only going to run the road courses, though the rookie standings have him now running the final oval events of the year.

    “(Oval racing) is really different from road courses,” the Trois-Rivieres, Quebec native. “The driving style and car setups are nothing alike, but I enjoyed it. All of the teams have been really helpful with information. That was a big help.”

    Meanwhile for Tremblay, it has been something that’s been on her mind all year.

    “That was one of our goals from the beginning,” Tremblay, who scored her best career finish of eighth at Mosport earlier this year, said. “We’re in good position to win it with a little luck.”

  • Race No. 10 of NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Schedule: Wild Wing 300 at Barrie Speedway

    For race no. 10 of the 12 race schedule, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will be heading to Barrie Speedway for the Wild Wing 300. This marks the seventh event for the series at the venue.

    With only three races left on the schedule, the championship battle is coming to a close as Scott Steckly leads DJ Kennington by 84 points.

    Both have had success at Barrie as the pair of them have won five of the six races so far at the 0.333 mile tri-oval in Barrie, Ontario.

    Kennington, who has won three of those five races, has led a total of 323 laps at Barrie Speedway and is the defending series champion.

    Steckly, who has won two of those five, has led a series-high total of 511 laps and picked up his 10th series victory back in July at Motoplex Speedway, to tie Kennington second on the all-time win list.

    The only other driver who has won at Barrie Speedway besides the pair of them is Don Thomson Jr., who picked up a win in 2009 while finishing second last year. Thomson Jr. is another driver to expect up front at Barrie as he has led 409 laps and has never finished outside of the top five at the track.

    While eyes will be on the guys who have done well at Barrie in the past, it marks the return of Pete Shephard III to the series. Shephard III, who is only running a select group of races in 2011, won in his most recent start in Saskatoon with a bump-and-run on Kennington.

    “He’s gotten me twice this season,” Kennington said. “In Saskatoon, I guess anything goes on the last lap, but rest assured I’ve got my eye on him.”

    “(Kennington) is a great driver probably one of the best ever from Canada,” Shepherd said. “He hasn’t won all those races that he has by just riding around in circles. If the roles had been reversed that last time, he would have done the same as I did.”

    Shephard has only competed at Barrie Speedway two times before, finishing eighth in 2008 and third last year.

    “I like racing at Barrie,” he said. “It’s close quarters, but it’s always a lot of fun to get out there with a bunch of drivers who know what they’re doing.”

  • Robin Buck Conquers GP3R 100 at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres in the rain

    Being a road course instructor has it perks as Robin Buck was able to use those skills on his way to dominating the GP3R 100 at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres on Sunday. This marks the second win of the season for the driver from Campbellville, Ontario.

    Buck quickly made his way to the front, passing L.P. Dumoulin on lap six and led the rest of the event on the 1.53-mile temporary street course. Dumoulin was able to take the lead early in the going on lap two when pole sitter Andrew Ranger made a pit stop due to not having good visibility. Ranger was able to work his way back through the field and finish in second after winning the three previous races at Trois-Rivieres.

    The event saw two cautions as the first was for J.R. Fitzpatrick and Dave Thorndyke making contact on lap 11, followed by a second caution at lap 35 for debris. The second caution set up a green-white-checkered finish in the 40 lap race, in which Buck was able to hold off Ranger.

    Points Leader Scott Steckly finished third after solidly running in the top 10 throughout the entire the race following a 20th place finish in Saskatoon. Jeff Lapcevich finished fourth, followed by Dumoulin, Jason White, Derek White, John Farano, DJ Kennington and Dave Connelly. With his finish of third, Steckly extended his points lead to 47 points over Kennington.

    The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is in action next on Saturday, Aug. 20 for the NAPA Autopro 100 at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

  • Two in a Row: Andrew Ranger Wins NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Streets of Toronto 100

    Two in a Row: Andrew Ranger Wins NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Streets of Toronto 100

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    After qualifying in the second position, everybody knew that Andrew Ranger would be strong so it was no surprise when he won the Streets of Toronto 100.

    Ranger took the lead on lap 12 after Jason Bowles, who started on pole and led the opening 11 laps, had a spark plug problem. The result was Ranger scoring his 18th NASCAR Canadian Tire Series win and second in a row in Toronto while Bowles got an 11th place finish.

    “I’m really happy to be on the podium again like that in first position,” he said. “We came here with the goal to win and its what happened. I really proud for Dave Jacob. He prepared me a really good car this weekend and to have PVH on board and Dodge to do those two events in Ontario and Quebec, I’m so happy just to be here on the podium first. It’s just something that’s unbelievable, but its always been a big goal.

    “I was trying to be patient and my plan was to be behind Jason the whole race and do something at the end, but I think Jason had something with his engine and I was able to pass him on the straightaway. Other than that, I tried to save my car all race long. A couple places where I slide a lot, I burned the rear tire and I was nervous because I knew at the end every time I came here, a caution came out with three laps to go. I was trying to be patient and save my rear tire and it happened again – the caution came out. I was nervous. I saw Scott right there, tried to do a little move on the outside.”

    Series points leader Scott Steckly stayed in the top five the entire race after starting third to finish second.

    “It was a definitely a good day for the Canadian Tire Dodge,” he said. “We ran in the top three all day; we were just patient. I was trying to save the car for the end of the day and we definitely still had a good car at the end. I was better than Andrew in a few spots and thought I might be able to get him there, but all in all, second is a good day.”

    Road course expert Robin Buck finished third, followed by Kerry Micks and D.J. Kennington

    “Well, it was pretty good,” he said. “I knew starting back in seventh I had to be patient. Typically here we get a lot of cautions and the cars go away quick, especially near the end, so my strategy this year has been pretty simple – just be really patient, as long as possible, and its been working out. The Quaker State Dodge did really well today. We passed a lot of cars at the end and a lot of breaks, just watching for other people’s weak spots on the track and making our moves when I had to. At the end, I think Micksy must’ve had a problem or something because he came in, just slowed up and was able to get by him.”

    After making the engine change yesterday before qualifying, Mark Dilley came home to a sixth place finish, followed by L.P. Dumoulin, Dom Thomson Jr., Peter Klutt and Brad Graham.

    Championship contender J.R. Fitzpatrick looked to finish second late in the going, however had to come to pit road under the final caution for a flat tire. As a result, he finished 19th, which has him now sitting third in points, 108 points behind Steckly. Kennington moved to second behind Steckly, now 80 points back.

    The race had three full course yellows, while having a bunch of minor incidents in between.

    The first full course yellow came out on lap three when Joey McColm made heavy contact with the turn five wall after contact with another car. Under this caution, Steve Mathews brought his car down pit road and parked it due to breaking an axle.

    The second full course yellow came out on lap 12 when Isabelle Tremblay and Dexter Stacey wrecked while battling for 14th. Tremblay was done for the day, while Stacey continued soildering on to a 12th place finish. Under this caution, the No. 3 team made a driver change as Kevin Dowler jumped in the ride, replacing Jason Hathaway, who broke his wrist a couple weeks ago. Hathaway was credited with a 20th place finish.

    The last full course caution came on lap 31 when Jason White stalled in turn eight and had to be pushed off of the track.

    The next race for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is the A&W Crusin’ The Dub 300 at Motoplex Speedway and Event Park on July 23rd.

  • NCAT: Jason Bowles Wins The Pole For The Streets of Toronto 100

    NCAT: Jason Bowles Wins The Pole For The Streets of Toronto 100

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    Jason Bowles ready to go out and practice.

    Jason Bowles, the one lone non-Canadian driver in the 33 car field, won the Keystone Light Pole Award with a lap of 1 minute, 16.260 seconds to break Andrew Ranger’s track record.

    “It was a good lap,” he said. “When we first went out, there was a little bit of speedy dry on the track, so it was a little bit tricky to get through that section on the second lap. But the car’s pretty good. It’s good to have Fuel Doctor on board this week and get the pole for them, our first one of the year. My guys have brought me a great car. I think it’s going to be a great race. Andrew and Scott will be tough tomorrow. We’re going to go out and I think we’re ready.”

    The pole marks the first NASCAR Canadian Tire Series pole for the driver from Ontario, California. Bowles has been a successful road course racer as he has nine K&N Pro Series West wins on road courses.

    Ranger, who set the record at 1:16.659 last year, qualified second for this weekend’s race with a fast lap of 1:16.526.

    “Well, I think its been alright,” he said. “I think we have a really good car. Jason is a little bit quicker than us, but its going to be a good race tomorrow. It’s a long race, a lot of things can happen here in the streets in Toronto. But above that, I think we’ve got a really good car for tomorrow.”

    The pair, Bowles and Ranger, finished 1-2 in last year’s race with Ranger coming out the winner.

    Points Leader Scott Steckly, meanwhile, qualified third with a lap of 1:17.002.

    “It was just another qualifying run,” he said afterwards. “Toronto isn’t one of our best tracks, that’s for sure. We put a lot of extra resources in it trying to get better here and car’s been good here so far so we’re just happy to be starting upfront.”

    Kerry Micks and Don Thomson Jr. rounded out the top five. Defending series champion D.J. Kennington qualified sixth, followed by Robin Buck, Peter Klutt, J.R. Fitzpatrick and Jeff Lapcevich. Louis-Phillippe Dumoulin was the highest rookie in 11th.

    After crashing during practice, John Farano, Noel Dowler and Ray Courtemanche Jr. did not  attempt to qualify as they were still repairing their cars.  Hugo Vannini and Kennington were also involved in wrecks, however both made a qualifying attempts with Kennington ending up 6th and Vannini in 30th. Kennington’s team continued repairs after qualifying, which could see Kennington starting at the rear as a result of unapproved changes.

    Many teams experienced mechanical difficulties during practice as Micks stalled during practice, Mark Dilley made an engine change although he qualified 14th and Jason White changed a drive train before qualifying 18th. None of the above will have to drop the rear as their changes were made before qualifying and therefore don’t fall under the Canadian Tire Series Impound procedure.

    The race is set for 2pm EST on Saturday, with it being shown on TSN on July 17th.

  • NCAT: Scott Steckly Carries Momentum and Points Lead in Toronto

    NCAT: Scott Steckly Carries Momentum and Points Lead in Toronto

    [media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”200″][/media-credit]The beginning of the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Season couldn’t had gone any better for Scott Steckly as so far he sits first in points, 48 points ahead of J.R. Fitzpatrick.

    “It’s a great start to the season that we’ve had so far,” he said. “We have a win, two seconds and a fifth place finish, which is very important to get off to a good start in our series, which only has 12 races. One or two bad races can take you out of the points so to get out off to a good start is very important and that’s what we’ve done.”

    The win, which came in the first race of the season at Mosport Raceway, opened up the gates to a season that has been full of success for the driver of the No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge. The win was followed by a pair of second place finishes at Circuit ICAR and Delaware. The last race for the series was last month back at Mosport, though on the road course, which resulted in a fifth place finish after starting on pole.

    This weekend, the Canadian Tire Series will be running the Exhibition Place course located in Toronto, as part of the Honda Indy Toronto weekend.

    “It’s a very important race for us,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of cars at Toronto so we definitely don’t want to get a DNF. The road courses attract a lot of cars so we need a good solid finish here at Toronto. We definitely are going to try for a very first road course win. It’s definitely very important for our sponsors to be in Toronto racing at the Indy so we’re looking for great things this weekend.”

    For Steckly, his first start in Toronto came last year in which he finished 11th after starting 10th. Though for the most part, road courses aren’t the better area of emphasis for the driver from Milverton, Ontario as he grew up racing on ovals. However, the current Canadian Tire Series schedule has five road courses with a total of 12 events.

    “I would rather have more ovals,” Steckly commented. “That’s just because I grew up racing on oval tracks. We get better results on oval tracks, that’s for sure. We do decent on the road courses. We’ve had four or five second place finishes. We can normally run in the top five, but we’ve never got a win on a road course. We getting closer every year so we’re putting a lot of emphasis on the road courses this year and trying to get a win.”

    Steckly got into racing originally through some friends, which saw them build a street stock and have him as the driver in 1992. From there, he progressed through the local ranks till he joined the CASCAR ranks in 1999, winning rookie of the year his first year out. He continued to compete in CASCAR till it was renamed the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series in 2007.

    Since the series has been called the Canadian Tire Series, Steckly has won one championship, which came in 2008 after winning four races and having four second place finishes that season.

    Throughout the years, there have been many memorable highlights, though a win in 2009 at Auto Clearing Speedway in Saskatoon is the highlight.

    “I would say my most memorable win is Saskatoon in 2009,” he said. “We blew a motor in practice. We had to borrow a motor from another competitor and we started at the rear of the field and we came from the rear of the field to win the race. So I’d say that’s my memorable win.”

    There also have been many lessons learned behind the wheel, but the one that still stands out is respect.

    “The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to treat the other competitors and people the way you would like to be treated. Its not like anybody is going away in this sport. I’ve raced against the same guys for the past 10 years so I think its really important to be yourself and treat people the way you would want to be treated.”