Antigonish: DJ Kennington race notes

CASTROL DODGE CRASHES HARD AT RIVERSIDE

September 21, 2008. The Castrol Dodge team came to Riverside Speedway near Antigonish, Nova Scotia for round number twelve of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series with the usual expectation of a strong performance. After a solid start to the Atlantic Dodge Dealers 300 DJ Kennington found himself enduring one of the hardest crashes he's ever experienced in a race car.

Quick through afternoon practice the Castrol Dodge would line up seventh to start the Saturday night feature event but wouldn't be there for long. Almost immediately Kennington was leaping the Castrol Dodge forward and into the top three. "This was the best the car we've had all year" said the driver afterwards. "We gained a few spots right away and then began to settle in for the middle portion of the race.

During a long green flag run the three lead cars broke away from the field and Kennington looked to gain the lead for at least one lap to gain the five bonus points. "Picking up those points is important" said the driver, "but I never pushed the car too hard. All three of us were racing hard and I was just looking for my turn up front".

As Kennington maneuvered the Castrol Dodge into second spot with sights on first a dramatic turn of events would take place. Without warning a suspension part failure on the right front tire would send Kennington hard into outside retaining wall. With the failure the Castrol Dodge also had little to no braking power and the car skidded to a halt between turns one and two. To the relief of everyone after only a moment to unbuckle the seatbelts Kennington emerged from the Castrol Dodge, sore and bruised but otherwise uninjured.

The car was damaged beyond repair but the most important fact is that Kennington emerged from the Castrol Dodge with what appears to be relatively minor injuries. "I would say it's the hardest hit I've ever had" said Kennington. "I've crashed at Talladega, crashed at Charlotte, and Phoenix but man oh man that was big"

While he's happy to have emerged safely from the Castrol Dodge, Kennington was just as disappointed of the finishing result. "The whole Castrol Crew has worked really hard and the car was flying. That's what's so disheartening about it. I'm really proud of the guys and I thought we had a good shot this one and gaining in the points.

As always the Castrol Crew will be back hard at work this coming week. "The good news is we're alright and we'll be back at it for next week" said Kennington. "I've had at that track at that's how we'd like to close out the season" he added.

DJ Kennington sits fourth in the overall championship standings after eleven events.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire series comes to a conclusion with the final event this coming Saturday September 27th at Kawartha Speedway. The 2008 NASCAR Canadian Tire series will consists of thirteen events on ovals, road courses and temporary street circuits from coast to coast. Each race will be broadcast on TSN. More information can be found by logging onto www.djkennington.com and www.nascar.ca

-credit: cd