DJ Kennington, NASCAR driver sponsored by Mahindra USA, recently marked his fifth straight series win in the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. The 2010 series champion from Ontario, DJ Kennington along with No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge team emerged as a winner at the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
The MotoPlex Speedway near Vernon in British Columbia and The Edmonton Indy were two previous events where Kennington emerged victorious. Cleo Franklin, Vice-President, Marketing & Strategic Planning, Mahindra USA, said, “We are very proud of DJ and DJK Racing and are thrilled to be a part of this team on its championship bid. DJ's passion and commitment to motorsports racing are proven by his continued success on the track. His dedication to racing aligns with Mahindra's Rise Philosophy to accept no limits, employ alternative thinking and drive positive change to help transform the lives of our stakeholders, customers and communities across the world.”
Kennington began his 250 lap event from the fifth starting spot and was soon among the fastest three racers. Throughout the race, he was constantly close to the front of the field. The No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge driver earned the race lead on lap 195 and turned out victorious crushing the challenges of the #02 and the #84. Kennington was delighted over his consecutive fifth win and said, “I simply can't believe it. We didn't have the best car tonight, both those guys raced me hard but clean and we managed to hold them off and put this Castrol Edge Dodge in victory lane again.”
The Ontario driver, with a record of winning five consecutive races in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, equals Ricky Craven, Richie Evans and Mike Stefanik. These three also have a record of registering five successive wins in the K & N Pro Series East in 1991, in 1985 and 1997, respectively. After attaining this feat, Kennington said, “If you asked me I never would have thought it was possible to take over the title this year, with so many good racers in the series.” The win at the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway is Kennington's 16th victory of his NASCAR Canadian Tire Series career and has placed him at the top with the most number of series wins.
The No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge driver expressed his gratitude toward all those who assisted him in achieving this milestone and said, “I've absolutely got the best team in the game. These guys work so hard every week, I share each win with all of them. And there's no way we can do this without the fantastic support of our sponsors, Castrol Edge, Mahindra Tractors, Hitachi Power Tools, NPP, everybody that supports us and makes this possible, we share this with you also.” Now, Kennington stands at the top of the table with a lead of 41 points over the second position in the overall championship point standings. On 4th and 5th August, both DJ Kennington and the No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge team will be racing at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres.
Mahindra USA is based in Houston, Texas and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian automobile giant, the US $15.4 billion multinational group, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Mahindra was the pioneer Indian brand that sponsored a car in the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series. NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing) is a US-based organisation and its largest sanctioning body of stock cars. On February 15, 1948, it organised the first Stock Car Auto Race on Daytona's beach course. Since then, the sport has gradually gained popularity and established a huge fan base.
