Mahindra USA sponsored Driver, Kennington Bags 5th win in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

Mahindra USA sponsored NASCAR driver, recently won his fifth consecutive race in the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season. St. Thomas, ON racer, DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team came out on top at the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This comes close on the heels of his win at the Edmonton Indy, prior to which Kennington tasted victory at the MotoPlex Speedway near Vernon, BC.

“We are very proud of DJ and DJK Racing and are thrilled to be a part of this team on its championship bid,” said Cleo Franklin, Mahindra USA’s Vice-President, Marketing and Strategic Planning. “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.”

The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge driver began the 250 lap event from the fifth starting spot and quickly moved into the top three. Remaining near the front of the field for the entire event, Kennington inherited the race lead on lap 195 and held off the challenges of the #02 and the #84 to claim victory. “I simply can’t believe it” said Kennington. “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” he added. The triumph is significant for several reasons.

With this latest victory, Kennington again sets a new standard for consecutive race wins in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series with five in a row. The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge driver equals the NASCAR Touring Series mark of five straight wins held by Ricky Craven who recorded five in succession in the K & N Pro Series East in 1991 along with Richie Evans and Mike Stefanik who achieved five in a row in 1985 and 1997 respectively.

Wednesday’s win at the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway is the 16th victory of Kennington’s NASCAR Canadian Tire Series career and moves him into top spot with the most series wins. “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,” said Kennington. As always, the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge driver was quick to thank all those who helped make his milestone night possible.

“I’ve absolutely got the best team in the game” he stated. “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”. With his latest win, DJ Kennington increases his lead in the overall championship point’s standings to 41 points over second place with five races remaining in the season. DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team will be back in action on August 4 & 5 at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres.

This is the fourth consecutive year Mahindra has sponsored the Kennington team. In 2010, DJ Kennington won the Canadian Tire Series Championship and in 2011, DJ narrowly missed back-to-back series titles with a second place finish. Race fans are encouraged to keep up to date with the latest team news in several ways. NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) Nationwide Series is one of the USA’s most popular motorsports series. Mahindra was the first Indian company to sponsor a car in the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series, bringing the excitement closer home.