NASCAR: Stenhouse caps championship season at Homestead-Miami Speedway

MIAMI— Ricky Stenhouse Jr. became the Nationwide Series champion long before the checkered flag dropped Saturday at the championship finale. Stenhouse clinched the title after 30 laps in the Ford 300 when six cars officially dropped out of the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Stenhouse started the race with a comfortable 41-point lead over Elliott Sadler. They were the only drivers still eligible for the title. In order to clinch his first NASCAR Nationwide Series championship, Stenhouse needed to finish 37th or better. The driver of the No. 6 Blackwell Angus Ford did much better than that in the final finishing order with a second place finish in the 200-lap race.

Stenhouse became the third driver in NASCAR Nationwide Series to win the championship a year after winning the Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

“It means the world to bring this championship to Jack [Roush] with the history he has in this sport,” Stenhouse said. “This is one of my favorite race tracks. Man, I wish we came here twice.”

Ford 300 pole-sitter Brad Keselowski held off Stenhouse and Carl Edwards to pick up the win Saturday night. Keselowski notched up his fifth win of the year and 17th of his career by pulling away on the last restart. With the third place finish, Edwards clinched the owners’ title for the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Denny Hamlin finished fifth in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing car to lose the owner’s title to Jack Roush.

“It’s been an up and down year in Cup and on the Nationwide side,” said Keselowski. “Carl [Edwards] put up a good fight but we were fortunate enough to come out on top.”

The Field is set for Tomorrow’s Ford 400

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will crown a champion following Sunday’s running of the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart will head into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup finale tomorrow with only three points separating the two. Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards turned a lap at 175.467 mph in Saturday's qualifying session to win the pole at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he'll try Sunday to win his first Sprint Cup championship.

Edwards is a two-time winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and is the defending Ford 400 winner. In seven career starts at Homestead, Edwards has six Top 10 finishes and a 5.7 average finish.

“Thank you to the fans for coming out to support this Ford weekend,” said Edwards. “It is just one lap and tomorrow we have 267 laps and we have some serious competition out there.”

Two-time NASCAR champion Stewart qualified 15th with a lap of 173.332 mph and is trying to become the first owner/driver since Alan Kulwicki in 1992 to win a Sprint Cup Series title. Stewart has 12 starts in South Florida with two wins, three Top 10 finishes and a 12.4 average finish.

"We spent a lot of time today just working on race setup," Stewart said. "I'm appreciative of NASCAR to get the practice rescheduled from yesterday with everything that is on the line."

Only one finish guarantees Carl Edwards his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship – a victory in Sunday’s season-finale Ford 400. Just three points separate points leader Carl Edwards and second-place Tony Stewart, a margin so tight, no other finish would clinch the title for Edwards regardless of where Stewart finishes. Stewart owns the tie-breaker (more wins), and therefore could tie and win his third series championship.

It all ends here. Tomorrow, Homestead-Miami Speedway will crown NASCAR’s Champions for the 10th consecutive year during Ford Championship weekend.

From HMS

Marks Work Wearhouse - Friends & Family night - Saturday Nov 26

 

Ontario Formula Ford Championship Season Review

After 14 rounds, two new champions were crowned and youth prevailed with two teenage rookies taking the crowns. Trent Hindman of Wayside New Jersey had an outstanding rookie campaign aboard his BGR Team Grote/Mazdaspeed Van Diemen to take the OFFC A Class title while  Michael Adams from Bowmanville just a few miles from Mosport, took top honours in the B Class driving his Flagship Racing Van Diemen. 

It was not all easy as the competition was fierce in both classes, with A Class former Champion Shane Jantzi winning the first two rounds ahead of rookie Garett Grist.  Jantzi however would see his season end prematurely as he was hurt in a crash during round 4 but is expected to be back in his Maizex Seeds Van Diemen for 2012. Grist driving his Britainwest Motorsports/Sofina Foods/DDA VanDiemen looked like the early favourite to take the crown but the arrival of Hindman for rounds 3-4 would show that it would be a dog fight to the end between the two highly regarded rookies. With the arrival of another talented rookie Dalton Kellett in his BGR Team Grote/K-Line VanDiemen and drop in drivers with very stout records it was never easy to pick the winners. Hindman won in his debut at Mosport and then backed it up with a double win at Shannonville and repeated that feat when the series went back to Mosport. Then it was Grist who swapped wins with Hindman over the next 4 rounds before the final two races at Mosport. The final weekend saw Hindman take control and sweep the weekend to clinch the title over Grist and a fast improving Kellet.  

The B Class came down to the final round and with his ninth win of the season Adams locked up the title. Steve Bamford in his Rice Raceprep Swift made it very close as he bagged 3 wins and a very consistant podium record to force a showdown on the final day. Former OFFC Champion Mike Lee took home third in the B division with a stellar finishing record and a few podiums in his Lola 540.  AJ Urbinatti and Gord Ross also collected wins in the championship and no less than 8 drivers visited the podium during the season. 

In addition to the championship hardware handed out at the recent CASC Awards Gala, series sponsors prizes were also presented, the recipients were: 

Trent Hindam,  MG Homes Pole sitter Award (beautiful watch valued at $500)

Michael Adams, Rod Ends Mechanical B Class 1st place cheque for $250

Steve Bamford, Rod Ends Mechanical B Class 2nd place cheque for $150

Mike Lee, Rod Ends Mechanical B Class 3rd place cheque for $100

Michael Adams,  Matthew Dileo, Trent Hindman, Keenan Harris, Garett Grist, Steve Bamford, Dalton Kellett each won the MK Technologies Driver of the Event award, each win a $75 Gift Certificate towards the purchase of any MK Technologies product.

Special thanks also to Toronto Tirecraft for their continued support of the OFFC and tire services at the track. 

The fall general meeting for the OFFC will be held November 23rd at the 3 Monkeys Pub on Warden at the 401 in Scarborough at 730pm. Watch for exciting news following the meeting. The meeting is open to anyone interested in the OFFC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alberta man wins 2011 Dodge Challenger SXT Plus in A&W contest

There is one more proud Dodge owner in Alberta, thanks to an exciting partnership between A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. and Chrysler Canada.  

John Le Blanc of Sunset House, Alberta is the lucky winner of a legendary made-in-Canada 2011 Dodge Challenger SXT Plus. Le Blanc was presented with the car on Nov. 8 at the A&W restaurant in High Prairie by franchisee Louise Owens (far left), Mike Daubet of Big Lakes Chrysler (far right), and The Great A&W Root Bear®.

The Challenger is the grand prize in this summer’s A&W Cruisin’ the Dub® contest—part of A&W’s national Cruisin’ the Dub program that invites car enthusiasts to share their passions and their memories at A&W restaurants.  A&W’s across Canada hosted thousands of events this past season, with many more planned for 2012.

Earlier this summer a resident of Southwestern Ontario won the spring Cruisin’ the Dub prize of a 2011 Harley Davidson Fat Boy® motorcycle. More information about Cruisin’ the Dub is available at http://www.aw.ca/cruisin-the-dub.nsf/home.

From Brenda Jones (APR) / Photo credit: Peter Clarke

 

NCATS Year in Review on TSN starting Saturday

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season review show airs starting this
Saturday on TSN.

Kawartha Speedway: Linc Brown eyes 2012 return

It could almost be considered a sickness.  Once you catch the racing bug, it never really leaves you.  Whether you’re a driver, crew member, fan or even a track employee, it’s very easy to get hooked on racing.  Colborne, Ontario’s Linc Brown hasn’t driven a lap in Kawartha Speedway’s NAPA Auto Parts ACT Late Model division since 2008, but the 46 year-old is thinking seriously about a return to the track he calls the best racing facility in Ontario and getting into the weekly wars again in 2012.

“We took a break for a while, but never strayed too far away,” said Brown.  “My son Mason and daughter Bailey both ran with the Kawartha-Durham Kart Club in 2011 and had great seasons. Mason was 3rd overall in the novice division and Bailey captured the junior division championship.  Seeing the kids do so well may have added a little more spark to the fire and created the urge to get back behind the wheel myself.  Vicki – my wife of 21 years – and I are still talking about it, but there’s a pretty good chance fans will see the #99 Dodge back at Kawartha when the new season opens.”

Originally from Burlington, Brown caught the racing fever at an early age while watching the action at Speedway Park, Cayuga and Flamboro where his mother wrote race reports and co-ordinated the weekly advertising for Wheelspin News and its sister publications.  His own racing career started in 1981 in motocross before making the transition into go karts and endurance racing before spending the next 17 seasons as a late model short track regular at Peterborough, Mosport and Kawartha.  He was also a regular on the former Goodyear Challenge Cup and ALSTAR late model tours.  Along the way, the driver who finished 2nd in the 2007 point standings and 7th in 2008 says he’s raced on all but 2 of Ontario’s paved ovals and won at least once at every track.

“I’ve always loved the colours, distinctive sounds, smells and obvious speed of racing,” said Brown.  “It may sound silly, but the racetrack is the only place where I really feel at home.  I like working with the team to figure out how to make the car handle better and not settle for just ‘good enough’.  When the team puts 100% effort into massaging the car, you could almost take anyone out of the grandstands to drive it.  A good handling car – combined with driver effort, experience and ability – will always make it to the front of the pack.”  

An area sales manager for PartSource Auto Parts, Brown admits that he is sometimes frustrated by the time it takes to put a successful program together.  Like many hardcore racers, he has the desire to do what it takes to get his McColl chassis machine to the track and try to outsmart the other racers.  There is also considerable effort that goes on behind the scenes in the 2 car garage beside his house.  Hours of research, maintenance, building and testing will usually pay off, but the successful teams also need to spend time sourcing and marketing their sponsors to make sure they’re given a good return on their investment.  He says the older you get, the harder it is to make the time...especially with family and business commitments taking a priority.

“There’s no doubt that I want to get back out there,” said Brown.  “I think I have some unfinished business to take care of before I call it a career.  I came oh so close to winning the ALSTAR Series in 1998 and finished 1 point out of the 2004 Mosport late model crown.  Another runner-up finish came when Larry Jackson claimed Kawartha’s 2007 late model title by less than 100 points, so a track championship is something I’ll be shooting for before I walk away.  I could almost be described as the Mark Martin of Ontario late model racers, because neither of us has won a championship, but along the way we’ve each made a tremendous amount of life-long friends.  That’s something no championship will ever replace.”

Getting ready for 2012, Linc Brown has secured sponsor support from Don Butt Auto Body and Mayhew Graphics.  He hopes a promotional radio advertising campaign on the Wolf 101.5 in Peterborough will allow the team to compete at the level of professionalism they’re accustomed to.

Kawartha Speedway will hand-out 2011 awards at their annual banquet – Saturday, January 14th.  Fans will find the latest off-season news at www.kawarthaspeedway.com.

Photo attachment:  Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications

He hasn’t turned a lap since 2008, but Linc Brown is looking to make a return to Kawartha Speedway’s NAPA Auto Parts ACT Late Model field in 2012.

Prepared by:  Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications

FREE: Rally of the Tall Pines Official Event Program e-Flipbook

Click to launch the full 2011 Rally of the Tall Pines Event Program in a new window

Inside Track Communications, in conjunction with the organizers of the Rally of The Tall Pines, produced the Official Event Program for the event, which takes place Nov. 24-26 in and around Bancroft, Ontario. Click on the image above to see the entire program, which includes maps, schedules, driver rosters, bios and more.

Wickens Third Quickest in Formula One Young Driver Test

Toronto, Canada (November 15, 2011) – Robert Wickens was back in Formula One action on Tuesday at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit as the Canadian kicked off the opening day of the 'Young Driver Test' driving the Lotus Renault GP R31.   

The 22-year-old, who made his Formula One weekend debut in last Friday morning's free practice session, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Marussia Virgin Racing, ended Tuesday's outing third fastest.  With a best lap of 1m42.217s, he record 78 laps in total during his first full day of testing.  He concluded his afternoon session with a long 20-lap run on the 'soft' Pirelli tires, setting consistent lap times and proving he's physically prepared for Formula One. 

Wickens' front-running pace was showcased as all twelve competing Formula One teams took advantage of the additional track time for test and development work as part of the three-day 'Young Driver Test'.  Robert's opportunity to drive the R31, normally piloted by LRGP team regulars, Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna, came courtesy of Renault Sport as his prize for winning the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series this season. 

"I'm extremely pleased with today's test session," reflected Wickens.  "It was a constructive day and we worked well going through the program that the team had set out.  I have to say the track was a lot 'greener' than expected this morning considering we just had the Grand Prix on Sunday, the track cleaners were obviously busy leading up to today.  Having run in Friday's practice session, I was automatically dialed into the track in an F1 car though, which was an advantage.   

"The R31 was as I expected, it handled well and I knew we'd be setting competitive lap times.  I'd targeted a top-three finish for the day and although I'd have liked to have cracked the 1m41s mark, I'm still satisfied with my performance.  You never know what everyone else is working on during test days but I just kept my head down and enjoyed the experience of working through the day with Lotus Renault GP and experiencing the car on the different sets of Pirelli's.  I'd like to thank Renault Sport for the opportunity and a big thanks to everyone at Lotus Renault GP for a great day in Abu Dhabi." 

The Toronto-born racer, a reserve driver for Marussia Virgin Racing this season, will be back behind the wheel of the team's MVR-02 on Thursday as he joins them on the final day of the 'Young Driver Test'. 

www.robertwickens.com  / Twitter: @robertwickens 

Press release issued on behalf of Robert Wickens by SM-PR:

Tel: +1 514 684 2621 / Cell: +1 514 945 3253 / Email: stuart@sm-pr.com

About Robert Wickens: 

Robert Wickens (22) is recognized as one of the brightest Canadian driving talents to have emerged in recent years with a track record of success forged on both sides of the Atlantic leading him well placed on the path to Formula One.  A multiple karting champion in North America, Wickens won the 2006 Formula BMW USA title before graduating, and winning races in the Formula Atlantic Series the following year.  Chasing his F1 dream, Robert moved to Europe in 2008 winning races in both the World Series by Renault and the F3 Euro Series.   

He raced his way to the runner-up spot in the FIA F2 Championship in 2009, again a multiple race-winner, before tackling the 2010 GP3 Series.  Another strong title-challenging campaign saw Robert claim the runner-up position but more importantly, his 2010 efforts attracted the backing of Marussia Motors – Russia's first supercar manufacturer and an owner in the Marussia Virgin Racing F1 team.   

Robert was confirmed as one of Marussia Virgin Racing's official reserve drivers in June 2011 – attending all remaining Grand Prix events subject to schedule.  In October 2011 he won the Formula Renault 3.5 Series after a season which comprised 5 wins from a total of 10 podium finishes.  He subsequently made his Formula One Grand Prix debut with Marussia Virgin Racing participating in the opening practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November 2011. 

About Marussia Motors: 

Founded in 2007 by former racing driver Nikolay Fomenko, renowned brand strategist Efim Ostrovsky and award-winning technology entrepreneur Andrey Cheglakov, the creation of Russia's first high-performance car company is a remarkable story of vision, focus, innovation and ambition.  The dramatic mid-engined B1 design, was first unveiled in Moscow in 2008, followed by the launch of the Marussia B2 in the autumn of 2009 – with these designs, the Russian supercar had arrived.  In 2010 the company partnered with Virgin Racing F1 and at the end of the season Marussia Motors acquired a majority stake in the team – now called Marussia Virgin Racing – www.marussiamotors.ru  / www.virginracing.com  

2012 ACT Castrol Series Schedule Announced

Waterbury, VT – The 2012 schedule featuring twelve (12) point- counting events, and the special combination event with the ACT US teams, the “Showdown at Chaudière”, has been announced for the popular Castrol Late Model racing series sanctioned by The American Canadian Tour (ACT).

Four tracks will host three events each from the opening event at the Autodrome Montmagny east of Quebec City in late May through the close of the race season at the Autodrome Ste. Eustache outside Montreal. Circuit Riverside Speedway in Ste. Croix, QC and Autodrome Chaudière will each host three events, including the CAN-AM combination event with ACT Castrol teams and ACT US teams and the fifth annual “Showdown at Chaudière.”

The addition of the Sanair Super Speedway in St. Pie, QC, which will be promoted by Jean Bergeron and the Riverside Speedway, will highlight the ambitious schedule. The event will be 100 miles on the unique tri-oval.

“Our ACT Quebec promoters have provided the ACT Castrol teams with their best schedule in the seven years of the series. We are very pleased with the way the 2012 season has evolved, and the addition of Sanair back on the schedule certainly will please the teams”, said Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour.

The teams of the ACT Castrol Series will compete for a record of over $400,000.00 in purse and prize money in the 2012 point-counting events. In addition, ACT Castrol teams will have special non-point events to compete in such as the TD Bank Oxford 250 at the Oxford Plains Speedway, July 22, 2012; the Fall Foliage 200 at Airborne Speedway, October 6, 2012 in Plattsburgh, NY; and the 50th annual Milk Bowl at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, VT, September 29th.

Two-time ACT Castrol Series Champion Donald Theetge from Boischatel, QC said, “This is a great schedule for our Quebec teams. I appreciate that ACT listened to some of our concerns about the schedule and purses. I love racing at the US events, but we really wanted to have our series point races in Quebec and now we have that.”

“The addition of Sanair this coming season is exciting news for fans and racers. It should be an unbelievable race now that many of us have had some experience at Loudon (New Hampshire Motor Speedway),” concluded Theetge.

The teams from the 2011 season will honor both the Castrol and US teams at a Late Model combined banquet in Burlington, VT on January 21, before they begin to focus on the ambitious 2012 schedule.

                                        2012 SCHEDULE

EVENT             DATE               DAY     TRACK                                                 LAPS    NOTE

1                 MAY 26         SAT    AUTODROME MONTMAGNY             100

2                 JUN 02          SAT    AUTODROME STE EUSTACHE 100

3                 JUN 08          FRI     AUTODROME CHAUDIÈRE               150

4                 JUN 16          SAT    CIRCUIT RIVERSIDE SPDWY           100

5                 JUN 30          SAT    AUTODROME MONTMAGNY             200

6                 JUL 14           SAT    AUTODROME STE EUSTACHE 200

7                 JUL 28           SAT    CIRCUIT RIVERSIDE SPDWY           150

8                 AUG 03         FRI     AUTODROME CHAUDIÈRE               150

9                 AUG 11         SAT    SANAIR SUPER SPEEDWAY             100     [combo]

10                AUG 25         SAT    CIRCUIT RIVERSIDE SPDWY           200     [combo] 

11                SEP 01          SAT    AUTODROME MONTMAGNY             200

12               SEP 08          SAT    AUTODROME CHAUDIÈRE             SHOWDOWN  200  

       [combo]    

12                SEP 16          SUN    AUTODROME STE EUSTACHE 300

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

From ACT

Race Time Radio... tonight, Novembe 14, 2011 at 8 p.m.

Race Time Radio - Featuring Auto Racing Coverage
Live Broadcast Tonight Nov. 14th 2011 at 8 p.m.
Tune into www.racetimeradio.com!
Guests include Andrew Ranger, Andy Ford, WoO champ Jason Meyers and more!

NON STOP ACTION FOR DJ KENNINGTON AT PHOENIX

November 14, 2011. This past weekend former NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Champion DJ Kennington competed in both the NASCAR Nationwide and the K & N Pro Series West events at Phoenix International Raceway. Kennington piloted the #80 MacDonald Motorsport entry in the Nationwide series, and the #81 car from Bill McAnally Racing in the K & N event. Both cars featured sponsorship backing from Northern Provincial Pipelines, Whitemud Mechanical, Clark Construction and Mahindra Tractors. It was a long and hectic weekend of activity, but also a successful venture for everyone involved.

The first on track activity on the newly reconfigured and resurfaced track was Thursday afternoon with Nationwide Series practice. Friday was a full day of practice laps beginning with the K & N Pro Series. “I like racing at Phoenix and the Thursday session gave us some time to feel out the new track” said Kennington. “Friday we worked on set up for both cars to make them faster on the new track” he added.

Saturday featured back to back qualifying sessions, first in the K & N Series. Kennington posted a very solid lap time and would start the race 23rd. In the Nationwide event Kennington rolled off 34th at the start. “We were struggling a bit with the Nationwide car” explained Kennington. “Our plan was to make adjustments during the race” he stated.

A crash on lap one of the Nationwide race sent the field scrambling and Kennington made it through unscathed. In the first few laps Kennington maneuvered his #80 entry forward gaining eight positions. Unfortunately his day would end early with a right front tire going down sending him hard into the wall. “It was a tough break” said the driver. “We were just trying to stay out of trouble but it found us” he added.

Kennington was back in action a short while later as the K & N Pro Series West race began. After several early caution flags Kennington began moving forward in the field and by the half way point was running fourteenth. “We just took it easy early on and grabbed the spots if they were there” said Kennington.

During the second half of the race Kennington continued his march forward and moved inside the top-ten. The race stayed green for the final twenty laps and Kennington would cross the finish line eleventh. “If we had one more caution to help us with track position we would have finished event better” said Kennington after the race.

The exciting double header weekend of action at Phoenix was the result of tremendous support and cooperation from a number of supporters. “I can’t thank all of the sponsors enough” said Kennington. “Dwight Kennedy from Northern Provincial Pipelines made the first call and almost immediately we had Clark Construction, Whitemud Mechanical and of course Mahindra Tractors join in to support both teams as well, we wouldn’t be here without them”.

DJ Kennington is also very appreciative of the efforts from both race teams. “I worked with Randy MacDonald Motorsports for a long time and it was great to do it again. Bill McAnally Racing and their group of people are terrific. I want to thank everyone who came down here from Canada with me and worked non-stop all weekend too” said Kennington.

Race fans are encouraged to keep up to date with the latest team news in several ways. Race fans should bookmark the team website www.djkracing.ca and follow them on twitter, www.twitter.com/djkracing and look for the new DJK Racing Fan Page on Facebook.

Photo: DJ Kennington after hitting the wall at PIR

Credit: Joe Archer JA Marketing & Promotions

Risok Motorsport to contend in Ontario GT Sprints/ Challenge in 2012

Risok Motorsport will now be competing in the Ontario GT Sprints and Ontario GT challenge for the 2012 season. The team plan on competing again in the VARAC (Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada) for another season.

The Ontario GT Sprints is a racing series competing in three 20 min sprint races, and one qualifying.  The series is split into six classes, ranging from GT1 to GT6. The classes are then broken down into “breakout” times, which are decided by lap times the driver puts. Since the races are so short, pit stops are not needed for the race.

Ontario GT Challenge is an Endurance Race consisting of a 1-3 hour race, with a mandatory pit stop. Pit stops are limited to only five mechanics working on the car. Like you see in LeMans, no one is allowed to work on the car/ change tires until refueling is complete. This is a great challenge for the team, and reliability on the car. Same classes are used as it would be in GT Sprints.

VARAC is vintage racing, with cars from 1989 and later. The class is called Group 70, and cars are also split into classes. These classes are configured into letters H-G. VARAC also run a race weekend called Vintage Festival. They have been running it for 32 years at Mosport.

PHOTOS: Ohsweken Speedway Awards banquet - November 12, 2011

Thanks to Peter Anderson for sending along a few shots from the Ohsweken
Speedway banquet on Saturday night.