By Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media

Short track stock car racers can be a superstitious bunch.  They’re always looking for an edge that will help them get to the front and once they’ve found something that works, it’s hard to get them to change a thing.  Whether it’s parking in the same spot in the pit area or following another racer onto the track during practice, they’ll stick with whatever seems to have helped gain any level of success.

Veteran runner Howie Crowe enjoyed a breakthrough 2012 season at Kawartha Speedway, finishing 2^nd in the final point standings and was named the track’s most improved driver.  Although the Fraserville oval won’t be operating this year, the Alderville First Nation speedster will join the ranks of the Bob’s Towing Thunder Car division at CanadianTireMotorsportPark.  Crowe says the reason behind moving to the half-mile oval north of Bowmanville, Ontario is easy to understand.

“The car I used last year is the same piece Ken Donaldson Jr. steered to the 2011 track championship,” said Crowe.  “Much of what I was able to accomplish was because of the help their family offered my team throughout the season.  I’m looking forward to being part of the action at one of Canada’s best known motorsports facilities and working with the Donaldson team again this year.”

Howie Crowe’s potent, basic black #28 Chevrolet Monte Carlo will enter the new campaign with sponsorship from long-time backers Crowe Brothers Roofing, Trail’s End, Custom Steering and Mayhew Graphics, with promotional support by Clarke Motorsports Communications.  Even with his team’s alliance with the Donaldson’s, the driver says he knows he’ll have his hands full when it comes to unseating defending Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Thunder Car champion John Baker Jr.

“I was there to watch a few times last season and when it comes to the Thunder Car division, that place is definitely the house that J.B.J. built,” admitted Donaldson with a smile.  “Our team works hard in the shop and at the track, but you never know how things will turn out until the green flag waves.  We’ll go through our checklist before every show and enter the year hoping for the best.”

Saturday at The Park:  It’ll be a busy 2013 season at CanadianTireMotorsportPark.  In addition to action with the Lucas Oil Pure Stock, Bob’s Towing Thunder Car and Late Model divisions, the half mile oval will also welcome the Techtonix Open Wheel Modifieds, OSCAAR Super Late Models, Lucas Oil Canadian Vintage Modifieds, Ontario Legends, Lucas Oil Sportsman Cup and Ontario Pro Challenge Series teams throughout the year…The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series comes to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for 3 shows this year.  May 17^th to 19^th at the road course, June 22^nd at the oval and August 30^th to September 1^st at the road course…Fans can also witness the Canadian debut of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – Labour Day Weekend – August 30^th, 31^st and September 1^st at the road course.  Full schedule details for each venue can be found at www.canadiantiremotorsportpark.com.

Photo attachment:  Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media

Howie Crowe is looking forward to running in the Bob’s Towing Thunder Car division at CanadianTireMotorsportPark during the 2013 season.

Prepared by:  Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media

clarkemotorsports@hotmail.com

613.968.6410

May 13, 2013.  Continuing what has been a model relationship between Castrol and two-time NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Champion DJ Kennington, the two parties are extremely pleased to announce they have reached a new agreement to continue the association in a multi-year partnership.

Once again this season in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series DJ Kennington will pilot the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge from coast to coast in Canada chasing his third championship in the series.  Now approaching two full decades together Castrol and Kennington have become synonymous with success.

“I have said many times there’s no way I would be where I am without the great support from Castrol” stated Kennington.  “I’m so proud to represent them and to have been able to win as much as we have together.  They’re a part of my family and with their support with this new agreement we’re even more motivated than ever” he added.

Marketing Communications Manager Marsha McLaughlin said “We’re extremely proud of DJ and the team and all that they have accomplished.  We wanted to not only continue but expand our partnership together.  As a company we’ve seen the results of this association and believe there is even greater potential in the future”.

Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team have been busy in the off season preparing for competition which opens during the Victoria Day Speedfest presented by Castrol Edge at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, ON.  The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race will be the feature event Sunday May 19th where Kennington will begin defense of his series championship.

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, @djkracing and fans should also “like” the DJK Racing Fan Page on Facebook.

Photo: DJ Kennington in the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge with the checkered flag following his victory last season at Kawartha Speedway where he clinched the championship

Photo Credit: Mathew Murnaghan/NASCAR

Prepared by Todd Lewis & TL Sports & Entertainment, todd@tlsportsent.com (239) 961-2618

Race Report #2  - May 11^th – Sunset Speedway

On Saturday completed our second night of racing at Sunset Speedway.  It was a cold near freezing event that featured a hot run by Gehrig Halliday driving the Quaker State Honda. After two successful heat runs, finishing 3^rd and 5^th, Gehrig made moves like a veteran in the 25 lap feature to pick up another top 10 feature finish, crossing the line in 8^th.   He has ran well in his first two nights of this young season, keeping his Drew Mac Civic clear of accidents and driving the wheels off the car against a very tough and competitive field.  

Meanwhile our 40^th Anniversary Quaker State Impala struggled in both heat races and the feature.  Coming off a serious wreck on opening night the team worked hard to have the car ready for this past week end.   Suspension parts, body panels, paint, lettering and lots of hours brought out a beautiful car, but the team now had to sort out the handling woes, basically starting over, and losing all the progress they gained the first night prior to the accident.

Trouble started early this night when a water leak from the water pump was discovered just before the team was set to practice.  Though a simple repair, it took some time to get the new water pump on the car, eliminating any hope of practice.   It was decided to take scratch in all the races for this night to help set the car up and get it ready without incident.

We ran a little harder in the second qualifier and used the race to make the car better for the 35 lap feature event.   The crew knew we’d need a night of tweaking to get the car close and the second heat proved successful.

Our feature race needed two pit stops to the infield, where Jim, Ryan and Ken made a few changed suggested by David who was the main spotter.  Matt informed our team of our lap times, noting that we were still had a way to go.  After the two pit stops we could run with the bulk of the field but could not engage in any battles for position. The car was lacking horsepower, and not pulling like it did in 2012.  We finished the race in one piece, unfortunately near the back. The good news for all of us is that we have a place to start for next week end, and soon we’ll be competing where we feel we should be.  Congrats to our team for working hard and getting us closer.  Our next race is Sunset Speedway May 18^th, races start at 6 pm…..we will also be running our Vintage Modified on Sunday May 19^th at Flamboro Speedway….hope to see you there.

For the second straight weekend in a row, Love would finish in the top 10 in the Mini Stock feature.

Love would finish fourth in the first heat after starting ninth. He would then finish fourth in the second heat after starting pole.

As a result of his finish last week and heat finishes, Love would start seventh in the feature. By lap 10, though, some of the quicker cars would make their way by and bump Love back to 10th. Love would run in 10th for the final 15 laps of the feature.

Photos are available on Brian Love’s website – http://www.brianlove04.com – from opening night so make sure to check them out.

Special thanks to the sponsors for their support: Fox’s Bakery and Deli, Tire Depot Barrie, Hans-on Lawncare and Simcoe Auto Recyclers.

Also, of note, special thanks to all the fans that came out to Fox’s Bakery and Deli for their fundraiser on Saturday before racing. We appreciate your support! :)

We would like to also thanks the fans for their continued support and welcome them to like Brian Love’s facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-Love/124101454387196?fref=ts).

Press Release by Ashley McCubbin – http://www.racinginformative.com – sunsetinformative@yahoo.com 

Slicing his way through the field and battling up front all race, Eric Yorke would come home with a third place feature finish on Saturday night at Sunset Speedway.

Yorke would win his first heat after starting sixth, while finishing third in the second heat after starting second.

Yorke would start eighth in the feature, but quickly made his way up to third by the end of lap one. He would pass Steven Belanger for second on lap five. There’d be a caution on lap seven for Jake Watson being slow on the front stretch.

On the restart, Yorke would race hard with Billy Swartzenburg for the lead, however Swartzenburg would manage to get away. Yorke ran in the second position all the way till two laps to go when Warren Paxton would pass him while the pair battled through lap traffic.

As a result, Yorke would finish the feature in third position.

Photos from the night are available on the DY Racing website at http://dyracing.wordpress.com.

Special thanks to Can-Alignment Motorsports, Milton Napa Auto Parts, J&D Tire, Solex Steel, McKeown Collision, Partimer Signs and Redline Racing for their continued support.

OF NOTE; Last week, Yorke finished eighth in the feature. Originally, report stated that it was due to mechanical problems. Following a discussion with Eric this past weekend, he said he ran the whole race on a flat tire after it was cut down due to contact on lap three.

OF NOTE 2: Yorke’s DY Racing teammate Lisa DeLeeuw would would run into issue during practice, forcing her car to be loaded on the trailer before racing started.

We would like to also thanks the fans for their continued support and welcome them to check out the website at http://dyracing.wordpress.com and like the DY Racing facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/dyracing).

Press Release by: Ashley McCubbin – sunsetinformative@yahoo.com – http://www.racinginformative.com

NFC Motorsports driver Terry Woodley would battle hard in the Mini Stock feature against a tough field. His exact finishing position – I am unsure.

Woodley would run into problems during the first heat, pulling off the track mid-race. He would fail to start the second heat.

He would start 16th in the feature and battle hard, falling a lap down on lap 18 of 25.

Once his finishing position is known, it will be posted on his website.

Photos are available on the team website at http://www.nfcmotorsports.com for viewing!

Special thanks to the sponsors for their support: Lock Keys and Rekeys – Collingwood, Great Lakes Trophies – Collingwood, Collingwood Automotive Repair Services, Curries Creative Painting – Duntroon and Complete Welding – Thornburry.

We would like to also thanks the fans for their continued support and welcome them to check out the website at http://www.nfcmotorsports.com and like the team facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/pages/NFC-Motorsports/114482622066293.

TRJ Motorsports driver Tyler Johnston would start off the night strong, though would run into problems, bringing his No. 07 Honda Civic to pit road before feature completion.

Johnston finished sixth and eighth in his heats.

He would start the feature 19th and complete six laps before heading to pit road.

Photos are posted on the team website at http://trjmotorsports.webs.com

Thanks to Custom Copper Works, L S Masonry, Clean Up Green Up, Larry Wilsons Contracting, Home Innovations and Entra for their continued support.

From Elliott Racing – May 4th - Sunset Speedway
After months of hard work preparing our new Sunset Speedway Late Model, the last thing our crew were thinking was being involved in a wreck. Even more of a shock was that it happened on lap one of our first 2013 race.

One ingredient to make a season successful is a dedicated and knowledgeable pit crew. Our crew was put to the test very early this season, in fact, right after race #1. The prefect statement when the car got to the pits was “ok guys, this is our new start, let’s get it ready for the next race and build from there”. I was thrilled with the attitude and hard work of our crew.

We made it out for our second heat race. The car was put back together but still needed more work to get it right for the feature event. In this picture sparks form our skid plate were flying as the chassis dropped to the track surface on braking.

Mini Stock & Go-Cart Start Opening Day
Gehrig and Lauren started their seasons on Saturday as well. Gehrig finished in the top 5 in both of his heat races and 8th in the main event.

Gehrig, in his 2nd season racing wasted no time moving from the rear to the top 5 in his first heat race. He turns 15 in July, so has lots of time to learn, and most of all have fun.
Laurens day began much like ours with some trouble in the early going.

Opening day wasn’t the best for us, but we did get into the feature race and finished 13th in the very competitive field of Late Models.

Our car has been stripped down and will be ready to go well before the next race which is Saturday May 11th. We’re looking for a better night.

Support Our Sponsors…..Quaker State Full Synthetic…Real Durable Oil

Unofficially, Tyler Johnston finished the opening night feature at Sunset Speedway in the 10th position.

Johnston finished eighth in his first heat.

In the feature, he would start 15th, though worked his way up to the 12th position unofficially before the end of the race.

In post-race tech, the top two finishers were DQ’d, resulting in Johnston being bumped up to 10th.

Photos are posted on the team website at http://trjmotorsports.webs.com

Thanks to Custom Copper Works, L S Masonry, Clean Up Green Up, Larry Wilsons Contracting, Home Innovations and Entra for their continued support.

Despite not getting any testing in before opening night, Nicole Podewils would come home with a solid top five finish after finishing fourth.

She would finish fourth and fifth in her heats to start ninth in the feature.

By lap 10, however, she was up to seventh position. She would make a pass on Terry Clodd in the final laps of the race to cross the line in sixth position.

However, in post-race inspection, the top two cars were both disqualified, bumping Podewils up to the fourth position.

Special thanks to Fox’s Bakery and Deli, Central Appliance, Barrie ChemDry and Permatex for their continued support.

Photos from the night are available on Nicole’s website at http://nicolepodewils79.webs.com.

The opening night of the season didn’t go the way Lisa DeLeeuw would’ve hoped as she would struggle throughout the night, finishing two laps down at the end of the feature.

DeLeeuw would finish ninth and eighth in her heats.

As a result, she would start 17th in the feature. She’d battle strong, though in the end, finishing two laps down.

DeLeeuw and the DY Racing team will work hard this week to have the car better for Saturday night.

Photos are available on the team website at http://dyracing.wordpress.com.

Special thanks to Partimer Signs, Gelderman Landscaping, Redline Racing, Can-Alignment, Millgrove Gardens, BDS Frame and Alignment, B&D Auto Recyclers, Safeway Towing, Phoenix Place, Auto Clinic, Ponderosa Nature Resort and Sunflower Studios for their continued support.

We would like to also thanks the fans for their continued support and welcome them to check out the website athttp://dyracing.wordpress.com and like the DY Racing facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/dyracing).

Press Release by: Ashley McCubbin – sunsetinformative@yahoo.com – http://www.racinginformative.com

In starting the 2013 season, Eric Yorke would kick it off with a eighth place finish in the feature.

He would start the night off well with a win in the first heat, followed by a fourth in the second heat.

As a result, he would start the feature from the second spot. Though when pole sitter Billy Swartzenburg would head for pit road at lap three, Yorke would take the lead.

His lead would be short lived as he would get passed by Ryan Oosterholt and Chris Mulders on lap five.

It would appear that Yorke’s car fell off after that as he fell back to the eighth position by lap 10, and eventually cross the finish line in the 10th position.

However, in post-race tech, both Oosterholt and Mulders were disqualified, bumping Yorke up to eighth position.

Photos from opening night are available on the DY Racing website at http://dyracing.wordpress.com.

Special thanks to Can-Alignment Motorsports, Milton Napa Auto Parts, J&D Tire, Solex Steel, McKeown Collision, Partimer Signs and Redline Racing for their continued support.

We would like to also thanks the fans for their continued support and welcome them to check out the website at http://dyracing.wordpress.com and like the DY Racing facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/dyracing).

Press Release by: Ashley McCubbin – sunsetinformative@yahoo.com – http://www.racinginformative.com 

NFC Motorsports driver Terry Woodley would start the season off on the right note, finishing ninth in the season opener.

He would finish sixth in his first heat, while finishing seventh in the second heat after a mid-race spin.

As a result, he would start the feature in the 12th position, though was up to the 11th position by lap 10.

Woodley would cross the finish line in the 11th position, though would get bumped up to ninth in the final running order after the top two cars were disqualified.

Photos are available on the team website at http://www.nfcmotorsports.com for viewing!

Special thanks to the sponsors for their support: Lock Keys and Rekeys – Collingwood, Great Lakes Trophies – Collingwood, Collingwood Automotive Repair Services, Curries Creative Painting – Duntroon and Complete Welding – Thornburry.

We would like to also thanks the fans for their continued support and welcome them to check out the website at http://www.nfcmotorsports.com and like the team facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/pages/NFC-Motorsports/114482622066293.

Continuing to work on the car and battling issues, Brian Wilson Jr. would fail to finish the first Limited Late Model feature of the season, finishing 19th.

Wilson Jr. would run a solid first heat, finishing ninth.

The Brampton, Ontario driver found some trouble in the second heat, though, spinning on the second lap. He would come home to finish ninth.

In the feature, Wilson Jr. would have a spin early in the feature on lap one. Shortly after that, he would pull behind the wall with problems.

With it being a new year in a new division, we know it’s all part of learning. Look for Wilson Jr. to get better as the year goes!

As always, Wilson and team would like to thank their sponsors for their support: Gunk, Scrap Car Towing, Assured Car and Truck Rental, Smurf’s Towing, Canadian Home Renovations, Tufff Transportation, Pete’s Automotive, Stag Automotive, and Terrier excavating and landscaaping.

Photos from the night are posted on Brian’s website at http://brianwilsonjr.wordpress.com.

Fans are welcome to connect with Wilson Motorsports on facebook by going to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-Wilson-Jr-Motor-Sports-00/212390095484821

Following a solid run on track and a pair of drivers being DQ’d in post-race technical inspection, Brian Love would take home a sixth place feature finish.

Love would finish fourth in the first heat, followed by a fifth in the second heat.

The Barrie, Ontario native would start the feature in the 10th position, making his way into the ninth position by lap 10. He would then pass defending series champion Eric Yorke for eighth on lap 15.

Love ran the rest of the feature in the eighth position, crossing the finish line there.

However, as stated previously, two cars – Chris Mulders and Ryan Oosterhault – were disqualified in post-race technical inspection so Love gets bumped up to the sixth position.

Photos are available on Brian Love’s website – http://www.brianlove04.com – from opening night so make sure to check them out.

Special thanks to the sponsors for their support: Fox’s Bakery and Deli, Tire Depot Barrie, Hans-on Lawncare and Simcoe Auto Recyclers

We would like to also thanks the fans for their continued support and welcome them to like Brian Love’s facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-Love/124101454387196?fref=ts).