EDMONTON, AB – Championship weekend has arrived for drivers and teams of the Northern Provincial Pipelines Late Model Series.  For the second consecutive season, race fans at Flatlanders Speedway in Kindersley, Saskatchewan will get to witness the crowning of the champion in Western Canada’s toughest racing series ‘on the dirt’.  The Wheeler and the Kennedy racing families share the Top 5 spots in NPP Series Championship points chase heading into the final weekend of competition.  Kevin Wheeler and brother Wayne sit first and fourth.  Dwight Kennedy is second in the point standings with son and daughter Shawn and Crystal, third and fifth in the points chase.  Whitecourt, Alberta’s Kevin Wheeler has a sixty-nine point cushion over Dwight Kennedy heading into the final two races of 2013.  “I still think it’s anybody’s Championship right now,” admits the driver of the KW Mechanical / Bill Weins Trucking # 3 Dodge,  “I know I need to run a consistent weekend and save the car for Sunday.  Being consistent doesn’t mean slowing down.  You can’t let your guard down for one second.  I did it at the last race and it just about cost me a win.”

KENNEDY VS WHEELER: SHOWDOWN IN SASKATCHEWAN?

Eight NPP Series drivers can still mathematically win the 2013 Championship but the wheels would literally have to fall off Wheelers car both nights in Kindersley.  Despite the odds, the target on Wheelers back remains very large.  “Yes. Yes it is for sure.  It’s a very big target.  There are a lot of good drivers in this Series.  Dwight’s coming on strong right now.  You can’t afford to have an off-night.”  Two-time NPP Series Champion Dwight Kennedy says he will be looking for any opportunity to get by Wheeler in the standings this weekend.  “We would be a lot closer to Kevin [in the standings] if we didn’t have problems at the first race of the year.”  Kennedy and his All Weather Windows Dodge finished 11th at the Season Opener.  “He’s running pretty good right now.  I think the only way I can catch him is if he has misses one of the Features [in Kindersley] but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”  Kennedy finished third in the point standings in 2012 (4th in 2011). “It’s been awhile since I’ve won one of these things [Championships].  You don’t get too many chances in this Series.”

KENNEDY VS KENNEDY: SIBLING RIVALRY

Sitting third in the NPP Series is Edson, Alberta’s Shawn Kennedy.  “I’m a little surprised at where I am in the standings but at the same time I’m not.”  Shawn Kennedy has not run a full season with the NPP Late Model Series since the 2009 season.  “Been doing a lot of research on set-ups and applying it to my car and it’s working,” says the driver of the Habitat for Humanity/ReStore #90 Dodge, “would love to wrap up the season with a Feature win but it’s going to be interesting running at a track I’ve never raced at before.”  NPP Series Rookie of the Year contender Wayne Wheeler has not run the ‘tricky triangle’ of Flatlanders Speedway either.  “It will one step at a time,” says the driver of the Yaku Enterprises # 4 Dodge, “I’m going to get a feel for the track first and then put the charge on and give my brother a run for the money this weekend.”

WHEELER: 2013 NPP SERIES ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CONTENDER (photo: STP Racing Memories)

Wheeler has been as high as second in the NPP Series Championship points chase but currently sits fourth.  “I did not expect to do this well [my first season].  I don’t have any secrets, I’ve just been doing my thing.  I feel very comfortable behind the wheel of this car.”  Just three points separates second from fourth in the standings.  Crystal Kennedy sits fifth in points just thirteen points back of fourth place Wheeler.  “My ultimate goal is to finish third in points,” indicates Kennedy, “I’m fifth right now and we are heading to a track that I think is a little easier to run than Edmonton.”  Kennedy had back to back top 10 finishes in Saskatchewan last season.  “It’s the last race of the year.  I can be a little bit more aggressive.”