TALLADEGA, AL – Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama is the fastest stock car track in the world. It’s also known for the ‘Big One’. Multi-vehicle crashes at over 180mph are not only a common occurrence, they are expected. Canada’s DJ Kennington would miss the ‘Big One’ at Talladega Saturday afternoon. He did have a front row seat behind the wheel of the #81 Northern Provincial Pipelines Dodge. “I literally drove through it,” says the St Thomas, Ontario driver, “I managed to drive by every car that wrecked. I could have easily been taken out but I came through unscathed. There wasn’t a mark on the car.”

Having escaped the ‘Big One’ which claimed 11 cars, Kennington set his sights on his first ever top 10 finish in a NASCAR Nationwide Series event. With just 29 laps to go, Kennington would unfortunately be involved in his own ‘Big One’. “We were running 7th, then the car began to vibrate going into turn number one and a tire went down and that was it.” Kenningtons car pitched hard sideways and slid up the track into the wall when his right rear tire blew. “It’s out of your control (tire blowing), there is nothing you can do. You just hold on tight cause you know it’s not going to be pretty.” Kennington was struck by two other race cars during the 180mph crash. “The car is a write off. It’s done. This was a 5th place car today. The crash was heartbreaking. The team worked so hard. We had a great engine, car, spotter, crew, we had the whole package.”

Despite crashing out, Kennington would be awarded a 26th place finish. “Even though we are a smaller race team, after today, they (other teams) now realize we are the real deal.” Kennington was 6th fastest in final practice and qualified 17th. “What we accomplished this weekend was pretty incredible. Our expectations for the rest of the season have now increased. Finishing 25th or 26th just won’t cut it anymore because we’ve run near the front for an entire race. We know we can do it.” Because of Saturday’s crash, the team is on the hunt for a new Superspeedway car for the race for the Daytona race in July.

The team now prepares for their next race this Friday at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia. They will compete in the car they ran last month in Phoenix. This is race number 11 on the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule.

NEXT NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES RACE
LIPTON TEA 250 (250 laps = 188miles)
Richmond International Raceway – Richmond, Virginia
Practice #1: Friday, May 2nd (6:45am – Edmonton time)
Practice #2: Friday, May 2nd (9:00am – Edmonton time)
Qualifying: Friday, May 2nd (2:05pm – Edmonton time)
Race: Friday, May 2nd (5:30pm – Edmonton time)

TALLADEGA RACE NOTES
– Dale Collier was Kennington’s spotter for the Talladega race. Collier was spotter for Dale Earnhardt last ever NASCAR victory which was at Talladega Superspeedway (2000).
– Front tire changers were from the Michael Waltrip NASCAR race team.
– Rear tire changers were from David Reutimann’s NASCAR team.
– Jack/gas man were from the DEI (Dale Earnhardt Inc.) NASCAR team.