AVONDALE, AZ. – Canada’s DJ Kennington savored every lap at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday afternoon. Kennington drove the Northern Provincial Pipelines Ltd./Clark Construction #55 Chevrolet to a 35th place finish in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut. “I’m a very, very fortunate man. My dream came true today. It’s still is kind of surreal at this point.” On Friday Kennington jumped into the Premium Motorsports prepared race car and hit the track for the very first time. “I think I only did 32 practice laps heading into qualifying. Just trying to get comfortable and get used to a Cup car was the goal. Its sure a lot different to what I’m used to.” Kennington qualified 39th for Sunday’s big race.

Along with running in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, a last minute opportunity allowed Kennington to jump behind the wheel of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race car. “This was my 50th start in the Xfinity Series. Sure wish it went better.” Kennington finished 30th on Saturday night. “Lost a cylinder around lap 30. It was a big struggle the entire race. The engine finally let go near lap 175.” Despite Saturdays disappointment, Kennington says all his focus was for Sunday. “The extra laps around Phoenix was nice in the Xfinity race but the two cars are just so different.” Kennington admits there were butterflys before Sundays race. “I was so nervous getting in that car today. I haven’t been that nervous in a long time. About lap four all the nerves were gone and it was time to get at it. I was pretty happy with how it ended up.” Kennington raced smart the entire event. “My main goal was to run to the best of my abilities in this car but also not to make any mistakes that would screw up other peoples day.” The race was won by Joey Logano. Kyle Bush, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, finished second. “It really was a fun time for me. Just to be able to be out there today with all those superstars. The best in the world. It was pretty cool.”