WEEKEND SWEEP FOR KENNEDY IN EDMONTON

EDMONTON, AB – Just two days after being released from Hinton Hospital defending NPP Late Model Series Champion Dwight Kennedy found himself holding the winners trophy, not once but twice at Castrol Raceway over the weekend.  With IV bandages still on his arm, Kennedy jumped into his familiar #81 and grabbed both Friday and Sunday nights Feature events.  “I knew as soon as I turned that ignition switch on that everything would be ok, ” says Kennedy, “I got the doctors approval to race on Thursday and that was all I wanted to hear.”  Kennedy missed his first race in NPP Series history one week ago after coming down with a severe throat ailment.  It was serious enough that Kennedy had to be hospitalized.  “Missing that race last Saturday (Aug. 11th) was tough.  It was nice to get this Dodge up to the front both nights.  I’ll take the wins over hospital food any day.” Back to back victory’s puts Kennedy into second place in the NPP Series point standings. “We’ve got 4 races to go, Jason still is in front of us and we’re going to do everything we can to try and catch him.”  Jason Beaulieu meanwhile finished right behind Kennedy in Edmonton both nights.  “We’ve put ourselves in a pretty good position to win this (Series) with just a few races to go.  We not going to coast,” says the Campbell River BC driver, “we’re still going to try to win it every time we’re on the track but we don’t have to knock ourselves out of a race trying to get to the front.”  With a 270 point lead in the NPP Series, Beaulieu can clinch the championship in Lethbridge on the September long weekend.  For one NPP Series driver, finishes of third and fifth on the weekend felt like wins.  “Very happy at this point,” indicates Stony Plain, Alberta’s Mike Tom, “finished back to back races still running with no major problems is a small victory in itself.”  Tom has blown four motors this year and is well back in the point standings.  “We are building for next year that’s for sure.  I really don’t look at points anymore.  Where we finish is where we finish.  We know we are better than what the standings show.  I wish we could have finished higher like we did a few years ago (2nd in 2005).  With these next few race events remaining, we’re going to dig hard to get to the podium again.”  The $100,000 Northern Provincial Pipelines Late Model Series hits the highway for one final road trip in 2007.  The City of Lethbridge welcomes the NPP Late Model Series for its first ever two-day show on the September long weekend at Bridge County Raceway.

Archives