2011-09-22

Statistical Advance: Kawartha 250

Analyzing the Canadian Tire Series at Kawartha Speedway

By Shon Sbarra, NASCAR
September 20, 2011 - 4:35pm

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series closes out the 2011 race season with the Kawartha 250 at Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville, Ont. The race is scheduled to take the green flag on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. ET. Below is a statistical look at the recent performance of selected drivers at Kawartha, as well as some statistical trends:

 

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series At Kawartha Speedway
• This is the series’ fifth visit to the track that is a .375-mile progressive-banked track in Fraserville, Ont.
• The Kawartha 250 will premiere on TSN at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sat. Oct. 15 with a special 90-minute show.
• Each of the four previous winners at Kawartha has driven a Dodge.
• For three of the four previous winners –Scott Steckly, Jason Hathaway and Pete Shepherd III – the Kawartha victory was the first of their series career.
• Both the 2008 and 2009 events at Kawartha Speedway were cut short due to rain.
• There has been an average of 7.75 caution periods for an average of 61 laps in the four prior races at Kawartha, with the earliest coming on Lap 2 in 2009 and the latest at Lap 247 in 2007.
• The lead has changed hands an average of 10.25 times in Kawartha races with a high of 14 in the 2009 event.
• The average starting position of the winner is 7.25, while the polesitter has an average finish of 6.25.

Kawartha Speedway Data
Race:
#12 of 12 (9/24/11)
Track Layout: .375-mile oval
Race Length: 250 laps (93.75 miles)

EVENT SCEHDULE | ENTRY LIST

Kawartha Speedway Records
1-Lap Qualifying:
Mark Dilley, 17.704 seconds, 76.254 mph, Sept. 23, 2007
250-Lap Race: Pete Shepherd III, 1 hour, 49 minutes, 7 seconds, 51.550 mph, Sept. 25, 2010

Series Race Winners at Kawartha
Jason Hathaway ... 1
D.J. Kennington ... 1
Scott Steckly ... 1
Pete Shepherd III ... 1

Series Pole Winners at Kawartha
Ron Beauchamp Jr. ... 1
Mark Dilley ... 1
D.J. Kennington ... 1
Don Thomson Jr. ... 1

Manufacturer Wins at Kawartha
Dodge ... 4

Lap Leaders at Kawartha
Don Thomson Jr. ... 199
D.J. Kennington ... 144
Pete Shepherd III ... 124

2011 Lap Leaders
Scott Steckly ... 621
D.J. Kennington ... 378
J.R. Fitzpatrick ... 235

2011 Laps Completed
D.J. Kennington ... 1,749
J.R. Fitzpatrick ... 1,745
Kerry Micks ... 1,739

Selected driver highlights:
Ron Beauchamp Jr. (No. 60 Mopar/Mobil 1 Dodge)
• Finished 10th last season in the Kawartha 250.
• Has two third-place Kawartha finishes – 2007 and 2008.
• Led 65 laps before finishing fifth in 2009 Kawartha race.
• Started 2009 Kawartha 250 from the pole position.
• Logged his first top-five finish of the season on July 23 at Motoplex Speedway.
• One of seven drivers to start all 62 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

Donald Chisholm (No. 89 Keltic Ford/Nova Construction Ford)
• Posted an 11th-place finish last season at Kawartha.
• Finished 10th in 2008 and 17th in 2009 at the Ontario track.
• Posted a series career-best finish of third in his last start on Sept. 17 at Riverside International Speedway.

Mark Dilley (No. 9 Rheem/Exide Dodge)
• Scored a fourth-place finish last season in the Kawartha 250 for his best series finish at the track.
• Posted 12th-place finishes in 2007 and 2009 while placing 23rd in 2008.
• Has led a total of 11 laps in Kawartha action
• Recorded his third career win in last start on Sept. 10 at Barrie (Ont.) Speedway.
• One of seven drivers to start all 62 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

L.P. Dumoulin (No. 47 Maskimo/Somavrac Dodge)
• Making first series start at Kawartha Speedway.
• Leads 2011 Rookie of the Year point standings by just one over Isabelle Tremblay.
• Made NASCAR Nationwide Series debut on Aug. 20 in Montreal.

J.R. Fitzpatrick (No. 84 Equipment Express Chevrolet)
• Finished 15th in last year’s Kawartha 250.
• Posted finishes of 23rd (2007), 19th (2008) and 16th (2009) at Kawartha Speedway.
• Has led 17 laps at Kawartha.
• Five of his six career series wins have come on road courses – Mosport (2), Edmonton (2) and Montreal.
• Has made six NASCAR Nationwide Series starts in 2011 including a fifth-place effort on Aug. 20 in Montreal and a 10th-place finish on June 25 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc.

Jason Hathaway (No. 3 Snap-on Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink/Vortex Brake Pads Dodge)
• Scored a seventh-place finish last season at Kawartha Speedway.
• Earned his only series win in the 2008 Kawartha event.
• Has led 68 laps at the .375-mile Ontario track.
• Scored a season-best finish of second on Sept. 10 at Barrie (Ont.) Speedway for his first top-five finish of the season.
• One of seven drivers to start all 62 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

D.J. Kennington (No. 17 Castrol Edge Dodge)
• Finished third a season ago at Kawartha.
• Won the 2009 race at Kawartha Speedway and finished second in 2008.
• Has led a total of 144 laps at Kawartha Speedway.
• Is second in the 2011 point standings, 94 points behind leader Scott Steckly.
• Has 10 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series victories – third on the all-time list.
• Won 2010 series championship.
• One of seven drivers to start all 62 NCATS races.

Kerry Micks (No. 02 Dickies/Beyond Digital Imaging Ford)
• Has two second-place finishes at Kawartha Speedway including last year’s race and the 2009 event.
• Finished 14th (2007) and 21st (2008) in his other two series starts at the track.
• Has led 10 laps in Canadian Tire Series action at Kawartha.
• Has one oval-track win (Mosport Speedway in 2008) and two road-course wins (Montreal and Trois-Rivieres in 2007) in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series action.
• Is one of seven drivers to compete in all 62 NCATS races.

Chris Raabe (No. 01 Canadian Tire/MotoMaster/Sylvania Dodge)
• Making his Kawartha Speedway debut in the Kawartha 250.
• Scored consecutive top-10 finishes in his first two NASCAR Canadian Tire Series starts.
• Has 99 career dirt-track Modified victories.
• Won 2008 and 2009 Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Modified titles.

Pete Shepherd III (No. 7 Hy-Tech Drilling/National Exhaust Dodge)
• Won last year’s Kawartha 250 for his first career NASCAR Canadian Tire Series win.
• Has four top-10 finishes in five starts this season.
• Picked up his second career NASCAR Canadian Tire Series victory in his last start on July 27 at Saskatoon’s Auto Clearing Motor Speedway.

Dexter Stacey (No. 55 Playground Poke Club Dodge)
• Finished 14th a year ago at Riverside after posting a 24th-place finish in his track debut in 2009.
• Posted a series career-best finish of seventh on June 26 at Mosport Int’l Raceway.
• Was rookie of the year runner-up in 2009.

Scott Steckly (No. 22 Canadian Tire/MotoMaster Dodge)
• Scored a sixth-place finish last season at Kawartha Speedway.
• Won the 2007 event at the .375-mile oval.
• Finished 17th (2008) and fourth (2009) in his other two Kawartha starts.
• Has led a total of 82 laps at Kawartha.
• Leader in 2011 championship point standings with a 94-point advantage over D.J. Kennington.
• Earned 11th series career victory on Sept. 17 at Riverside International Speedway which gives him sole possession of second place on the all-time list behind Andrew Ranger.
• Needs to either lead a lap or not finish last in the Kawartha 250 to secure his second NASCAR Canadian Tire Series title.
• Won 2008 series championship.
• One of seven drivers to start all 62 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

Don Thomson Jr. (No. 8 Farmers Feed Families Dodge)
• Finished fifth a season ago in the Kawartha 250.
• Had a career-best Kawartha finish of third in 2009.
• Has led a series-best 199 laps at Kawartha Speedway.
• Collected his seventh series win on June 11 at Delaware (Ont.) Speedway.
• Had a streak of eight consecutive top-five finishes broken on June 26 at Mosport International Raceway due to an engine problem.
• Holds the overall series career mark for poles with 11 along with Andrew Ranger.
• One of seven drivers to start all 62 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races.

Isabelle Tremblay (No. 07 Group Beton Brunet/ADF Diesel Ford)
• Finished 21st last season at Kawartha in her first series start on an oval track.
• Second to L.P. Dumoulin in the 2011 Rookie-of-the-Year standings by a single point
• Posted a series career-best finish of eighth on June 26 at Mosport Int’l Raceway.

Jason White (No. 21 A&W Cruisin’ The Dub Dodge)
• Finished 22nd last season in the Kawartha 250.
• Finished eighth in 2007 for his best Kawartha finish.
• Finished a career-best sixth on June 26 at Mosport International Raceway and Aug. 7 at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres.
• Was 2008 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Rookie of the Year.

 

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