Full Throttle

The sophomore NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season is winding down, with just three events left on the calendar after tonight’s Coke Zero 200 at Cayuga International Speedway.

And the fight for the championship looks like it will go down to the last lap at Kawartha Speedway on Sept. 27th.

Steckly assumed command of the points standings by winning the season opener in May at Cayuga Motor Speedway. He further cemented his grip by winning two of the next three events and has not come close to relinquishing the lead since that hot start.

Scott Steckly leads the points — in his No. 22 Tow Truck in a Box/Erb Group Dodge — with 1,525. D.J. Kennington, who has been pulling double duty by racing almost a full schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, is second in the No. 17 Castrol Dodge just 113 points back and defending champion Andrew Ranger is third in the No. 27 Wal-Mart/Tide Ford, 11 points behind Kennington.

Kennington has yet to reach victory lane this season but consistently has had solid finishes keeping him within striking distance of Steckly.

“This is a crazy sport and anything can happen,” he said. “(Steckly) hasn’t shown any signs of letting up, but we’ll be right there in case he does.”

Ranger has two wins to his credit in the Dave Jacombs Racing prepared Ford and hasn’t given up on repeating as champion.

“We won two events, but (Steckly) finished just behind, so we’re not picking up as much ground as I’d like,” Ranger said. “Steckly has just been so good all season, but we’re not quitting.”

Steckly certainly has been the surprise of the 2008 season, but the Milverton, Ont., native did win the final race of the 2007 season to pave the way for 2008 where, so far, he’s notched three visits to victory lane.

Now he has to start looking at points racing — driving to protect his lead — something that is against everything a race car driver stands for.

“I know we’re not supposed to look ahead and think like this, but we’re trying to win this championship,” he said. “We have to aware of the guys with nothing to lose.”

First practice at the five-eighths mile oval south west of Hamilton starts at 2 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and the green flag at 7 p.m.

Andrew Ranger cruised in to victory as his home fans stood and cheered at the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race Saturday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Quebec native driver took advantage of a slip by race leader J.R. Fitzpatrick on the 23rd and final lap and wasn’t challenged the rest of the way for his first win in seven races this season.

Series leader Scott Steckly of Milverton, Ont., came in second with last year’s winner Kerry Micks of Mt. Albert, Ont., third.

“I haven’t won a race here in a long time and to do it in front of my family and fans is really nice,” said 21-year-old Ranger. “Last year I came close, so it’s good to win it this year.”

A year ago, he was passed by Micks on the final lap and came second.

This time, Ranger made a surprisingly easy pass of Fitzpatrick for the lead on the 19th lap, only to give it up a lap later. But the Cambridge, Ont., driver looked to brake too hard going into the second turn on the 2.7-mile circuit and lost his back end. Fitzpatrick spun and hit the wall, leaving Ranger in the clear.

“On the last lap, I knew I had to make a move,” Ranger said. “I never touched Fitzpatrick.”

Steckly backed off at the first sign of trouble to stay on the track and conserve his series lead.

“I was going for the win, but I was also being cautious with the guys in front,” he said. “They were racing hard and I didn’t want to get taken out.”

Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que., who was coming off a win in Edmonton, was out after seven laps with a blown engine.

Bob’s “Barbie’s Girl” (pictured above) and rooting interest in the event blew an engine early and finished 32nd.

Bob’s post and the inspiring story of “Barbie Girl” Ashley Taws is a highly recommended read.

Technorati Tags: Andrew Ranger, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

After five starts with just one top five result in the books, Alex Tagliani, a rookie in the Canadian Tire NASCAR Series, rolled back into Edmonton and onto a track he used to race as a Champ Car driver.

He left with his first win of the season.

Tagliani controlled the 32-lap event, with a time of 59:23.678. Series points leader Scott Steckly finished second, while Tagliani’s teammate Andrew Ranger placed third.

Tagliani credited Steckly for giving the race a clean finish.

“I was trying all kinds of tricks to keep him behind (me),” Tagliani recalled. “Fortunately for us we had the Tide logo on the car so we have to race clean and we definitely did that and came back with no scratches.

“Scott was as very fair driver. He didn’t force the issue, he didn’t push me or punt me or anything like that so thank you to him.”

With three did-not-finishes acting as blemishes on his record this season, Tagliani admitted that his 2008 NASCAR campaign hasn’t been an easy one.

“The (races) we finish, we finished fifth, sixth and a win,” he said.

“We’re only finishing 50 per cent of the races so far, but it’s not due to a lack of work or trying from the team. It’s just very late preparation.

“We were ready to race open wheel (this weekend in Edmonton) and at the last minute there was no team available, no cars and we have to keep our sponsors happy so we wound up here.”

A racer with loads of open-wheel experience, Tagliani spent six years (2000-05) competing in Champ Car. He raced open-wheel once this season, earning a seventh-place finish at Long Beach on April 20. While stock-car racing has grown on him, it’s evident that Tagliani’s heart still lies with the open-wheel circuit.

“I’ve been approached by people to get back into open wheel, that’s the reality of things,” he said in regards to his future.

“I’m hoping that something is going to happen. Not that I don’t like NASCAR racing. It’s fun to drive and I’ve been accepted among the drivers. It’s a new learning curve for me and I’m spending a lot of time trying to be the best at what I’m doing.”

The 35-year-old said that at the Long Beach open-wheel race, he still felt he could compete.

“In Long Beach, starting on the front row and being among the best, with (Will) Power, (Justin) Wilson, and (Oriol) Servia, I thought I had a couple of years still under my belt to show them what I can do here in IndyCar racing.

“I’m definitely keeping my options open for next year,” he added. “I think I can still kick butt in open-wheel racing.”

While his heart seems to lie with the open-wheel world, Tagliani said that he’d like to continue racing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series if his schedule permitted it next year.

“After seeing how NASCAR is and how much fun I have, I will definitely make an effort to keep my schedule open at least to have four or five races during the year to keep a foot in it,” Tagliani said.

“And if my career goes another five years in open wheel racing, I’ll come back to the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series after that, because it’s fun. The series is growing, it has good sponsors and a lot of cars.”

The Canadian Tire Series makes the cross-country trip this week and will be at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the NAPA 100 joining the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the huge NASCAR weekend in Quebec. A season ago, Kerry Micks (No. 02 Beyond Digital Imaging Ford) made a thrilling last lap pass of Ranger for the victory.

Technorati Tags: NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Alex Tagliani, Scott Steckly, Andrew Ranger

Scott Steckly won his fourth NASCAR Canadian Tire Series events in five tries dating back to last season as he drove his No. 22 Dodge into victory lane at the Kodak 250 on Saturday night at the Autodrome St. Eustache in St. Eustache, Que.

“We’re not doing anything different than we’ve ever done,” Steckly, of Milverton, Ont., said. “Just running the same program and not trying to get fancy with anything.” Other guys are just as fast. I have to say that we’ve been very fortunate and I’ll take it.”

With Don Thomson Jr. leading on Lap 188 his No. 4 Chevrolet suffered an electrical malfunction and stopped on the track and handed Steckly the lead. Steckly took the ball and ran the rest of the way eventually beating D. J. Kennington in the No. 17 Dodge to the line by 2.531 seconds. Kennington, of St. Thomas, Ont., also finished second to Steckly a week ago at Barrie Speedway.

For Kennington it was the third straight race the Castrol Dodge driver was on the victory podium holding a trophy at the conclusion.

“The Castrol Crew worked really hard to keep improving the car during out pit stops, but we came up just a little bit short”. “It’s another great finish for the Castrol Dodge, but unfortunately for us we finished behind Scott Steckly again. He’s fast right now and on a great roll, but the harder we work the sooner we’ll be able to get on a roll of our own”.

After disappointing finishes in the previous two races, Kerry Micks returned to the podium with a third-place finish in the Kodak 250. Micks started sixth in the 24-car field with his Beyond Digital Imaging Ford, led for a few laps midway, and placed third behind Scott Steckly and D.J. Kennington.

“We came here wanting to finish on the podium with the BDI Ford and we did,” said a satisfied Micks after the race. “This is where we want to start making a move and carry some momentum for the next several races.”

There were seven lead changes in the race involving six drivers and the pace was slowed 11 times for 51 laps for caution.

The Canadian Tire Series begins its two-race swing through western Canada in two weeks with the A&W 300 on July 19 at Sun Valley Speedway in Vernon, British Columbia which will be followed a week later by the Canadian Tire Series 100 on the temporary road course at City Centre Airport in Edmonton, Alberta., as part of the Rexall Edmonton Indy weekend.

Technorati Tags: Scott Steckly, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, D.J Kennington, Kerry Micks

Racing at Barrie Speedway is about speed, patience, luck and survival. The .333-mile track is prototypical short track racing. Scott Steckly had all of those characteristics in his arsenal in winning the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series A&W 300 Saturday night.

The game was on with 50 laps to go in the event. Steckly, racing out of Milverton, Ont., and polesitter Don Thomson Jr. had survived everything that came their way. Trailing Thomson, Steckly gently nudged the leader to let him know that he wanted to get by.

“I didn’t want to get real rough with him. I respect (Thomson) a whole bunch, but I did want him to know that I was there,” said the victor.

Steckly has won three of the last four Canadian Tire Series events dating back to last year’s season finale. His three victories came on oval tracks. The only event which he did not win was two weeks ago on the road course of Mosport International Raceway – he finished fourth in the event.

“We have a lot of momentum right now. The guys are giving me a great car every time out. It did everything I asked it to and more,” said Steckly. “If it hadn’t rained at Mosport, we could have won that one, too.”

Thomson was appreciative of the break afforded by Steckly during the final pass.

“He could have turned us and he didn’t. I thought that was a very classy move,” stated Thomson.

After setting a track record during time trials, Thomson felt confident about the set-up in the car and the chance to win.

“We thought we had it nailed, but five laps into the race it was very tight,” Thomson said. “We did all sorts of stuff to loosen it up, but it never really did.”

Two-time Barrie winner D.J. Kennington finished third followed by Derek Lynch and Brad Graham in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Andrew Ranger, Alex Tagliani, Mark Dilley, Doug Brown and Kerry Micks rounded out the top 10.

Unofficially, in the championship point standings, Steckly increased his lead 63 points. Thomson now holds second place. Defending series champion Ranger currently sits in sixth place, 120 points behind Steckly.

The Canadian Tire Series is right back on the track next week for the Kodak 250 at Autodrome St. Eustache in Quebec.

NASCAR CANADIAN TIRE SERIES presented by SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO-A&W 300 UNOFFICIAL Results
Saturday
At Barrie Speedway
Barrie, Ontario
Lap length: 0.333 miles

(Start position in parentheses)
1. (2) Scott Steckly, Milverton, Ont., Dodge, 300 laps, 55.457 mph, $7,891.
2. (1) Don Thomson, Jr., Ayr, Ont., Chevrolet, 300, $3,688.
3. (4) D.J. Kennington, St. Thomas, Ont., Dodge, 300, $4,543.
4. (10) Derek Lynch, Warkworth, Ont., Dodge, 300, $3,898.
5. (8) Brad Graham, Glencoe, Ont., Dodge, 300, $3,025.
6. (3) Andrew Ranger, Roxton Pond, Que., Ford, 300, $2,415.
7. (13) Alex Tagliani, Lachenaie, Que., Ford, 299, $3,195.
8. (7) Mark Dilley, Barrie, Ont., Dodge, 299, $2,336.
9. (19) Doug Brown, Brantford, Ont., Dodge, 299, $3,020.
10. (6) Kerry Micks, Mt. Albert, Ont., Ford, 297, $1,866.
11. (17) Kent Nuhn, Williamsford, Ont., Chevrolet, 296, $1,646.
12. (12) J.R. Fitzpatrick, Cambridge, Ont., Dodge, 291, $1,537.
13. (16) Jason Hathaway, Appin, Ont., Dodge, 278, $1,427.
14. (11) John Gaunt, Barrie, Ont., Dodge, 270, $1,317.
15. (14) Ron Beauchamp, Jr., Windsor, Ont., Dodge, 268, $1,229.
16. (21) Jason White, Sun Peaks, B.C., Chevrolet, 257, rear end, $1,208.
17. (15) Peter Gibbons, Stouffville, Ont., Chevrolet, 222, $1,142.
18. (20) Jim Lapcevich, Hamilton, Ont., Chevrolet, 75, accident, $1,098.
19. (18) Joey McColm, Ajax, Ont., Dodge, 65, ignition, $1,055.
20. (9) Anthony Simone, Holland Landing, Ont., Chevrolet, 63, accident, $1,010.
21. (5) Dave Whitlock, Petrolia, Ont., Dodge, 63, engine, $976.

Series Standings: 1. S.Steckly, 540; 2. D.Thomson,Jr., 477; 3. D.Lynch, 445; 4. D.Kennington, 442; 5. J.Fitzpatrick, 430; 6. P.Gibbons, 420; 7. A.Ranger, 420; 8. K.Micks, 419; 9. B.Graham, 412; 10. A.Tagliani, 404.

Technorati Tags: NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Mosport International Raceway, Alex Tagliani, Don Thomson, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Auto racing, Andrew Ranger, Ron Beauchamp