Canadian Tire News & Notes - St. Eustache
Steckly Sticks With It After Slow Start
By Shon Sbarra, NASCAR
July 22, 2013 - 2:51pm
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla:
Slow starts can be the death of a championship run, but perseverance can save the day.
After a pair of finishes outside the top 20 to open the 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 campaign, Scott Steckly (No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge) has rallied with back-to-back victories in his last two starts to pull within just five points of the lead in the championship standings.
The season has a different look for the two-time series champion out of Milverton, Ontario. In his two title-winning seasons in 2008 and 2010, Steckly got off to a quick start and established himself at the top of the standings.
“We didn’t have a great start – that’s for sure,” said Steckly. “We weren’t about to quit, though. We just decided that we were going to really dig down and win as many races as we (could).”
The season opened for Steckly with an early accident on the road course at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, Ontario that resulted in a 24th-place finish – followed by mechanical problems at Delaware (Ontario) Speedway, which led to a finish in the 21st position after a start from the pole.
“We could have won those first two races. We had good cars,” Steckly said. “Those are just things that happen. It hasn’t been about poor performance. It’s just been bad luck. Hopefully, we’ve gotten all that out of the way for the season.”
Despite his superb results out west, Steckly is looking forward to a return to Autodrome St. Eustache (Quebec) where he picked up a July 2008 win en route to his first Canadian Tire Series title to go along with a July 2009 triumph.
“We’re definitely looking forward to going back to St. Eustache,” said the 13-time race winner. “We’ve won there in the past and always like going there.”
In four starts on the .4-mile Quebec oval Steckly has two other top-five performances in addition to the two victories.
FAST FACTS
The Race: This is the seventh event of the 2013 season for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 and the fifth of eight oval-track events on the schedule. This is the series’ fifth visit to the track and first since July 2010.
The Procedure: The starting field is 22 cars, including provisionals. The first 19 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 250 laps covering 100 miles.
The Track: The Autodrome St. Eustache racing complex, located northwest of Montreal, consists of a .4-mile flat oval, a 1.7-kilometer road course and a .125-mile drag strip. There is also a karting track on the premises. The track was founded in 1965 as Fury Speedway de Fabreville, and the current configuration has been hosting various types of racing since 1970. The track was purchased by Alan Labrosse prior to the 2008 race season.
The Records: The one-lap qualifying record for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at the track is 17.210 seconds (83.672 mph), set by D.J. Kennington on July 12, 2009. The 250-lap race record was established on July 3, 2010 by Kennington at 1 hour, 37 minutes, 21 seconds for an average speed of 61.633 mph.
ST. EUSTACHE NOTES
On The Lookout: D.J. Kennington (No. 17 Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge) won in the series’ last St. Eustache outing in 2010 and the two-time series and defending series champ is looking for his first trip to Victory Lane in 2013.
In A Bunch: Four drivers – Kennington, Scott Steckly, Louis-Philippe Dumoulin (No. 47 WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge) and Jason Hathaway (No. 3 Snap-on Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge) – are separated by just six points atop the championship point standings with six races remaining on the schedule.
East Follows West: With the two-race swing through Western Canada in the books, the Canadian Tire Series now turns its attention to the eastern part of the country. The visit to St. Eustache is followed by another Quebec trip to Trois-Rivieres followed by the easternmost event on the docket at Riverside International Speedway in Antigonish, N.S.
Broadcast TV Schedule:
TSN, Sun., Aug. 4, 11 a.m. ET;
RDS2, Sat., Aug. 24, 11 p.m. ET;
RDS, Sun., Aug. 25, 10 a.m. ET
Race Schedule for Saturday July 27th
Noon-12:30 p.m. Practice
1-1:30 p.m. Final Practice
4:15 p.m. Qualifying
8:05 p.m. National 250 (250 laps, 100 miles)
Driver Entry List
CAR DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM OWNER CREW CHIEF
02 Kerry *****, Mount Albert, Ont. Leland/BDI/Dickies Ford Susan ***** Rino Montanari
03 Elie Arseneau, Bedford, Que. Prime Racing/Circuit ICAR Dodge Marc Arseneau Vic Decker
3 Jason Hathaway, Dutton, Ont. Snap-On Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge Ed Hakonson Craig Masters
5 Noel Dowler, Sherwood Park, Alta. EMCO/Praxair/Safety Kleen Dodge Kevin Dowler Lawrence Roy
7 Peter Shepherd, Brampton, Ont. National Exhaust/Diamond Mat. Handling Dodge Sharon Shepherd Don Jacobson
09 Ryley Seibert, Williams Lake, B.C. * Lake Excavating/Emco Waterworks Dodge Trevor Seibert Keenan Magnant
15 Steven Mathews, New Liskeard, Ont. Bill Mathews Motors Ford Bill Mathews Steve Mifsud
17 D.J. Kennington, St. Thomas, Ont. Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge Doug Kennington Dave Wight
19 Brad Graham, Glencoe, Ont. Holmar Plumbing Dodge Reginald Arseneault Jeff Wernham
21 Jason White, Sun Peaks, B.C. Bowers & Wilkins Dodge Melissa McKenzie Brian Ellas
22 Scott Steckly, Milverton, Ont. Canadian Tire Dodge Scott Steckly Randy Steckly
28 Dave Connelly, Arnprior, Ont. Schneider's/Metro Dodge DJ Kennington Bill Burns
29 Ray Courtemanche Jr., Montreal, Que. La Cité De Mirabel Inc. Dodge Ray Courtemanche Jr. Tim Ellas
39 Alex Guenette, Terrebonne, Que. * Motos Illimitées/DLGL Dodge Dave Jacombs Mike Knott
47 L.P. Dumoulin, Trois-Rivieres, Que. WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge Marc Andre Bergeron Tyler Case
56 Larry Jackson, Oakville, Ont. Speedy Auto Service/B&B Decal Dodge Daniel Bray Ron Easton
60 Ron Beauchamp, Jr., Windsor, Ont. Mopar/Exide/Pennzoil Dodge Ronald Beauchamp, Sr Deon Deneau
69 Trevor Seibert, Williams Lake, B.C. Lake Excavating/Emco Waterworks Dodge Trevor Seibert Al Lebert
84 J.R. Fitzpatrick, Ayr, Ont. Equipment Express Chevrolet John Fitzpatrick Don Thomson Jr.
90 Martin Roy, Napierville, Que. Batteries Expert/Gamache Dodge Normand Roy Mario Gosselin
97 Hugo Vannini, Repentigny, Que. VTI Motorsports Ford Yvon Vannini Yvon Vannini
98 Howie Scannell Jr., Milton, Ont. Trailers by Jim Bray Dodge James Bray Kevin Blacklock
99 Paul Jean, St. Eustache, Que. * BFI Chevrolet Derek White Robin McCluskey
