Scott Steckly won the Pinty’s 250 at Kawartha Speedway on Sunday to finally take the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series crown by a margin of only two points.
Coming into the final race of the season, Steckly was 5 points behind leader D.J. Kennington and he had to earn the maximum 48 points to become the first three-time series champion.
Steckly demonstrated the strength of his No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge early in the day on Sunday, topping the practice chart and winning his 12th career series pole; yesterday’s schedule having been postponed to Sunday due to heavy rain showers.
He led the early portion of the race, making a point of staying ahead of Kennington. After pitting twice during the second caution, Steckly and Kennington restarted 12th and 13th, respectively. The pair steadily worked their way to the front as Jason Hathaway, who entered the event with a mathematical shot at the title, pulled away with a big lead.
All three title contenders stopped for right side tires during a caution on Lap 150 and from there set sail to the finish.
The trio of title contenders battled among themselves as they closed in and moved by Lapcevich for second. Hathaway, who slipped by Kennington, challenged Shepherd for the lead following a restart - but saw his hopes dashed with a spin in Turn 4.
Steckly took advantage on the restart and raced Shepherd side-by-side for the lead - eventually getting the top spot for good after contact coming out of Turn 4. Steckly went on to win by a margin of .580 seconds over Shepherd, with Lapcevich third and Kennington fourth. Martin Roy came home fifth.
Sixth through 10th were Noel Dowler, Donald Chisholm, Mark Dilley, Ron Beauchamp and Ryley Seibert.
Coming into the final race of the season, Steckly was 5 points behind leader D.J. Kennington and he had to earn the maximum 48 points to become the first three-time series champion.
Steckly demonstrated the strength of his No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge early in the day on Sunday, topping the practice chart and winning his 12th career series pole; yesterday’s schedule having been postponed to Sunday due to heavy rain showers.
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| Scott Steckly, 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Champion. (Photo: NASCAR) |
He led the early portion of the race, making a point of staying ahead of Kennington. After pitting twice during the second caution, Steckly and Kennington restarted 12th and 13th, respectively. The pair steadily worked their way to the front as Jason Hathaway, who entered the event with a mathematical shot at the title, pulled away with a big lead.
All three title contenders stopped for right side tires during a caution on Lap 150 and from there set sail to the finish.
The trio of title contenders battled among themselves as they closed in and moved by Lapcevich for second. Hathaway, who slipped by Kennington, challenged Shepherd for the lead following a restart - but saw his hopes dashed with a spin in Turn 4.
Steckly took advantage on the restart and raced Shepherd side-by-side for the lead - eventually getting the top spot for good after contact coming out of Turn 4. Steckly went on to win by a margin of .580 seconds over Shepherd, with Lapcevich third and Kennington fourth. Martin Roy came home fifth.
Sixth through 10th were Noel Dowler, Donald Chisholm, Mark Dilley, Ron Beauchamp and Ryley Seibert.