Monday, September 26, 2011

Canadian Tire Driver Scott Steckly 2011 NCTS Champion

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (NCTS) finished the season with a race at Kawartha Speedway (the Kawartha 200) and Canadian Tire Driver Scott Steckly and his #22 car finished second in the race and captured the 2011 NCTS Championship Title. This is Scott's second NCTS Title, his previous title was in 2008, and in this race he came in only 0.358 seconds after race winner DJ Kennington. In the photo above Scott climbs out of the 22 car and is given a checkered flag as the 2011 Champion at the September 24th race (Joe got some great shots of the race and the celebrations).
Knowing he is the champion, Scott enjoys a good burn out on the track at Kawartha.

Canadian Tire driver Scott Steckly is presented with the NCTS National Champion trophy.
Scott and his Championship team with the 2011 trophy.

Scott is one of those racers that is a pleasure to meet as he is really nice. Sometimes that might hinder his chances in winning but as you can see the two time NCTS Champion can still put the pedal to the metal and capture the top spot in the yearly points total. Thanks to Canadian Tire's Stephanie Bonk I was able to ask Series Champion Scott Steckly some questions about his stock car racing.
Scott, his family and team are surrounded by media after the race.

1. Does he like to travel during the season (ie what about out of province) and where is his favourite race track? Scott: Since we are so busy racing throughout the summer we don't get too much time to travel. Usually we get a couple weekends off and we can take some short trips with the kids. My favourite track is the Riverside Speedway in Nova Scotia.

2. Which does he like night time or day time races? Scott: I prefer racing at night. For one it is cooler in the car, but I also think it is better for the fans. They get to see the brake rotors glowing, flames coming from the exhaust and sparks flying from cars when contact is made. (note: One of my favourite shots that I took of Scott racing was where he was leading JR Fitzpatrick and the brakes were glowing a deep red - see the photo on my post here, James.)

3. Does he think being nice hinders him in racing? Scott: No not really, I just race my competitors they way I want them to race me and I believe that helps. When rivalries start it usually ends up with some dnf's and there’s no room for those in a 12 race series.

4. Road or Ovals? Scott: I prefer ovals because I started my career racing on ovals.

5. How long does he hope to continue racing? Scott: I plan on racing as long as I am having fun and I’m competitive.

This is Canadian Tires fifth year of sponsoring the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and I was wondering what their intentions were going forward with the Canada wide stock car racing series.
What are Canadian Tire’s future plans in regards to the NASCAR Canadian series?
Canadian Tire Corporation: Part of our strategy to further our position as Canada’s automotive authority includes being a major player in Motorsport in Canada. We are thrilled with the performance of our driver Scott Steckly in the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, and we are looking forward to the upcoming season.
The 22 car at the Honda Indy Toronto.

The top five racers at the NCTS Kawartha 200 were as follows.
1. (10) D.J. Kennington, St. Thomas, Ont., Dodge, 253 laps, 42.984 mph.
2. (4) Scott Steckly, Milverton, Ont., Dodge, 253.
3. (2) J.R. Fitzpatrick, Ayr, Ont., Chevrolet, 253.
4. (7) Kerry Micks, Mt. Albert, Ont., Ford, 253.
5. (8) Mark Dilley, Barrie, Ont., Dodge, 253.

Canadian Tire Driver Scott Steckly Reigns Supreme as NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Champion - see the entire press release after the jump.

FRASERVILLE, ON (September 24, 2011) – Tonight at Kawartha Speedway, Scott Steckly raced his Canadian Tire Dodge to a second-place finish in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season finale. With the finish, Steckly secured the points championship for the second time in four seasons. As he was presented with the Champion’s trophy, the popular racer and his team were cheered by a full house at the Peterborough-area oval.

“The Canadian Tire Dodge performed very well tonight; we didn’t have any big adventures,” said Scott, who came home behind 2010 Canadian Tire Series champ DJ Kennington. “We raced hard but by the end we were pretty sure we had it clinched and we were going for the race win. It feels really good to earn the championship again. People don’t realize how hard it is to win one of these things; a lot of things have to go right in a lot of races to get to here.”
His vehicle at the Canadian Motorsports Expo (CME).

Steckly was eager to recognize the support of his family, sponsors and friends, who contributed to him winning the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series - the biggest prize in Canadian stock car racing.

“I can’t give enough thanks to Canadian Tire for sponsoring our team and supporting the series as well as companies like Exide and Castrol. Also, AW Millwrights and ERB Transport who have sponsored me for 18 years. And my family and crew are the best, making sacrifices and supporting my racing.”

Steckly lined up fourth in the field of 26 racers who took part in the series’ 12th and final event of 2011. During time trials, the Milverton, Ontario racer lapped the high-banked 3/8-mile oval in 17.839 seconds (75.677 mph). The driver of the Canadian Tire Dodge was careful to protect his car in the early going, but quickly moved forward. Steckly was out front by lap 100 but pitted prior to the halfway point of the 250-lap race, for fuel and tires.

With 100 laps to go, Scott was back in the top five. With 40 laps remaining in the race, the Canadian Tire-sponsored racer was up to second, behind Kennington, the only other driver in the field with a mathematic chance of denying Scott his second championship. The two would come across the line in that order, with J.R. Fitzpatrick claiming the third and final podium spot at Kawartha.

During the championship presentation, Steckly and the Canadian Tire team were joined in the victory lane by Allan MacDonald, Senior Vice-President of Automotive for Canadian Tire. “On behalf of Canadian Tire I’d like to congratulate Scott and his team on a phenomenal performance in this race and for a truly outstanding season. Scott is a great asset to the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and to the sport of racing in Canada. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the 2011 race season.”

The race for the 2011 championship kicked-off at Mosport Speedway on May 28. Steckly set the tone for his championship season by qualifying second-fastest and winning his first of three races during the season. Much like his 2008 championship season, where he won four races, Steckly was off to a fast start and was able to maintain the points lead starting with the first race of the season. Qualifying and finishing in the top five for the first six events set the bar high for his competitors in the series. Steckly would go on to record three Keystone Light Pole Awards, three wins, nine top-fives and 10 top-10s during the season.

For more information on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series please visit www.nascarlocalracing.com.

Posted by James and Joe Hamilton.

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