Monday, June 24, 2013

Rising Canadian Star Di Leo On Track with Praga for Toronto Indy Lights Race

Photo Credit: Praga

Firestone Indy Lights is a storied right of passage for many famous racers including over the years including Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon and Greg Moore. More recently, Canadian racing superstar James Hinchcliffe was a graduate of two seasons in the ladder series prior to his IZOD IndyCar Series success. Matthew Di Leo wants to be the next racing Canuck to earn his way into the top levels of motorsport.

The 4th place finisher last year in the Cooper Tire USF2000 Powered by Mazda, Di Leo fought against several well-supported organizations with his own team MDL Racing. At 18-years old, the Canadian has already shown the passion, ambition and talent to aspire to much more in motorsports. During the upcoming Honda Indy Toronto race weekend, the driver wants to make his next significant racing stand on home turf. Thanks to a Czech Republic company, the MDL Racing entry has the opportunity to figure prominently in the Firestone Indy Lights competition.

Matthew Di Leo's support for the 2013 Honda Indy Toronto event will come from Praga Racing Holding. A diverse collection of motorsport companies providing everything from young driver training to professional race vehicles, a Praga racing chassis was part of the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Praga Director of Media Relations Krystle Carrara stated, "Matthew was one of the first drivers to race on Praga in North America, and he supported and promoted the brand from its inception, so we are happy to return the favor in this collaboration with MDL Racing,". In addition to sponsoring Matthew Di Leo, Praga will have a display of their kart chassis at the 2013 Honda Indy.

Starting in ninth place (second-to-last on the grid), Di Leo not only survived his first Firestone Indy Lights race at Long Beach but held on for a strong opening effort. Placing fifth, the Innisfil, Ontario driver is bracing to put on a meaningful demonstration of his talent with the Honda Indy Toronto race weekend.

Matthew Di Leo will race July 13th in the eighth round of the 2013 Firestone Indy Lights.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

2013 NASCAR Nationwide Road America Entry List

Photo Credit: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series
Johnsonville Sausage "200" Presented by Menards
Road America
Entry List

  1. 00 Blake Koch Melissa Sciavicco Kevin Eagle 13 Toyota TBA
  2. 01 Mike Wallace Johnny Davis Dave Fuge 13 Chevrolet GK Services
  3. 2 Brian Scott Richard Childress Phil Gould 13 Chevrolet Charter
  4. 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Danny Stockman Jr 13 Chevrolet AdvoCare
  5. 4 Landon Cassill Gene Vess Dave Smith 13 Chevrolet FlexSeal
  6. 5 Johnny O'Connell Rick Hendrick Mike Bumgarner 13 Chevrolet CorvetteParts.net
  7. 6 Trevor Bayne Jack Roush Michael Kelley 13 Ford Valvoline NextGen
  8. 7 Regan Smith Kelley Earnhardt-Miller Greg Ives 13 Chevrolet TaxSlayer.com
  9. 10 Jeff Green Mark Smith Todd Myers 13 Toyota TriStar Motorsports
  10. 11 Elliott Sadler J D Gibbs Chris Gayle 13 Toyota OneMain Financial
  11. 12 Sam Hornish Jr Roger Penske Greg Erwin 13 Ford Snap-On
  12. 14 Eric McClure Mark Smith Todd Myers 13 Toyota Hefty / Reynolds
  13. 15 Carl Long Rick Ware TBA 13 Ford RWR
  14. 16 Billy Johnson Jack Roush Seth Barbour 13 Ford Ford Ecoboost
  15. 18 Michael McDowell Joe Gibbs Matthew Lucas 13 Toyota K-Love
  16. 19 Mike Bliss Mark Smith Paul Clapprood 13 Toyota TriStar Motorsports
  17. 20 Brian Vickers Joe Gibbs Kevin Kidd 13 Toyota Dollar General
  18. 21 Brendan Gaughan Richard Childress Shane Wilson 13 Chevrolet South Point
  19. 22 A J Allmendinger Roger Penske Jeremy Bullins 13 Ford Discount Tire
  20. 23 Stanton Barrett Robert Richardson Sr George Church 13 Ford Rick Ware Racing
  21. 24 Derek White Jason Sciavicco Chris Wright 13 Toyota VIP Poker
  22. 26 John Young John Young TBA 12 Dodge CMP, Inc.
  23. 30 Nelson Piquet Jr Harry Scott Jr Chris Carrier 13 Chevrolet Qualcomm
  24. 31 Justin Allgaier Steve Turner Scott Zipadelli 13 Chevrolet Brandt
  25. 32 Kyle Larson Harry Scott Jr Trent Owens 13 Chevrolet Cottonelle
  26. 33 Max Papis Richard Childress Ernie Cope 13 Chevrolet Menards/Rheem
  27. 34 James Buescher Harry Scott Jr Michael Shelton 13 Chevrolet Wolfpack Energy Services
  28. 40 Reed Sorenson Curtis Key Sr Gary Showalter 13 Chevrolet E-Swisher.com
  29. 42 T J Bell Curtis Key Sr Curtis Key Sr 13 Chevrolet Curtis Key Plumbing
  30. 43 Michael Annett Richard Petty Philippe Lopez 13 Ford Flying J Travel Plaza
  31. 44 Cole Whitt Mark Smith Randy Cox 13 Toyota TriStar Motorsports
  32. 51 Jeremy Clements Tony Clements Ricky Pearson 13 Chevrolet TBD
  33. 52 TBA Jimmy Means Tim Brown 12 Chevrolet TBA
  34. 53 Andrew Ranger Robert Torriere Zach D'ambra 12 Dodge WM Bagster
  35. 54 Owen Kelly J D Gibbs Adam Stevens 13 Toyota Monster Energy
  36. 59 Kyle Kelley Bob Kelley Robert Rucker 12 Chevrolet Jamison Eng./UPRacing.com/1st Class Auto Body
  37. 60 Travis Pastrana Jack Roush Chad Norris 13 Ford Roush Fenway Racing
  38. 70 Tony Raines Mary Louise Miller Jay Robinson 13 Chevrolet TBA
  39. 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Gregg Mixon 12 Chevrolet TBA
  40. 75 Kenny Habul Kenny Habul Bryan Berry 13 Toyota SunEnergy1
  41. 77 Parker Kligerman Kyle Busch Eric Phillips 13 Toyota TOYOTA
  42. 79 Jeffrey Earnhardt Archie St Hilaire Mark Durgin 13 Ford Oath Keepers
  43. 87 Kyle Kelley Andrea Nemechek Steven Gray 13 Toyota Jamison Engineering/1stClassAutoBody.com/UPRacing.com
  44. 89 Morgan Shepherd Morgan Shepherd Mike Malamphy 12 Chevrolet Hyland's Leg Cramps
  45. 92 Dexter Stacey Kristin Hamelin George Ingram 13 Ford Maddie's Place
  46. 99 Alex Bowman Robby Benton Chris Rice 13 Toyota Safety First
 

Sunday, June 16, 2013

NCATS: Shepherd Leads Young Gun Uprising at Delaware


Photo Credit: Matthew Murnaghan/NASCAR


In past seasons of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, efforts of D.J. Kennington and Scott Steckly have been a dominate duel that has made Canada's most popular stock car racing a rather predictable sport. The premiere of the 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series on the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park road course brought an optimistic belief that a new season will foster more parity throughout the race grid. With the opening race serving as a stage L.P. (Louis-Philippe) Dumoulin's first series win, would the short half-mile oval of Delaware Speedway produce another new face in victory lane?

After a dismal start to his 2013 campaign with a DNF at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Scott Steckly returned to the form of a two-time NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion by taking pole for the EMCO 200. The #22 Dodge of Steckly was joined on the front row by D.J. Kennington's #17 Dodge Challenger. Steven Matthews, Pete Shepherd III and J.R. Fitzpatrick rounded out the top-five qualifiers for the 200-lap Saturday early evening feature.

Right off the bat, Scott Steckly was a man on a mission at Delaware Speedway. From the pole position, Steckly's #22 car led the initial 70 laps of the EMCO 200. With the seasoned driver hunting for a first win in 2013, the winner of the NASCAR Canadian Tire season opener found problems after a handful of laps. L.P. Dumoulin pitted to the attention of his crew on lap 8 requiring an extended stay. Dumoulin would return to the race in his #47 Dodge but finished 40 laps down. Along with the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park race winner, that race's runner-up also found misfortune at Delaware Speedway. Fighting near the front easily, Jeff Lapcevich suffered a flat tire on lap 58 losing three laps he'll never recover.

The EMCO 200's first caution came out on lap 18 with a multi-car wreck involving Ryley Seibert's #09 car, the #28 of Dave Connelly and the #69 of Trevor Seibert. Overall, six caution periods lasting 46 laps accompanied the running of the 200-lap race. However, despite the several cautions, only two cars in the field of 22 competitors would be classified as out of the race.



Photo Credit: Matthew Murnaghan/NASCAR


After a positive start, the EMCO 200 quickly took a turned badly for Scott Steckly. Less than halfway distance into the race, reports of smoke from the #22 Dodge was a prelude to a lengthy time spent behind the wall. Forced off the race track on lap 93 for repairs, Steckly would return on lap 162. Finishing 71 laps behind, the favoured championship contender starts his 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series effort with two poor race results.

With Scott Steckly out of contention at Delaware Speedway, the fight at the front was maintained between D.J. Kennington, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Steven Matthews and Pete Shepherd III. On lap 150, the EMCO 200 was climatically decided with a drag race between Shepherd and Fitzpatrick. Prevailing in the fight was the #7 Dodge driven by Shepherd will preceded to lead the remaining 50 laps to win by 0.373 seconds over the #84 Chevrolet of Fitzpatrick.

Pete Shepherd III fourth career NASCAR Canadian Tire Series victory, the win is the 26-year old's first since 2011.

Placing in the runner-up spot, J.R. Fitzpatrick fought with the only Chevrolet at the EMCO 200 field. Enjoying one of his strongest race efforts in his NASCAR Canadian Tire Series career, Steven Matthews started and finished third in his #15 Ford. The 23-old year Matthews wound up beating fellow top-five finishers D.J. Kennington and Martin Roy to the line.



2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
EMCO 200
Delaware Speedway
Race Results


PositionCar #DriverSponsor/ Car MakeLaps CompletedStatus
17Pete Shepherd, IIINational Exhaust/Diamond Material Dodge200Running
284J.R. FitzpatrickEquipment Express Chevrolet200Running
315Steve MathewsBill Mathews Motors Ford200Running
417D.J. KenningtonCastrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge200Running
590Martin RoyBatteries Expert/Gamache Dodge200Running
65Noel DowlerEMCO/Praxair/Safety Kleen Dodge200Running
756Larry JacksonSpeedy Auto Service/B&B Decal Dodge200Running
897Hugo VanniniVTI Motorsports Ford200Running
928Dave ConnellySchneider's/Metro Dodge200Running
1050Joey McColmEspar Dodge198Running
113Jason HathawaySnap-On Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge197Running
1276Jeff LapcevichTim Hortons Dodge197Running
1360Ron Beauchamp, Jr.Mopar/Exide/Pennzoil Dodge196Running
1421Jason WhiteBowers & Wilkins Dodge192Running
1529Ray Courtemanche Jr.La Cité De Mirabel Inc. Dodge191Running
1619Brad GrahamHolmar Plumbing Ford186Running
179Ryley Seibert *Lake Excavating/Marshall's Dodge179Running
1869Trevor SeibertLake Excavating/Emco Waterworks Dodge172Accident
1947L.P. DumoulinWeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge160Running
2039Alex Guenette *Motos Illimitées/DLGL Dodge157Accident
2122Scott StecklyCanadian Tire Dodge129Running
222Mark DilleyLeland/BDI/Dickies Ford66Running