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Ranger Has All The Right Moves

BOWMANVILLE, Ont. – Andrew Ranger made a spectacular move before having to hold off Scott Steckly to win the Vortex Brake Pads 200 in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 action on Saturday evening at Mosport Speedway.

Ranger (No. 27 Walmart/Tide Ford), out of Roxton Pond, Que., made a daring move on Lap 155 by diving to the inside in Turn 2 and picked up three positions on the track just prior to completing a pass of Don Thomson Jr. (No. 4 Home Hardware Chevrolet) for the race lead. All told, Ranger led 57 of the final 65 laps of the race.

“Whitlock slid up the track and opened the door,” Ranger said. “I had to take the chance and am glad I did.”

Steckly (No. 22 Canadian Tire/Tow Truck in a Box Dodge) was right on Ranger’s rear deck lid through every turn of the final 15 laps, but Ranger was able to beat Steckly to the line by .711 seconds.

Ranger and Thomson were side-by-side on each of the final two restarts. On the first one, Thomson was able to gain an advantage on Ranger and take the lead as they headed into Turn 1, but it was just a matter of time before Ranger was able to regain the lead. The second and final restart of the race was a little different story. This time, Ranger was able to beat Thomson to the first turn.

“Thomson beat me here on the frontstretch in that first restart,” said Ranger. “So, on the second one I knew I had to get going really fast without jumping the start.”

It was Ranger’s fourth win of the season and the seventh of his series career. It was his second win on an oval track this season after winning on July 18 at SunValley Speedway in Vernon, B.C. Prior to that, he had been winless on ovals for his just over two seasons in the series.

“We’re having a fantastic year, so far,” said Ranger. “Being able to win these oval races is really important to me and the team. My guys have been giving me great cars all season and we hope to keep it going.”

With the win, Ranger tied Steckly for the all-time series lead in wins with seven. The two have accounted for 14 wins in the series’ 33-race history.

Steckly, out of Milverton, Ont., was in a brand new race car for this event.

“It was pretty good. We’ve got some work to do on it to make it turn better. But for the first time out, we’re pretty happy with the results,” Steckly said

DJ Kennington (No. 17 Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge) had another solid run to finish third; it was his sixth top-five finish of the year. Steckly leads all drivers with seven top fives on the season.

“The Castrol/Mahindra Dodge was good tonight, but just not good enough,” Kennington said. “We made a bunch of changes this week and, I guess, we need to make some more. We’ll keep digging and chasing them down.”

Ron Beauchamp Jr. (No. 60 Mopar/Mobil 1 Dodge) followed Kennington for fourth place while Thomson scored his second straight top five.

Rookie Steven Mathews, making his series debut, finished sixth. Kerry Micks, Dave Whitlock, Jason Hathaway and Anthony Simone rounded out the top 10.

Ranger extended his lead over Steckly to 46 points. Kennington, in third, is 99 points off Ranger’s pace. Just five races remain on the schedule before the 2009 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion is crowned on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville, Ont.

Earlier in the day, Thomson notched his second straight pole and the 11th of his series career, which leads all competitors in that department.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 heads to the challenging Circuit de Trois-Rivieres in Quebec for the third of its four road-course events on the 2009 schedule. The GP3R 100, part of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres, is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 16.
 

RESULTS | LAP-BY-LAP RECAP
ANDREW RANGER POST-RACE VIDEO  |  SCOTT STECKLY POST-RACE VIDEO   
DJ KENNINGTON POST-RACE VIDEO
ANDREW RANGER POST-RACE AUDIO  |  SCOTT STECKLY POST-RACE AUDIO
DJ KENNINGTON POST-RACE AUDIO