When the green flag waves Tuesday for the running of the Pinty’s 100 at Ohsweken Speedway, it will mark the 200th race in the history of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series.

One driver – D.J. Kennington – has been there for them all.

Kennington, the driver from St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, will make his 200th NASCAR Pinty’s start on Tuesday, celebrating the milestone alongside the series.

“To run all 200 races that have been run so far, I don’t know if that makes me a veteran, smart, or absolutely crazy,” Kennington said. “Proud of it. It’s actually a little emotional to think about it. All those races, all the miles, all the hard work, all the people, all the sponsors that have made it happen.

“That’s the whole important part about it.”

The 46-year-old is one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR Pinty’s Series history. He’s captured two NASCAR Pinty’s Series championships (2010 and 2012) and has won 24 races since the series debuted in 2007.

His victories have come at a variety of tracks, including Barrie Speedway, his home track of Delaware Speedway, Kawartha Speedway, Autodrome St. Eustache, Sutherland Automotive Speedway, Riverside International Speedway, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Motorplex Speedway, the Edmonton Street Circuit, Circuit de Trois-Rivières, and Jukasa Motor Speedway.

The “Ironman,” or the “Castrol Kid” as he was known back then, actually won the Pole Award in the series’ debut and later claimed his first win at Barrie Speedway, just two races later.

His career has even taken him to the highest levels of NASCAR. He’s made starts in all three of NASCAR’s national divisions, including two starts in the Daytona 500.

It’s still hard for Kennington to believe that he’s reaching such a milestone. His next goal? Hopefully, get to 250 NASCAR Pinty’s Series starts.

“From my dad getting me started to Castrol to everybody along the way, every crew member. You could never list everybody that helped you make this stuff happen,” Kennington said. “But to get to number 200 is huge. Very, very proud moment for myself, my family, and my sponsors. I can’t wait to get there. Hopefully, we can get to 250. We’ll just keep on rolling all we can.”

Friesen, Schrader return to Pinty’s Series at Ohsweken
A pair of familiar faces are returning to the NASCAR Pinty’s Series next week for two nights of racing at Ohsweken Speedway.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series star Stewart Friesen and four-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Ken Schrader are both entered to compete with the series next week.

Both drivers made their series debuts at Ohsweken. Friesen, who has a World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory at the track, battled with eventual race winner Treyten Lapcevich late in the race before ultimately finishing second.

Friesen will also run double-duty at Ohsweken, competing in NASCAR Pinty’s and Sprint Cars, both Monday and Tuesday nights.

Schrader, who since retiring from NASCAR competition has become a regular at dirt tracks across the United States, started third and finished a respectable eighth in his Pinty’s Series debut.

Both drivers will look to improve upon their performances from one year ago, on Monday and Tuesday at Ohsweken.

Lapcevich looking for an Ohsweken repeat
Treyten Lapcevich is on a roll this year and he’s hoping to carry that momentum back to a track he won at in 2022.

The current NASCAR Pinty’s championship points leader conquered Ohsweken Speedway one year ago to earn his second career victory and the series’ inaugural race on dirt.

He did so after a thrilling NASCAR Overtime battle with NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series star Stewart Friesen that saw the two trade the lead on the final lap before Lapcevich ultimately beat Friesen to the finish line by a car length.

Since then, Lapcevich has emerged as the 2023 championship favorite thanks in large part to his five victories through nine races held thus far.

He’ll look to add two more by asserting his dominance on dirt at Ohsweken next week.

NASCAR Pinty’s Series etc.

• L.P. Dumoulin will also hit 150 career starts on Tuesday night at Ohsweken. The Trois-Rivières local as amassed 11 wins, 73 top-fives, 111 top-tens, six pole awards, and has led 884 laps over his 15 years in the series.
• Some more familiar faces will return to the series for the dirt doubleheader. Ohsweken local, Aaron Turkey is back in the No. 99 Dodge, while Mike Goudie and Trevor Monaghan are entered. Malcolm Strachan in the No. 98 Chevrolet, Wallace Stacey in the No. 66 Chevrolet, and Daniel Bois in the No. 31 Chevrolet are back as well. 
• Making his series debut is GM Paillé, Modified driver, David Hebert from St-Damase, Quebec.