Saskatchewan International Raceway

Race series tight at top

As the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season hits its stride, competitors in the series are beginning to as well, both at home and at other NASCAR-sanctioned events across North America.

With four of the 12 events on the 2011 slate in the books drivers and teams have worked out the kinks and are ready for the summer stretch that has five races covering four Canadian provinces -- British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan -- from July 9 to Aug. 20.

The early portion of the schedule has seen Scott Steckly jump out to the lead in the championship point standings, but J.R. Fitzpatrick, D.J. Kennington of St. Thomas and Don Thomson Jr. are in hot pursuit.

The stage is now set for the Streets of Toronto 100 this Saturday at Toronto's Exhibition Place as part of the Honda Indy Toronto event. More than 30 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series cars are expected to be on hand.

Rivals Fitzpatrick and Andrew Ranger, who won last season's Toronto race, once again square off, but they must not lose sight of Steckly, Kennington and Jason Bowles.

Bowles, the 2009 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion and winner of the 2011 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, battled Ranger for the win last year at Montreal.

After Toronto, the series heads to Western Canada for events at Motoplex Speedway and Event Park in Vernon, B.C., and Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, Sask. The two oval-track events have been held in front of capacity crowds for the past two seasons.

Then the teams travel to Quebec for the final two road-course events of the season -- Aug. 7 at Circuit de Trois- Rivieres for the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres and Aug. 20 at Montreal's legendary Circuit Gilles Villeneuve at which they will share the date with the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the fifth straight season.

"The opportunity to share the track in Montreal with the (NASCAR Nationwide Series) is always a lot of fun," said Kennington, defending NASCAR Canadian Series champion. "And Trois-Rivieres always has a great crowd. Race fans in Quebec may be the best of anywhere."

So far this season, Steckly has logged top-five finishes in each of the four events. Thomson earned the win at Delaware Speedway. Kennington collected his 10th series career win on June 26 at Mosport International Raceway, which will be a memorable one as it was his first series win on a road course and done in dramatic fashion as he went from third to first in the final two laps of the race.

Daniel a dandy at Laird International Raceway - The Sault Star ...

PETER RUICCI

The Sault Star

With his recent win streak over, there's just one thing on the mind of A.J. Daniel: Start another one.

Immediately.

Which is exactly what Daniel hopes to do tonight, when the stock four driver takes to the track at Laird International Raceway.

The mid-season championships are slated for L.I.R., with time trials scheduled for 6 p.m. and racing set to go one hour later.

"I want to get back on a winning streak," said Daniel, a 16-year-old Echo Bay native in his third season of racing. "This is the most fun I've ever had."

Winning races will do that.

Beginning June 26, Alexander Jacob Daniel, called A.J. by all who know him, won three consecutive stock four features races.

His impressive streak was snapped last Thursday when Daniel drove his Chevy S-10 truck to a second-place finish behind Chelsea Pace in the feature.

"It was a surprise to win three straight because there's a lot of good competition out there," said Daniel, whose 243 points put him in second place, 40 points behind Pace in the season points standings. "It felt great. And it showed me how much I've improved."

As a 14-year-old rookie in 2009, Daniel finished fourth in the points race. His 451 total put him 67 points back of stock four champion Jay McCoy.

He struggled a year ago due to engine problems and wound up placing seventh. With only 176 points, Daniel was 165 back of points champion Rebecca Fewchuk.

"We've come a long way from that first year," Daniel said. "When I was a rookie, I found it to be a lot of fun. But there was a lot to learn. I did learn a lot and today I run better and faster."

As a beginner, the most difficult aspect of stock car racing was

cornering, Daniel added, speaking of his rear-wheel drive vehicle.

He recalled winding up in the guardrail a couple of times in the early going.

Daniel, who'll enter Grade 12 at Central Algoma Secondary School in Desbarats this fall, wound up winning one feature as a rookie, but failed to grab a feature race checkered flag a year ago.

That slump made this year's three-race win streak all the more enjoyable.

Daniel was only too happy to share the experience with his father, Ian Daniel, who serves as his crew chief and car builder.

"We built that truck two years before I started racing it," A.J. Daniel said. "The plan was always that I was eventually going to race the truck. My dad has always built cars and I know he's happy for me.

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