08/10/2026
Tough day for our hometown racer.
It was a tough one at GP3R, but we'll be back!
KENNINGTON FORCED TO EXIT EARLY FROM GP3R
August 10, 2026. DJ Kennington and the No. 17 Castrol Dodge showed strong pace throughout the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières weekend, but a small mechanical failure brought an early end to Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Canada Series 45 Tours CarGurus main event.
The weekend began with a solid performance in practice, with Kennington posting the ninth-fastest time around the challenging street circuit.
For 2026, a new format was introduced at Trois-Rivières, with the starting field for Sunday’s feature determined through 15-lap sprint races on Saturday afternoon. Kennington started sixth in his heat race and gained two positions, crossing the finish line fourth and earning the eighth starting position for Sunday’s main event.
Kennington settled into the lead group early in Sunday’s 45-lap race, running inside the top 10 and preparing to work his way forward. The race was slowed by a pair of early cautions, and that’s when Kennington sensed something wasn’t right with the Castrol Dodge.
The team took the opportunity to bring the No. 17 to pit lane, where the Castrol crew quickly diagnosed the issue as a faulty component that was leaking. With the potential for the problem to develop into a much larger failure, the difficult decision was made to retire the car from the event.
“It’s super frustrating to get taken out by a small part failure,” said Kennington. “The Castrol car was really good all weekend. I was taking my time, being patient, we had a good car and definitely would have come home with a nice result. Unfortunately, that’s racing sometimes.”
Despite the disappointing result, Kennington remains fourth overall in the driver’s championship standings.
Next up:
DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Dodge will race next on Saturday, August 15th as part of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham event.