DJ Kennington to Drive Nationwide Race in Montreal

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Driver, DJ Kennington, to Sub for McClure at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

For Immediate Release

From: TMI

Abingdon, Virginia—TMI announced today that due to effects following two hard crashes during last weekend’s event at Bristol Motor Speedway, Eric McClure will be sidelined for this weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide Series event in Montreal. DJ Kennington, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series driver, and friend of McClure, will pilot the No. 24 Team Rensi Motorsports entry during the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Kennington, a St. Thomas, Ontario native, has seven starts in three different series (CASCAR Super Series, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, and NASCAR Nationwide Series) at the 2.708-mile road course and has recorded four top-5 and four top-10 finishes. This weekend’s event will mark the 33-year-old driver’s 46^th career Nationwide Series start and fourth at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve if he can earn one of the 43-starting positions.

TMI also announced that Del Monte© Foods will continue its relationship with TMI/Team Rensi Motorsports during the 2010 season by serving as primary sponsor for the event. This partnership began in 2009 with the event at Watkins Glen International Raceway and the familiar green colors of the Del Monte® brand will once again be on the No. 24 car this weekend. Additional sponsorship will be provided from two of Kennington’s NASCAR Canadian Tire Series sponsors, Castrol EDGE and Hitachi Power Tools.

DJ Kennington quotes:

“While I’m sorry that Eric isn’t able to drive the car this week I’m really happy to be working with him and the No. 24 team. This opportunity came pretty late but we’ve had great support from our longtime sponsor Castrol and Hitachi Power Tools came on board this year and have been great to work with. I’m glad to have them on board with us for this race. I’ve run quite a bit at this track and I believe we can have a very strong finish.”

Eric McClure quotes:

“After the accidents at Bristol it was strongly suggested by the medical team present that I take a week off and heal and have some tests run. As a result, as much as I like road racing and feel I’ve improved, with the expected number of entries for Montreal, we are able to have someone with a lot more experience, like DJ, in the car. This gives the car a greater opportunity qualifying, and the additional sponsorship he has will certainly be a help to the team. So, I guess the timing of this turned out pretty well and it’s a positive for everyone involved.”