Tire Woes Slow Kennington and Red Bank Outfitters at Vegas

Event/Date:                       Sam’s Town 300/Feb. 28, 2009
Venue:                                 Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, Neveda
Starting Position:              25th
Finishing Position:            33rd  
Points Position:                 25th (Drivers); 26th (Owners)

Las Vegas, Nevada (Feb. 21, 2009) – A strong run by D.J. Kennington was dashed on lap 90 when the left-front tire blew and the No. 81 Red Bank Outfitters Dodge hit the outside retaining wall.  The damage on the No. 81 machine was beyond repair and Kennington was strapped with a 33rd-place finish in the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

The less-than-expected result dropped Kennington 13 spots, to 25th, in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship point standings.  At the same time, the Canadian native is only 58 markers out of the top 10. 

On Saturday morning, Kennington was the seventh of 47 cars to qualify for the 300-mile event.  Kennington lapped the 1.5-mile tri-oval in 30.378 seconds (177.760 mph) to line up on the inside of row 13 in the 25th position. 

At the drop of the green flag Kennington was satisfied with the handling of the No. 81 machine.  He was listed as high as 13th on the scoring pylon before the left-front tire blew, forcing the No. 81 Dodge into the wall. 

After a short visit to the infield care center, Kennington was released without injury.  However, the red and white machine was not as lucky and could not be repaired.  The Red Bank Outfitters team was credited with a 33rd-place finish. 

Greg Biffle captured his first victory of the season with Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers, Jason Leffler and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounding out the top-five finishers. 

After a two week hiatus, the NASCAR Nationwide Series travels to Bristol Motor Speedway for its fourth stop on the 35-race tour. 

The Scott’s Turf Builder 300 from Bristol Motor Speedway will be televised live on ABC Sat., March 21 beginning at 2 p.m. EST and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio.