MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Rick Ware Racing will expand its already versatile motorsports presence by competing in the NASCAR Canada Series with a two-car effort beginning with the 2027 season.
The first driver named to the team is the “Iron Man” of Canada’s premier racing league, D.J. Kennington, who will pilot the No. 51 Chevrolet. RWR’s second car will be the No. 15 Chevrolet, and that driver will be announced at a later date.
Kennington is the only driver to compete in every NASCAR Canada Series race, and he will make his 241st career start Saturday night in the 2026 season finale at Delaware Speedway in Ontario. The St. Thomas, Ontario, native is a two-time NASCAR Canada Series champion (2010 and 2012) and has a total of 25 wins, 126 top-fives and 202 top-10s, along with 17 poles and 3,969 laps led. Kennington has also finished among the top-three in points 13 times, including a record four runner-up results.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a long career in the NASCAR Canada Series, but I’ve always been more interested in what’s next, and this opportunity with Rick Ware Racing is something I’m really looking forward to,” Kennington said. “Rick has built a race team that competes in a lot of different forms of motorsports, and to be a part of his overall program means a lot to me. To do it with Castrol and Wakefield Canada makes it even more special. They’ve been with me since I was 16 years old. They’re family, and now we get to start another chapter together at RWR.”
Wakefield Canada, the manufacturer and distributor of Castrol-branded lubricants in Canada, has been with Kennington for every one of his NASCAR Canada Series milestones and then some.
It’s a partnership that began with a 16-year-old Kennington at the outset of his racing career, and it will continue through the 2029 season at his new RWR home, extending the pairing to an incredible 35 years.
“D.J. has been a fantastic ambassador for Castrol and Wakefield Canada for more than three decades. Extending our relationship through 2029 reflects the trust and success we’ve built together, while the addition of Rick Ware Racing creates new opportunities to elevate all three organizations,” said Rob Fifield, marketing director – automotive, Wakefield Canada. “By combining D.J.’s connection with fans, Rick Ware Racing’s competitive platform and Castrol’s heritage in motorsports, everyone wins.”
The 2027 season will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the NASCAR Canada Series, and it will also serve as RWR’s return to the series. In 2021, RWR competed in the NASCAR Canada Series with a two-car lineup for drivers Andrew Ranger and Alex Guenette.
Ranger scored two wins for RWR – Sept. 12 at Flamboro Speedway in Ontario and Sept. 26 at Delaware Speedway – on his way to a second-place finish in the final point standings, just eight points behind series champion L.P. Dumoulin. Guenette finished seventh in points with seven top-10s.
“We’ve wanted to get back to the NASCAR Canada Series, but it needed to be the right opportunity, and we feel like we have that with the two-car program we’re putting together for 2027,” said team owner Rick Ware. “D.J. gives us a proven winner who knows this series inside and out, and we’re proud to represent Castrol and become part of the relationship they’ve built with D.J. over the past three decades. We’re equally pleased with what we’re putting together for our second car, and we look forward to sharing more about that program when the time is right.”
