Scott Steckly and Mark Dilley top practice for Alberta Has Energy 300 in Edmonton

At the end of the pair of practices for the inaugural Albert Has Energy 300, it’d be Scott Steckly and Mark Dilley topping the practice charts.

Scott Steckly topped the charts in the first practice with a lap of 12.707 seconds in his No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge as he looks for his second straight series championship.

Joey McColm, who has had bad luck so far this year, was second quickest as he looks for his first top-five of the 2014 season. Alex Tagliani was third quickest as he looks for his second straight top-five following a fifth-place finish last week at Circuit ICAR.

Steve Mathews and J.R. Fitzpatrick would round out the top-five as Fitzpatrick comes into Edmonton as the series points leader, only two points ahead of L.P. Dumoulin, while Mathews makes his third start. Mathews will be making his third start of the year as he teams up with his third different team of the season, hoping to repeat the podium finish from Autodrome Chaudiere.

Mark Dilley was sixth, followed by D.J. Kennington, Noel Dowler, L.P. Dumoulin and Jamie Krysik.

Meanwhile, it’d be Mark Dilley topping the charts in the second and final practice with a lap of 12.591 seconds in his No. 02 Johnsonville Sausage/Leland Industries Ford. Dilley filled in for Kerry Micks at the last minute last weekend at Circuit ICAR, posting a 19th place finish.

“We had a great car today,” Dilley said post-race ICAR per the press release by Spencer Lewis. “Where we ended up at the end was no indication of how strong of a piece this Micks Motorsports squad put together this weekend.

“It’s never easy coming from the back, but it’s especially tough in a race as short as this one. We settled into a great rhythm, and were picking up spots when we ended up turned around. Once that happened, all I could do is ride and wait for a caution. Unfortunately, the rest of the race stayed green.”

This marks the second season where Dilley and Micks are splitting the schedule with Dilley running the ovals and Micks running the road courses. Dilley made his 2014 season debut last month at Autodrome Chaudiere, dueling back and forth with Jason Hathaway all race long before settling for second. Without a doubt, the veteran is hoping for a pair of good races during the western swing.

“Our oval program is as stout as it has ever been, so we’re really looking forward to the next two races”, Dilley said. “Edmonton’s just been repaved, so we’re all interested to see how that’s going to work out, and Auto Clearing is a speedway that we’ve had quite a bit of success at in the past. It should be a great trip.”

Steckly was second quickest, followed by Alex Tagliani, Stefan Rzadzinski and J.R. Fitzpatrick. Rzadzinski made his series debut earlier this year at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and is looking to post a solid finish in front of his hometown fans.

Autodrome Chaudiere winner Jason Hathaway was sixth quickest as he looks for his fourth oval win in the five oval events.

“I don’t know about elite, but I would classify us one of the teams that can win at every oval we go to,” Hathaway said. “This series is so competitive with Kennington, Steckly, J.R. [Fitzpatrick] – and to have Andrew [Ranger] back this year – it’s such a competitive series.”

Edmonton Late Model Champion Erica Thiering was seventh, followed by Joey McColm, Circuit ICAR winner Andrew Ranger and D.J. Kennington.

Qualifying will take place at 7 pm EST with the race scheduled for 10:35 pm EST.

FINAL PRACTICE

FIRST PRACTICE