Kennington, GBR Partner with Gordon Brothers for Martinsville

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer

The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season has been a season of firsts for Gaunt Brothers Racing. The team scored its’ first top-25 finish with driver D.J. Kennington in the Daytona 500 and made their first non-restrictor plate appearance at ISM Raceway. Now the team will make their first short track start at Martinsville Speedway in Sunday’s STP 500.

At Martinsville, the primary sponsor of Kennington’s No. 96 Toyota Camry will be Gordon Brothers. Gordon Brothers is global advisory, restructuring, and investment firm. Martinsville will mark GBR’s fourth start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. It will be their sixth overall NASCAR race.

“GBR is pleased to partner with Gordon Brothers this weekend at Martinsville,” said Marty Gaunt, GBR owner. “Partnering with Gordon Brothers helps GBR to grow. We take pride in bringing new companies into the Cup Series and helping them benefit from their participation in NASCAR.”

“Gordon Brothers is excited to partner with the GBR team this weekend,” said Jim Burke, Director of Gordon Brothers, Commercial and Industrial. “It’s a great fit given our experience and capabilities within professional motorsports.”

Martinsville will mark Kennington’s 65^th career start across NASCAR’s three National Series. The 2018 Daytona 500 resulted in the 40-year-old’s best career finish in NASCAR’s Premier Series, 24^th. Kennington’s best finish to date in any of NASCAR’s National Series is an 11^th-place finish at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2010.

In his home country of Canada, Kennington has earned two Championships in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series in 2010 and 2012. He finished runner-up in the Championship Standings on four separate occasions (2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013).

“I’m pumped to get back on the track,” said Kennington, two-time champion of NASCAR’s Pinty’s Series. “At the end of the Phoenix race, we had our car handling where we wanted it. We’re still building our foundation for the shorter tracks and Martinsville should provide us a solid proving ground.”

Now Kennington, Gaunt, and the entire No. 96 team will look to continue to build up their foundation at the track nicknamed “The Paperclip.”