Ryan Vargas is set to leave EuroNASCAR to experience a new adventure in NASCAR Canada Series with D.J. Kennington’s DJK Racing.
Ryan Vargas will continue his international tour, albeit not in Europe. The American announced on 25 March that he will be heading to the NASCAR Canada Series for the 2025 racing season.
Vargas will race the No. 28 Dodge Challenger fielded by DJK Racing. His deal is currently set for the “majority of the season”, primarily funded by long-time partners Critical Path Security.
The 24-year old from La Mirada, California ran full-time in NASCAR Euro Series last year. Competing for 3F Racing, Vargas finished 10th in the PRO standings with a best finish of 5th at Venray.
Vargas also scored a podium finish on his sole EuroNASCAR OPEN appearance – also at Venray.
“I’m beyond proud to share that I’ll be joining DJK Racing to run a majority of the NASCAR Canada Series season in my #28 Critical Path Security Dodge Challenger!” announced Vargas on social media.
“This has been nothing short of a monumental effort by the folks at Critical Path Security and DJK Racing. There was a lot of work behind the scenes in getting this going and there’s still more work to do. However, I’m thankful and proud to have the support from all involved.”
According to NASCAR Canada’s official release, Vargas is aiming to go full-season in 2025. There are still some races where he’s not locked in due to a lack of sponsorship, but the 24-year old is optimistic at his prospects.
“The NASCAR Canada Series has been one that I’ve wanted to compete in for quite some time now,” said Vargas to nascar.ca.
“I’ve watched D.J. [Kennington, DJK’s owner] and his team have incredible success over the last several years. When it became evident that Critical Path and I wanted to make this jump north, I knew he’d be the team I’d call.”
DJK Racing is a long time mainstay of NASCAR Canada. In fact, DJK has been competing from CASCAR, the series that would become NASCAR Canada in 2007.
DJK is the shorthand of the team’s owner and primary driver: Douglas James “D.J.” Kennington. For Canadian race fans, Kennington is very much a living legend in NASCAR Canada.
He’s one of the only two drivers to have competed in every NASCAR Canada season, with only Andrew Ranger accomplishing the same feat. Kennington has also never finished outside of the top-10 in the standings for any of his previous campaigns.
Kennington is a two-time series champion, winning the titles in 2010 and 2012. His success in Canada led to some wildcard trips down South, most notably becoming Gaunt Brothers’ lead Cup driver in 2018.
Despite this, Kennington has yet to make an American appearance in the post-COVID days. The 47-year old currently focuses on running his No. 17 Castrol Dodge Challenger, but also a slew of part-time entries.
One of these part-time cars, the No. 28 team, will be Ryan Vargas’ to drive in 2025. As long as sponsorship quotas can be fulfilled, running two full-time cars is very much in the cards for Kennington and DJK.
“I’m very excited to work together with Ryan, share knowledge and make our program the best it can be,” said Kennington to nascar.ca. “Ryan’s expertise in social media and online formats will take our program to a higher level!”
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