Category: XFINITY Series

MONTREAL (August 20, 2011) – Alex “Kid” Kennedy and the No. 23 Media Master/St. Baldrick’s Chevrolet team of R3 Motorsports had nothing but optimism for Saturday’s race along the shores of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

After posting the 30th and 26th, respectively, times in the first and final practice sessions on Friday morning at the road course of Cirque Gilles Villeneuve, the Aztec, N.M. native backed that up by qualifying 26th on Friday afternoon.

When the 74-lap race started, Kennedy wasted little time finding his way to the front by vaulting up to 19th by lap five. From there, some lead lap cars started to take early, green-flag pit stops to ensure they wouldn’t be caught without fuel towards the end.

This helped the 19-year old “Kid” Kennedy as he quickly moved up higher in the running order, until he followed suit and hit pit road for tires and fuel on lap seven. Returning to action in 35th place, crew chief Walter Giles let the driver of the No. 23 Media Master Chevrolet know this was a perfect time to race smart because when the leaders all cycled through on pit stops, he would end up near the top-10.

As the race continued, Kennedy was running in 25th when the first caution waved on lap 14.

When other cars finally hit pit road for the first time and the field cycled through to restart on lap 18, Kennedy was now lined up in 14th place; just like Giles predicted. While running 13th on lap 19, Kennedy was hit from behind and turned into the grassy area of the hairpin turn. This dropped him all the way back to 34th place.

The car was good to go, so Kennedy got back up on the wheel and did what he does best by picking off positions one-by-one to move up the scoring pylon. Laps 22 through 25 was where he started his charge to redemption by picking up six positions to 28th place.

Green flag stops again started on lap 27 and this allowed Kennedy to move back up into the top-20 running positions by lap 30. This was the time Giles had scheduled a stop for Kennedy to pack the car full of fuel and take on new tires, returning him to the race in 34th place, right in front of the leader.

The second caution flew on lap 40 with Kennedy in 27th place. Giles called Kennedy to come to pit road for as much fuel as possible and four new tires. This would leave the No. 23 Media Master Chevrolet team needing just one more fuel stop to go the distance.

Kennedy was running was 19th again when the third caution waved on lap 52.

This was the final stop Giles was looking for to take only fuel while others took fuel AND tires. Kennedy was able to pick up five positions on pit road to restart in 16th place on lap 55.

During the lap, while getting ready to course a turn, the back end of the No. 23 was lifted up from behind by another car which, in turn, sent Kennedy into the back of another car, right front first. After making contact with the car in front, the No. 23 then slid off into the gravel with heavy damage to the right front fender. This brought out the fourth caution so a tow truck could pull him out to drive the car to pit road for repairs.

It took them two laps, but the No. 23 team returned to action in 34th place for the lap 59 restart. Not wanting to damage the car or put the driver in harm’s way, the team agreed to see how things played out during the ensuing laps.

With 14 laps remaining, Kennedy radioed in that something broke in the front and it was quickly discovered a right front flat was the problem as he limped the car down pit road. A quick tire change, a check of the steering and a mandated stop by NASCAR to make sure all was okay on the No. 23 car showed it was still good to compete.

Now running 34th three laps down, Kennedy was going to be dependent upon other drivers to fall out to pick up spots. And, during the final 10 circuits, another caution with seven to go took place. Kennedy was forced to bring the No. 23 into the garage for more repairs on the back end by NASCAR officials.

When the race restarted on lap 69, Kennedy and the R3 Motorsports team were still in the garage making repairs. However, they were told by NASCAR officials the dragging bar wasn’t fixed when it should have been and they were posted out of the race.

Their undeserved finish of 33rd, after running lap times within the top-10 runners for much of the race, doesn’t show how well Kennedy drove and how the car handled through the turns of this track.

Alex Kennedy Quotes: “I hate that this race ended the way it did for this No. 23 Media Master team of R3 Motorsports. Once that green flag fell, we just started marching forward and were in the top-20 within five laps.

“We ran right there for quite awhile and then fell back to follow the pit strategy Walter (Giles, crew chief) had laid out before the race. We had some cautions go our way and we were right where we wanted with less than 20 laps left.

“That wreck we were in tore up the right front, but the team got it fixed enough to get us back out to try to finish the race. The right front tire went flat, we came in for that and then NASCAR said the bar in back was dragging on the track too much and we couldn’t go back out to finish.

“Not a great way to end the weekend after working so hard to get where we were, especially running lap times in the top-10 for awhile. Thanks to everyone at R3 Motorsports, Media Master and St. Baldrick’s who made this race possible. I can’t wait to get back here again, or any track, to race again.”

Friday, Aug. 19, 2011

Final Qualifying NNS NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge

Dodge Motorsports PR

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

JACQUES VILLENEUVE (No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T) Pole Winner “If there’s one place that you want to be quick (at) it’s at home. This is a special track as it bares my father’s name. I’ve raced here 14 or 15 times, so there’s a lot of history. It’s good when you can get to a track and from the moment you get going, the car is great. Today, our Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Tire Dodge is just amazing all day on old tires, new tires, so it’s looking good. I did make my lap on the third lap, which isn’t the way to go. That shows that our race pace should be good because our tires are holding up. That gives us a lot of confidence for tomorrow.”

HOW MUCH WILL YOUR ROAD COURSE EXPERIENCE PLAY A FACTOR IN TOMORROW’S RACE? “Driving here in Formula One versus NASCAR is two different tracks. I think there are two extra corners in NASCAR. Places (here) in F1 are flat out and you don’t even think about (turning). Here in NASCAR, suddenly they become corners. It’s very different. Like the last chicane, you brake before the bridge. In F1, you don’t even look at the bridge; you look at brake markers further down. In most corners (in F1) you brake in a straight line. In NASCAR, you start braking when you’re still turning into the hairpin, into Turn 1. It’s very, very different. It’s almost a totally different race track. Same as F1, this is a good track for overtaking and it gives a good show.”

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THAT YOU RECALL THAT YOU HAD THE BEST CAR IN THE RACE? “1997 (laughs). That was a long time ago. My memory comes back really fast and that’s how it felt all day today. Even before coming here we knew that we had prepared the car and we knew that we would be up there fighting. We hardly changed the setup. We’re still on the Elkhart Lake setup, basically, just a few changes. When things go well you can just relax and focus on how to drive it well instead of trying to find gremlins in the car or try to invent a new setup over night.”

ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 12 Hot Wheels Dodge Challenger R/T) Qualified 2nd “It was great. For me, it’s quite special to be here in the No. 12 car. Gilles (Villeneuve), Jacque’s dad, won with that number, and to race with a team that’s so tough to beat in IndyCar and sweeping the front row with both cars is amazing. Obviously, we’re showing that the Dodge Challengers are the cars to beat here today. Like Jacques said, we ran well all day long. On the long run the car seems to be OK for us. Even if it’s going to be a long race, we start in very good position.”

HOW MUCH WILL YOUR ROAD COURSE EXPERIENCE PLAY A FACTOR IN TOMORROW’S RACE? “For me, being in IndyCar last weekend I found it very difficult. I think you need to give credit to the guys that are running in this series all the time and do what they do in these types of cars. It’s so easy to overdrive them and make a mistake. In qualifying I normally don’t think, I just push and at the end I realize that I just went through a qualifying without thinking. In (today’s) qualifying, I had to think about braking, where to shift, looking at the dash. It’s a lot more thinking than I’m use to. With two good cars I think we were able to show that the cars are fast from Penske fore sure.”

ROBBY GORDON (No. 77 SPEED Energy Dodge Challenger R/T) Qualified Sixth “Our SPEED Energy Dodge was good. I told my guys that we’re in a position that we must qualify. My goal was to put one lap in the bank and then take a conservative lap. Sure enough my first lap was my fastest and I wheel-hopped on my second lap. We’re fast. It’s a great race with great fans.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS TRACK OWES YOU ONE? “No, two.”

ANDREW RANGER (No. 53 Quebec Dodge Dealers Dodge Challenger R/T) Qualified 11th “We changed our engine in practice earlier today and missed most of the first session. We started the second practice session late, but our car was good for qualifying. The No. 53 Dodge Challenger will be better in race trim. I think my car worked really well in qualifying. I love this track. The fans are incredible. We will see where we end up. Tomorrow is a long race. What I’ve learned here is that you have to be patient. The cars are really heavy and you have to save your stuff to the end. It will be fun.”

MARYEVE DUFAULT (No. 81 Quebec Dodge Dealers Dodge Challenger R/T) Qualified 39th “Things were going pretty good in qualifying until the No. 42 car surprised me and spun out. I had to brake really hard and lost the rear of the car. We’ve come a long way today. This morning, we only ran a few laps and didn’t get a lot of track time. We had some small issues with the car. It’s my first time in a Nationwide Series car. We’re in the race tomorrow and that’s what counts. It’s going to be a great race. All the Dodge Challengers are fast. Anything can happen in the race. I just need to keep my bumper clean and try to be there at the end.”

HOW HAS THE TRANSITION FROM ARCA TO NATIONWIDE BEEN YOUR YOU? “It’s different. I thought that it would be a lot closer, but’s it’s not. More horsepower and wheel spin in these Nationwide cars. It’s just running more laps and getting use to the car. Tomorrow will be fun. I’m really excited about racing here in Montreal.”

Montreal (August 19, 2011) – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. visited with members of the media today following practice at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The following is a transcript of that press conference.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 6 Fastenal Ford Mustang: YOU SAID LAST WEEK AT WATKINS GLEN THAT YOU NEED TO GET BETTER AT ROAD RACING. “It’s a tough place for me. I feel like the things I learned last week at Watkins Glen is definitely helping here then you come to a different racetrack and it’s different problems for myself. Just getting laps is good. We made quite a bit of laps there and got better every time we went out. Obviously we’re still lacking some speed that we need to run up front but I think we’ve got enough speed to kind of stay in the top-15 which is kind of our goal here and just minimize our points damage and get out of here and go on to Bristol.”

HOW MUCH DID YOU LEARN FROM YOUR ONE RACE HERE LAST YEAR? “One of the things that we learned is that we were running somewhere in the top-15 and one of our spotters weren’t quite on top of his game and we came around Turn 5, the blind corner there, and they were stopped and we got in the wreck. After that I was just riding around. I noticed that Kenny Wallace was just riding around, just biding his time and finished 12th. That’s what we really need to do is we need to finish as high as we can with the fenders on it. There’s a lot of new guys here running with us and that kind of throws a stick into things. You don’t know who you’re racing out there is one of the biggest things so just taking our time.”

HOW TOUGH IS THE TRACK ON BRAKES? “We’re using ‘em pretty good. But the brake packages that these guys have come up with on these cars it seems like they’re almost bulletproof. They work really good and they worked all practice and obviously the race is a different story when you’re running ‘em green for a lot of laps. I don’t think that’s going to be too bit of an issue. Obviously we’re a couple of seconds off the pace so maybe for some of the fast guys it might be a little worse [smiles] but for us it seemed to be okay for practice.”

YOUR TEAMMATES ARE ARRIVING HERE JUST BEFORE FOR THE START OF THE RACE. IS IT NORMAL FOR THEM TO BE ON THE PHONE WITH YOU OR IN CONTACT WITH YOU WITH THE NEW NATIONWIDE CAR HERE? “I feel like they’ll probably talk the guys that are running their cars ‘cause they seem to be pretty decent. Owen Kelly and Billy Johnson are really good road racers. I’m sure they’re talking to be more than they’d be talking to me [smiles].”

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO AT BRISTOL? WHAT APPEALS TO YOU ABOUT THE RACING THERE? “It’s just hard racing and I feel like it’s a driver’s racetrack and we were really fast there the last time. We sat on the pole and we were the only one that could run with Kyle [Busch] for 160 laps until we made a mistake and got a penalty there on pit road [under caution]. Just really looking forward to getting back there. I think we’ve made our cars better since the last time we were there and I think we’ve got a really good shot at winning that race.”

HOW DO YOU LIKE THIS EVENT AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE POSSIBILITY THIS MIGHT BE THE LAST RACE HERE? “I really enjoy it. For one, all the fans that show up here. They seem really passionate about racing. It’s a really cool city to hang out in and like I said when the fans show up it really makes us drive harder I think. When you’re driving around the road course and you see people in trees and just everywhere they can get and I think it’s a cool site to see. Hopefully we can come back.”

HAVE YOU CAN CARL EDWARDS HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT YOUR HISTORY? WHAT DO YOU EXPECT WHEN FROM HIM WHEN YOU SEE HIM COMING UP BEHIND YOU? “Yeah we’ve talked. We’ve kind of settled everything out but the biggest thing is he’s probably going to be coming so fast I’m not really going to have time to worry about it [smiles]. He runs really good here. Hopefully I can learn a few things from him the few laps that I’m behind him.”

IS THERE ONE PART OF THE TRACK MORE CHALLENGING THAN ANY OTHER HERE FOR YOU? “For myself it’s more getting the braking down as good as I can. I feel like I lose a lot of time under brakes, maybe braking too early or whatever I need to do different there and there’s a lot of good braking zones here. So I just need to get better at that and I think it would help me out a lot.”

#####

About Roush Fenway Racing Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating seven motorsports teams. Four in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; and three in the Nationwide Series with Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Trevor Bayne. For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto www.RoushFenway.com. Become a fan of Roush Fenway Racing on Facebook by going to http://www.facebook.com/roushfenway and follow us on Twitter @roushfenway. For sponsorship inquiries please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645.

Charlotte, NC (August 19, 2011) – Coming off of a disappointing weekend at Watkins Glen, Robby Gordon is looking for redemption at the Nationwide road course race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal tomorrow. Making his third attempt at the 2.70 mile road course, Gordon has consistently been a contender for the win. Gordon, who started Robby Gordon Motorsports as a Nationwide team in 2005, will be piloting the No. 77 Mapei / SPEED Energy Dodge Challenger R/T.

“I’ve been to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve twice in the Nationwide Series and we’ve been in a position to win both times. Last year the green, white, checkered cost us the victory.we ran out of fuel on the second green, white, checkered and that hurt bad. It’s definitely a bitter sweet race for us. Racing at Montreal reminds me of the street circuits.it’s a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to going back,” says Gordon.

Race Coverage – NASCAR fans can watch the Napa Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge live on ESPN Saturday afternoon, Aug. 20th, beginning at 2:30pm ET. On Friday, Aug. 19th, qualifying from Circuit Gilles Villeneuve begins at 5:05pm. ET. For news and updates, please visit SPEEDENERGY.COM, PLANETROBBY.COM or follow SPEED Energy on Facebook and Twitter.

About SPEED Energy – SPEED Energy is available in three flavors: Unleaded, Fuel, and Octane, which provide the human machine with the fuel it needs to keep up with the SPEED of life. Each drink contains a potent energy blend of B-vitamins, caffeine, taurine and ginseng. SPEED is packaged in 12 & 16 ounce sleek cans with a stylish black top and sexy body and is available in singles, 4 packs, and cases. SPEED Energy is be available at major retailers, convenience stores, grocery stores, bars and nightclubs. For a retailer near you, please visit www.speedenergy.com.

Career Notes:

Gordon owns three NASCAR Sprint Cup victories:

. Loudon on Nov. 23, 2001

. Infineon on June 22, 2003

. Watkins Glen on Aug. 10 2003

Gordon owns one NASCAR Nationwide Series victory:

. Richmond on Sept. 10 2004

Michael Annett Montreal News and Notes

The Headlines:

NNS Heads North of the Border: Saturday’s NAPA Auto Parts 200 will be Michael Annett’s third career start on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve’s 2.71 mile road course, the circuit’s only stop outside of the United States. The 74 lap race will be the third and final road course race for the Nationwide Series before their final ten races of the 2011 season.

From the Rink to the Racetrack: Stock car racing hasn’t been the only sport that 25-year-old Annett has competed in outside of the United States. The former AAA ice hockey defensemen for Team Illinois performed on the rink in games versus Canadian teams in Calgary and Toronto at the age of 16.

Rusty Wallace Racing at Montreal: In seven career starts at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the RWR organization has earned two top-10 finishes with the team’s best finish at Montreal of ninth scored by the No. 62 team in 2009. RWR total road course starts tally 31 with two top-five finishes and 11 top-10 finishes.

Code Spotter Contest: Nationwide Insurance offers up the chance to win a VIP prize of spending the day with the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion. Enter to win at codespotter.com, and type in Michael Annett’s code “ANNETT”. Fans can enter once per day through midnight on September 5 to win Nationwide’s exclusive NASCAR Champion VIP Experience.

Most Popular Driver Voting Still Underway: Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver voting has returned for the fourth consecutive year in 2011 and is underway on NASCAR.com. Fans can cast their vote for Michael Annett once per day by visiting www.NASCAR.com/nnsmpd. Voting runs from now until November 17. The winner of the Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver award will be announced at the year-end banquet on November 21.

For the latest updates on Michael Annett, visit www.michaelannett.com.

From the Cockpit:

Michael Annett on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve:

“Finishing seventh at Road America earlier in the season definitely gives me more confidence on road courses. In last week’s road course race at Watkins Glen we struggled with brake and overheating issues, but we kept our car in one piece and we’ll race that same car this weekend in Montreal. We’re focused on staying on track, staying clear of damage and taking care of the transmission. Pit strategy can also be to your advantage on road courses. We’ll take these plans and look for a strong finish for Pilot Flying J this weekend in Montreal.”

The Machines:

Team 62 Primary: RWR-055 – Reconfigured as a road course car, RWR’s No. 62 team raced at Phoenix International Raceway, Richmond International Raceway and Iowa Speedway in May with this chassis. The team notched a seventh place road course finish with this car at Road America in June and competed last week with chassis 055 at Watkins Glen International.

Team 62 Back-Up: RWR-051 – The No. 62 Pilot Flying J team’s last race competing with this chassis was at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.

Pilot Flying J Locations on Your Way:

Pilot Flying J provides 62 convenient Pilot Travel Center and Flying J locations throughout Canada. There are five Flying J locations in the province of Quebec. For more information on Pilot Flying J and to map their nearest locations along your route, please visit www.pilotflyingj.com.

Flying J Hwy 15 Exit 21 1 Rang St-Andre Napierville, QC J0J 1L0

Flying J Hwy 540 Exit 3 2900 Felix-Leclerc Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC J7V 9J5

Flying J 1181 Ave. Gilles Villeneuve Berthierville, QC J0K 1A0

Flying J 1196 Chemin Des Olivieres Bernieres, QC G7A 2M6

Flying J 152 Highway 20 569 Rue Principale Ste Helene, QC J0H 1M0

About Pilot Flying J:

Pilot Flying J is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has more than 550 locations in North America. The company employs more than 20,000 people and is the largest retail operator of travel centers in North America. Follow Pilot Flying J on Twitter at @pilottravel.

Broadcast Info:

The NAPA Auto Parts 200 can be seen live on ESPN at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 20.

Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes

NASCAR Nationwide Series

NAPA Auto Parts 250 presented by Dodge Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011

ROBBY GORDON, No. 7 SPEED Energy Dodge Challenger R/T Montreal Stats: Starts:                          2 Wins:                              0 Top Fives:                    0 Top 10s:                        0 Poles:                            0 Laps Led:                      17 Average Start:                13.5 Average Finish:              16.0

ALEX TAGLIANI, No. 12 Hot Wheels Dodge Challenger R/T Montreal Stats: Starts:                          1 Wins:                                0 Top Fives:                    0 Top 10s:                        0 Poles:                            0 Laps Led:                      0        Average Start:                23.0 Average Finish:              26.0

JACQUES VILLENEUVE, No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T Montreal Stats: Starts:                          3 Wins:                                0 Top Fives:                    2 Top 10s:                        2 Poles:                            0 Laps Led:                      5 Average Start:                4.3 Average Finish:              7.7

DODGE DRIVER QUOTES: “Having the chance to run with such a great team that has a strong history of success in every series they’ve ever run in, combined with racing on my home track at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, is a great opportunity and honor.  The chance to take part in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race with Penske Racing came about because of a great and long relationship with Dodge and the additional support of Hot Wheels as a sponsor.  I hope to make them all proud.” Alex Tagliani, No. 12 Hot Wheels Dodge

“I’m looking forward to the NAPA Auto Parts 200 – it’s always an exciting race but in addition, it obviously has special meaning for me because the Circuit (Gilles Villeneuve) holds my father’s name and I’ll be racing in my hometown.  After our good showing at Elkhart Lake, I know the No. 22 Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Dodge will be competitive and together with the Penske team, we’ll definitely be turning up with the goal of winning.” Jacques Villeneuve, No 22 Discount Tire Dodge

“It’s always great to head up to Montreal and race in front of the great race fans in Quebec.  We’re bringing a brand new SPEED Energy Dodge Challenger to race.  I really like Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.  We led a bunch of laps there last year and if not for a green-white-checker flag, we probably would have won the race.  Some of the best race fans are north of the border and I can’t wait for them to see our SPEED Energy Dodge.” Robby Gordon, No. 7 SPEED Energy Dodge

DODGE NOTES

·  Maryeve Default will be making her first career Nationwide start this weekend driving the No. 81 Dodge Challenger.

·  Robby Gordon is making his first Nationwide start since Montreal last year.  He led 17 laps and finished 14th.

·  Quebec natives Alex Tagliani and Jacques Villeneuve will be piloting Dodge Challengers prepared by Penske Racing.  Villeneuve is making his second NNS start this season in No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger.  He finished third at Road America.

·  Dodge has two Nationwide Series wins this season.

JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW
No. 88 GT Vodka Chevrolet / No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet /
No. 5 Canadian Tire Chevrolet

EVENT – NAPA Auto Parts 200 (74 laps / 200.54 miles)
TRACK – Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (2.709-mile 15-turn road course)
DATE – Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011
TV / RADIO – ESPN (coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. EST) / MRN (broadcast begins at 2 p.m. EST) 

Aric Almirola
No. 88 GT Vodka Chevrolet

“I did a lot of learning last weekend at Watkins Glen. Road racing is a challenge for me, and I feel like I made a lot of progress from practice, to qualifying, to the race. So I’m hoping for more of the same this week. 

“Our GT Vodka team keeps getting better every weekend. Everybody at JRM is working really hard and getting our stuff better. We didn’t come out of the gate the way we needed to back in February. But lately we’ve been on a roll here with top-fives and top-10s, and we gained some points in the championship hunt. We’ve run well, and we want to get to victory lane. If we continue to do what we are doing, the points will take care of themselves.”

Danica Patrick
No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet

“This will be a new experience for me, running a road course (in a stock car) this weekend. It’s going to be an interesting weekend. Fortunately, I was able to test with the Go Daddy team at Road Atlanta in preparation for the Montreal race. I’m grateful for that. Ron (Fellows) was there, and he offered a lot of insight for me. 

“The 7 team has had some strong runs at the previous road races this year. We’d like nothing more than to continue that this weekend. But realistically, I think if we keep our nose clean and keep all four wheels on the racetrack, we can come out of this one with a decent finish.”

Ron Fellows
No. 5 Canadian Tire Chevrolet

“JR Motorsports has done an amazing job preparing these road-course cars. It showed when we unloaded so well at Road America and Watkins Glen. Tony (Eury) Jr. and the guys should be proud of what they’ve been able to do. We’ve only had to make minor adjustments off the truck. Their cars have been solid.  

“Heading back to Montreal is going to be a lot of fun. It’s a challenging course, and it’s always an exciting event for fans and competitors alike, just an all-around great venue. With 50 cars on the entry list, it should make things even more interesting this weekend.”

JR MOTORSPORTS NOTEBOOK –

PATRICK’S STOCK CAR DEBUT ON ROAD COURSE – Danica Patrick will see Nationwide Series action for the first time at a road course this weekend. Patrick, along with teammate Ron Fellows, participated in a road-course test with the No. 7 GoDaddy.com team at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. earlier this summer.

DANICA’S SEASON –Patrick has competed in six races this season, earning one top-five (Las Vegas) and three top-10s (Las Vegas, Chicagoland and Daytona). She holds an average finish of 14.7 and has led 14 laps on the season.

PATRICK’S 2011 NNS SCHEDULE – Following the NAPA Auto Parts 200, Patrick will compete in five more Nationwide Series races in 2011, including Richmond International Raceway (Sept. 9), Kansas Speedway (Oct. 8), Texas Motor Speedway (Nov. 5), Phoenix International Raceway (Nov. 12), and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 19). GoDaddy.com will sponsor Patrick’s remaining races.

NO. 7 SEASON STATS – The No. 7 team holds five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 2011. The team occupies 11^th position in owner points, but sits only 10 points out of ninth place.

SEASON FINALE FOR FELLOWS – Ron Fellows, a native of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, will compete in his third and final race this season for JRM. Known for his road-course talents, Fellows drove to a runner-up finish with the team earlier this summer at Road America, along with a top-10 finish last weekend at Watkins Glen. He owns eight career starts with the organization, earning one win (Montreal ’08), four top-fives and six top-10 finishes.

HISTORY AT Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – Fellows is a past winner of the Montreal event in 2008. With the win, he was part of NASCAR history, as he became the first Canadian to win a NASCAR event on Canadian soil. He qualified sixth and led seven laps en route to his fourth series victory.  The win was also the first road-course victory for JRM.  In four starts at the facility, Fellows has one win and two top-five finishes. He holds the additional distinction of being the oldest winner of the race at 48 years, 10 months and five days old.

FELLOWS IN NNS – Fellows’ Nationwide Series history goes back 14 years to 1997. In his 20 career races, he scored four wins, nine top-five, and 12 top-10 finishes. Fellows earned two poles, led 206 laps, and has an average finish of 15.2. He holds one top-five and two top-10 finishes in two series starts this year.

TWO FOR CANDIAN TIRE – Montreal marks the second consecutive race for sponsor Canadian Tire on the No. 5 Chevrolet with driver Ron Fellows. Canadian Tire is the largest automotive retailer in Canada with more than 480 stores. The retailer first graced the panels of Fellows’ JRM Chevrolet at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2010.

CONSISTENT FINISHES – After driving to his sixth top-10 finish in the last seven races, Almirola is ranked fourth (-70) in the championship hunt. He sits 46 points behind third-place Elliott Sadler and 10 points ahead of fifth-place Justin Allgaier.

ROAD RACIN’ WITH ALMIROLA – Almirola raced to an 11^th-place finish at Montreal in 2007. The Tampa, Fla. native earned a top-10 finish at Watkins Glen International last weekend with the No. 88 Chevrolet, marking his best finish on any road course in Nationwide Series competition.

NO. 88 SEASON STATS – The No. 88 team owns five top-five and 13 top-10 finishes this season.  The team is ranked eighth in owner points.

BUY FOUR TICKETS GET ONE FREE FOR WIN DALE JR.’S RIDE RAFFLE – August is the final month to enter for a chance to win the keys to Dale Jr.’s Camaro. The Dale Jr. Foundation is giving fans the opportunity to win one of three prizes with the purchase of a $25 raffle ticket, including a shot at Earnhardt Jr.’s own 2011 Chevrolet Camaro. As a special incentive this month, if fans buy four raffle tickets, they’ll get a fifth free. The contest will run through Sept. 1, 2011, with all proceeds benefitting The Dale Jr. Foundation. For complete details visit www.windalejrsride.com. 

WATCH JRM RACING.COM’s VIDEO SERIES – In a continued effort to be at the forefront of web-based content through its website www.jrmracing.com, the team has added a multitude of videos into its video gallery. Click here to view race preview videos, the “JRM 360” series and more.