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  • J.R. Fitzpatrick Set to Tackle Martinsville Paperclip This Weekend

    J.R. Fitzpatrick Set to Tackle Martinsville Paperclip This Weekend

    [media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”266″][/media-credit]A couple weeks before the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway, fans learned that J.R. Fitzpatrick had struck a deal to drive for TurnOne Racing this season. However, it wasn’t just a quick last minute deal.

    “Stacy and I had been talking well over a year, putting this deal together,” Fitzpatrick says. “Even though we still got a couple gaps to go for the remaining parts of the year to be able to run full season here.”

    The opening race at Daytona didn’t go as Fitzpatrick would’ve hoped as he finished 34th due to debris hitting the radiator.

    “It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t have a truck that was very fast by itself, so obviously we had to start at the back,” he says. “It worked really well, it sucked up in the draft really well. I think if we would’ve missed the wreck, we would’ve been good.

    “I hung around the back, tried to stay away from all the wrecks, but ended up involved in one. So you go to front, you go to the back, I don’t know. Its just a big chess game. So our strategy didn’t work.”

    Now focus shifts to this weekend at Martinsville Speedway where Fitzpatrick is hoping to have a good finish.

    “The track is exciting,” he says. “Obviously it’s a little more familiar to what I’m used to, in terms of short track racing. Even though it’s definitely a lot bigger than tracks at home, it’s definitely something I’m comfortable on. I’ve already been there twice.

    In his last two starts on the paperclip, despite running strong, he finished 21st both times due to being caught up in wrecks. However, so far this weekend things look good as he was 15th in final practice and tested well.

    “We tested extremely well so I think going into the race this weekend, I think we have one of the best trucks ever,” he says. “So looking forward to it.”

    Hoping the rest of the season goes well, Fitzpatrick is hoping to finish in the top 10 in points.

    He got started in racing at the age of six running a Jr. Late Model at Sauble Beach. Then he was 13 years old, he moved to Delaware Speedway and got a late model.

    Fitzpatrick then moved up to the CASCAR Super Series, where he finished second in the Rookie of the Year standings in 2004 at the age of 16. At the age of 17, he scored his first win and got three top-fives and five top-10 finishes.

    [media-credit name=”TurnOne Racing” align=”alignright” width=”301″][/media-credit]Then in 2006, he became the youngest Canadian National Series Champion winning the CASCAR Championship with a win, five podium finishes and two pole awards at the age of 18.

    Between 2006 and 2007, NASCAR took over the series, renaming it the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. Since then, Fitzpatrick has scored six wins, 22 top fives and 36 top 10s in 54 starts while finishing as high as second in 2010.

    Heading into this year, he is hoping to win the championship.

    “I haven’t been able to piece that together,” he says. “Last couple of years, I’ve been second, third in points, due to mechanical failure. I think now with the new stuff that we’ve got, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem anymore.”

    The first race on the schedule is Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Mosport), which is set to happen on May 20th.

    “We’re going for the win,” he says. “I think there’s only two of us that are two time winners at that place and we’re both going to be at that race so it’s going to be exciting. That’s one of my favourite tracks and to be one of the guys everybody watches every week when we go there, it’s kind of a cool feeling. Having new road course equipment, it makes that program better. So I think we’re going to be a threat to win one.”

    When he is not racing at the NASCAR ranks, you can still find Fitzpatrick racing somewhere as he often goes go-karting.

    “It’s a lot of fun,” he says. “When I’m not working on a car or doing anything of that nature, I go out with a bunch of people and go-kart whenever I can. The place I normally go to, I know inside and out, so it’s a lot of fun.”

    Looking forward 10 years down the road, he says he can’t plan that far ahead, but still wants to be racing.

  • Canadians J.R. Fitzpatrick and Derek White Look To Impress at Daytona

    Canadians J.R. Fitzpatrick and Derek White Look To Impress at Daytona

    [media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”266″][/media-credit]Canadians J.R. Fitzpatrick and Derek White have both have success in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (NCTS), and are now going south to Daytona International Speedway for the Camping World Truck Series season opener.

    Fitzpatrick announced that he had struck a deal with Turn One Racing to compete with them full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2012. The 2006 CASCAR Super Series Champion will drive the No. 60 Chevrolet, replacing Cole Whitt. Last year, Whitt finished ninth in the series standings and will move up this year to compete with JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.

    “I am so pumped to be getting this chance to race with Turn One Racing,” Fitzpatrick said. “I love the Truck Series and the guys here seem really cool so it feels like a good place for me to be right now. The fact that I get a chance to put an entire season together in the same series and with the same group is really going to help my NASCAR career.”

    Fitzpatrick has competed in the truck series before, driving for Kevin Harvick Incorporated. At Daytona in 2009, the 23-year-old drove the truck home to a fourth place finish.

    “I have had good runs before,” the Cambridge, Ontario native said. “I actually led the most laps and finished fourth in my first Daytona start and I also have some top-fives in the Nationwide Series, but for me to be able to go to the track every week is going to be huge.”

    Fitzpatrick made seven Nationwide Series starts last season, scoring a fifth place finish on the Montreal road course.

    “We are really looking forward to working with J.R., his management team and sponsors,” team owner Stacey Compton said. “J.R. is a proven talent that has only gotten a few opportunities to race in NASCAR. We are excited to put a program together for him that will allow him to showcase his talents here in the states. Although we are still working to finalize sponsorship for a handful of races, we hope to have those details ironed out in the coming weeks.”

    Meanwhile, White will team up with Hackett Racing to drive the No. 76 Warrior Gaming Associates Ford in the NextEra Energy Resources 250.

    “It’s been great to work with the team and my Crew Chief Kevin Eagle,” White said.  “I got to know everyone at Hackett Racing last year and they’ve all worked really hard to get ready for this race.”

    This will mark the first start at Daytona for the winner of the 2010 NCTS Rookie of the Year award.

    “This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” the Kahnawake, Quebec resident said.  “When I hit the track for practice I’ll be smiling, but I’ll also be 100 percent focused on the job of getting ready for qualifying to make the race.”

    Last season, White ran a limited schedule, scoring a career best of seventh after starting 21st at Trois Rivieres. This season, White is fielding a full-time ride for Steve Cote, while running some races himself.

  • NCTS: Mark Dilley Comes Out Victorious After Last Lap Incident in Wild Wing 300

    Short tracks always seem to bring close racing and the Wild Wing 300 presented by Independent Electric Saturday night at Barrie Speedway for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series was no exception as there would be contact with the leaders in the final laps.

    On the green-white-checkered restart, Kerry Micks and JR Fitzpatrick would start side-by-side. With history being on their side with past incidents between them, the eventual contact of Micks spinning Fitzpatrick around was no surprise.

    Though amidst the smoke, Mark Dilley would find his way past both Mick sand Fitzpatrick to score his third career victory.

    “I just thought I’d stay as close as I could to everybody and that way by the time they went, I would go through,” he said. “They just tapped just going down in 1 there and I just seen smoke and I just turned left as hard as I could and floored it and we got lucky.”

    Dilley had qualified the car in the seventh position, though ended up starting at the back of the 22 car field to start the race. This mark’s Dilley’s first win since Cayuga Motor Speedway in 2008.

    “Its good to win in your hometown and all that,” he said in victory lane. “Barrie Speedway has been good to me obviously over the years with the racing. It was just a good race. The guys did a great job on the pit stops. We had to go to the back at the beginning and I just tried to keep my head and not knock the wheels off it and it just worked out good.

    “I can’t thank Rheem, PartSource, all the sponsors enough. They make it possible. They’ve been sticking with us through thick and thin so I mean this one’s all for them.”

    Jason Hathaway would grab second and Kerry Micks would end up third at the end of it all.

    “We started 12th and tried to be real calm coming through and I think we did a real good job there,” Micks said afterwards. “We got all the way up to the lead there without too much damage to anything or anybody. J.R. goes through my spotter and says, ‘Let’s just have a nice clean race here’ and I said, ‘Okay. That sounds good to me.’

    “And we go into the second corner and he puts me completely sideways and you know that’s just not right. When you got your man’s word to say something like that and I said okay, and just didn’t happen. He put me sideways and I said, ‘I’m not taking that’.

    “Then we’re going down the front straightaway and he puts me in the front wall. I’m passing him on the outside and he puts in the wall. I said, ‘What are you thinking?’

    “Anyways, I don’t want to race that and its just too bad, but I don’t take any…..”

    Don Thomson Jr. would come home fourth followed by Jeff Lapcevich, Brad Graham, DJ Kennington, Joey McColm, Fitzpatrick and Chris Raabe. Kennington would rally back to a seventh place finish after spinning to bring out the final caution of the evening.

    Meanwhile Kennington’s points rival and the pole sitter, Scott Steckly, would lead 147 laps before having a wheel issue, which caused him to finish 15th. Steckly now leads Kennington by 69 points with two races remaining.

    The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will be back in action next weekend on September 17th with the Komatsu 300 presented by Wilson Equipment at Riverside International Speedway.

     

    Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Status
    1 7 9 Mark Dilley Rheem/Exide Dodge 310 185 5 Running
    2 11 3 Jason Hathaway Snap-on Tools/Vortex Brake Pads Dodge 310 175 5 Running
    3 12 02 Kerry Micks Dickies/Beyond Digital Imaging Ford 310 170 5 Running
    4 2 8 Don Thomson, Jr. Farmers Feed Families Dodge 310 160 Running
    5 8 23 Jeff Lapcevich Tim Hortons Dodge 310 155 Running
    6 6 19 Brad Graham Holmar Plumbing Dodge 310 150 Running
    7 5 17 D.J. Kennington Castrol Edge Dodge 310 146 Running
    8 14 50 Joey McColm Espar Dodge 310 142 Running
    9 9 84 J.R. Fitzpatrick Equipment Express Chevrolet 310 143 5 Running
    10 15 01 Chris Raabe * Canadian Tire/MotoMaster/Sylvania Dodge 309 134 Running
    11 18 07 Isabelle Tremblay * Groupe Beton Brunet/ADF Diesel Ford 307 130 Running
    12 17 55 Dexter Stacey Bully’s Truck Stop Dodge 302 127 Running
    13 19 47 L.P. Dumoulin * Maskimo/Somavrac Dodge 302 124 Running
    14 1 22 Scott Steckly Canadian Tire/MotoMaster Dodge 285 131 10 Running
    15 10 60 Ron Beauchamp, Jr. Mopar/Mobil 1 Dodge 267 118 Running
    16 3 15 Steve Mathews * Bill Mathews Motors Ford 231 115 Accident
    17 20 5 Noel Dowler * EMCO/Whitemud Mechanical Dodge 218 112 Accident
    18 13 21 Jason White A&W Cruisin’ The Dub Dodge 205 109 Accident
    19 22 59 John Farano * Tower Motorsports Dodge 183 106 Accident
    20 16 00 Pierre Bourque Aaron’s Dodge 143 103 Steering
    21 4 7 Pete Shepherd, III Hy-Tech Drilling/Nat’l Exhaust Dodge 131 100 Engine
    22 21 97 Hugo Vannini * Vannini Motorsports Ford 250 97 Accident
  • Race #5 for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series: Streets of Toronto 100

    Race #5 for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series: Streets of Toronto 100

    While it marks the 25th anniversary of the event, this is only the second year that the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series has raced on the streets of Toronto alongside the IZOD IndyCar Series and others. The temporary-street course, which is 1.755-miles in length, runs through Exhibition Grounds and along one of the best known streets in Toronto – Lakeshore Blvd.

    Last year, it was Andrew Ranger taking the pole with an average speed of 80.820mph and winning the race with an average speed of 69.065mph.

    Ranger is one of the strongest road course racers in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series as he has nine wins in 17 series career road course starts. Three of those wins came last year as along with Toronto, Ranger was able to win Montreal and Trois-Rivieries. Ranger will definitely be a driver to expect in the top three as in those 17 starts, he has only finished outside the top three twice – sixth at Mosoprot in 2008 and 21st at Circuit ICAR this season. The 2-time series champion also has made starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this year on the road courses so he comes in Toronto prepared.

    Another driver who has ran in the Nationwide Series and has been strong on the road courses in the series is J.R. Fitzpatrick, who finished eighth in last year’s event. His road course stats rank right up there with Ranger as he has five of his six Canadian Tire Series wins have come on the road courses.

    “The (Honda Indy Toronto) is definitely a big event for all of us,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a big stage and everyone wants to put on a great show for the fans.”

    So far this year, the 23-year old has legged four consecutive top-10 finishes and sits second in the standings, 48 points behind Scott Steckly.

    Steckly is more of an oval racer, though hasn’t done that bad this year as he finished second and fifth in the two road-course races this year.

    “It’s a very important race for us,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of cars at Toronto so we definitely don’t want to get a DNF. The road courses attract a lot of cars so we need a good solid finish here at Toronto. We definitely are going to try for a very first road course win. It’s definitely very important for our sponsors to be in Toronto racing at the Indy so we’re looking for great things this weekend.”

    Last year, the 2008 series champion finished 11th in Toronto, though will be looking for his 10th series victory after scoring the win in the season opener at Mosport.

    A lot of eyes, though, will be on Robin Buck as the road course instructor scored his first series victory on June 5th at Circuit ICAR and finished third in the June 26th event at Mosport.

    The Streets of Toronto 100 will see a series-high count so far this year of 36 cars with a mix of series veterans, road course veterans and rookies. With the Toronto track being a challenging course, it’ll be crucial to survive first to win, but watch out for plenty of action. Practice and qualifying is set to be held on July 8th with the race on July 9th. The race will be aired on TSN on July 17th at 5p.m. EST.

  • Canadian Steve Meehan Partners with J.R. Fitzpatrick, Purchasing Baker Curb Racing

    Canadian investor Steeve Meehan made a huge purchase this week as he purchased all but the name of the Baker Curb Racing Nationwide Series team that has fell into financial hard times.

    With the equipment, he plans to take 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Runner-Up J.R. Fitzpatrick to the Sprint Cup Series full-time by 2013.

    “I think it’s fantastic,” Fitzpatrick told the Globe & Mail. “Steve is a really good guy, he’s Canadian and he really wants to see Canadian corporate sponsorship and Canadian drivers, so I mean it’s really cool.

    “He really believes in me and that’s what I really like. Given that I do need the experience and the time at the tracks and, even if it can’t be a full year, he is definitely going to push my career along and I am glad to be a part of it.”

    Fitzpatrick ran the Daytona and Fontana Nationwide races for Baker Curb Racing, finishing 42nd and 20th respectively. Fitzpatrick ran three Nationwide races for JR Motorsports last year, finishing in the top 10 twice. Making the jump from the Canadian Tire Series to the Nationwide Series hasn’t been easy due to the weight difference, however it has been fun.

    “The Mustangs and the [Dodge] Challengers look awesome,” he said. “The Chevy looks good too. I really like the fact that NASCAR brought these cars in because I can actually sit in them – I’m six-four, so it’s really hard for me to get in the old-style car – and they just look wicked, a lot of people like them and I just love them.”

    With more starts on his belt, Fitzpatrick has been getting better at driving them, including finishing 20th at Fontana after starting 25th.

    “We went there with a set-up that really didn’t suit my style and I was happy to come out of there with a top-20 with the way the car was handling,” he said. “I’m a very competitive person, Steve is too and so is the whole team, so we were happy but we’re not happy if you know what I mean.

    “I wanted a top-15 finish and that would have been like a win to me but I didn’t quite get my goal.”

    Fitzpatrick plans to run a dozen Nationwide Series races with one or two Sprint Cup races with Meehan’s new team, along with some Canadian Tire Series races for his own team.

    “We will run primarily in Nationwide and likely a few Cup races in 2011 — I think J.R. is comfortable running the road courses in Cup and with a little bit more experience and practice I think he could run an oval or two in Cup,” Meehan told the Globe & Mail. “Our focus is to quickly evolve to a full-time Cup team and I think J.R. is sufficiently talented to get there with the right people behind him.”

    The 46-year-old investor is the original founder of the Investment Planning Counsel, which was sold to IBM Financial in 2004 for $95 million on a cash and stock deal.

    “We have an opportunity to represent a country as opposed to just being a team and I’m excited by the prospect of doing that,” Meehan said. “It’s a feel good story and it’s my job to capture it and sell it to corporate Canada.”

    A press conference is expected in the future to put all the final details together, but the new team is set to debut at the Nashville Nationwide race on April 23rd.

  • J.R. Fitzpatrick To Run For Baker Curb Racing in Nationwide Series at Daytona

    J.R. Fitzpatrick To Run For Baker Curb Racing in Nationwide Series at Daytona

    J.R. Fitzpatrick announced that he’d begin his 2011 season with the Saturday’s DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona, which is the opening race for the NASCAR Nationwide Series season.

    [media-credit name=” JRFitzpatrick” align=”alignright” width=”141″][/media-credit]The 22-year-old, Cambridge, Ontario native will race the No. 27 Shick Hydro/Energizer Ford Mustang for Baker Curb Racing. This marks a continued partnership with Fitzpatrick and Shick Hydro as they sponsored him during the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season and the three Nationwide Series races he ran last year for JR Motorsports. Though this marks the first time that Fitzpatrick has come together with Energizer Canada Inc.

    “I can’t think of a better race to start the new season with,” Fitzpatrick commented in a press release.  “Daytona boasts an atmosphere like no other and to be in a race with the opportunity to compete against guys like Dale Earnhardt Jr and Tony Stewart is fantastic.  I’ve raced at Daytona before, a couple of years ago in the Truck Series, and ran well leading the most laps in that event before taking fourth.”

    “I’m sure that experience and knowledge will help combined with my time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series last season.  This is definitely where I want to be competing on a regular basis so I’m looking to make a strong start to the year on Saturday.  I’m obviously grateful to Schick Canada and Energizer Canada for their support this week and I look forward to flying the maple leaf flag for Canadian fans!”

    Fitzpatrick finished fourth a couple years ago when he ran the truck series opener at Daytona for Kevin Harvick Incorporated, and last year finished in the top 10 at both Montreal and Road Atlanta in the Nationwide Series.

    “We’re really looking forward to teaming up with J.R.,” commented Baker Curb Racing’s Team President, Matt Crews.  “I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time with him this off season and get to know him.  His attitude and dedication to his sport is certainly very impressive and his potential is limitless!”

    This past year, Fitzpatrick took on running the entire NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule, with his goals set on winning the championship. He was in the thick of the battle all year long, though after a bad finish at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and a broken clutch at Riverside Speedway, he ended up second, 40 points behind champion D.J. Kennington.

    “It’s good,” Fitzpatrick told me. “I took all of last year off as I was racing stuff in the States. But after taking a year off, the series has definitely grown quite a bit. It does need more cars but competitive wise, it is doing very well. To finish second in the championship after taking a year off, I am pretty pleased about that.”

    Fitzpatrick got started in the series when it was named CASCAR and became the youngest champion at the age of 18 in 2006.

    The following year, NASCAR took over rights to the series and it has been debated as to whether that was a positive move or not for the series. Fitzpatrick said he’s seen the influence, though thinks it’ll still take time.

    “It’s helped in a way,” he said. “But I think it’s going to take some time to get some more people in the series because it does cost a lot to run that deal. The series is slowly going and it’s going to take a few years for it to grow to its full potential.”

    On top of running the Canadian Tire Series and the Nationwide Series when time allows, Fitzpatrick hits the local tracks and races at the grass roots level where it started.

    “I support it 100 percent anyway I can,” he said of grass roots racing. “At the end of the day, that’s where we all started and guys that don’t feel like coming back, I don’t get it. I wish I had a late model as that’s where I started but super stocks are a lot of fun.”

    For this year, he put a Super Stock race car together with some friends.

    “Its fun,” he said of running the car. “It’s definitely a different kind of car for me. Me and my friend built this car and it’s been working fairly well. We’re starting ninth out of 45 cars so we’re pretty happy about that.”

    Fitzpatrick had a successful year with that as he got his first feature  Super Stock win at Flamboro Speedway during FrostFest.

    Fitzpatrick got started in racing at the age of six running a Jr. Late Model.

    “I got started through Jr. Late Models when I was six years old at Sauble Beach,” he said. “Then I moved on to Delaware (Speedway) and when I was 13 years old, I got a late model and then from there, I just stayed in heavy stock cars.”

    Fitzpatrick then moved up to the CASCAR Super Series, where he finished second in the Rookie of the Year standings in 2004 at the age of 16.

    At the age of 17, he scored his first win and got three top-fives and five top-10 finishes.

    Then in 2006, he became the youngest Canadian Tire Series National Champion with a win, five podium finishes and two pole awards at the age of 18.

    Over the next three years in the Canadian Tire Series, Fitzpatrick would earn a total of four wins, 10 top-fives, 14 top-10s and five pole awards.

    Fitzpatrick made his first in the NASCAR Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) at the Telcel-Motorola Mexico 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, where he finished 33rd due to an ill-handling car.

    Fitzpatrick’s last race at Daytona was when he made his first start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2009 where he finished fourth, driving the No. 7 Mammoet Chevrolet Silverado at Daytona International Speedway for TRG Motorsports.

    Fitzpatrick will be on-track on Wednesday and Thursday of this week with four NASCAR Nationwide Series practice sessions scheduled before Friday hosts qualifying at 4:10pm EST.  The ‘DRIVE4COPD 300’ starts on Saturday 19th February at 1:15pm EST.  Race fans in Canada can watch the ‘DRIVE4COPD 300’ live on TSN2 with broadcast coverage starting at Noon EST on Saturday.