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Tag: Ron Fellows

  • Crunching The Numbers: Michigan

    Crunching The Numbers: Michigan

    After a wild weekend of turning left and right at the fast road course at Watkins Glen, the three national NASCAR series head their separate ways this weekend with the Sprint Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series heading to Michigan to take on the 2 mile Michigan International Speedway and the Nationwide Series heading to their second road course race in a row for their inaugural race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway

    With only four races left until the cutoff for the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins at Chicago, the battle between those fighting for a spot in the 12 driver playoff keeps ratcheting up with only 31 points separating the drivers between 10th and 17th in the standings. From this point on every race, every position, and every point matters that much more. Drivers at Michigan will have a balancing act between playing it safe for points or gambling for a win and putting themselves in position for a Wild Card Chase berth.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Carl Edwards 18 2 9 14 1 291 19.9 8.2
    Matt Kenseth 28 2 12 18 0 284 17.9 9.4
    Greg Biffle 21 4 10 13 1 565 13.5 11.3
    Jeff Gordon 41 2 18 25 5 954 11.5 12.4
    Danica Patrick 1 0 0 0 0 0 37.0 13.0
    Mark Martin 55 5 18 31 1 965 11.9 14.2
    Kevin Harvick 25 1 4 9 0 149 18.2 14.3
    Denny Hamlin 15 2 5 7 0 149 14.3 14.7
    Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 28 2 6 10 2 327 14.9 15.6
    Kyle Busch 17 1 4 6 0 169 14.6 15.6

    Who To Watch: Coming off of an eighth place finish in the first race at Michigan in June, Carl Edwards boasts the best statistics in the Sprint Cup Series at the track with two wins, nine top fives, 14 top tens, one pole, 291 laps led, and an average finish of 8.2 in 18 races.

    Matt Kenseth comes up next with two wins, 12 top fives, 18 top tens, 284 laps led, and an average finish of 9.4 in 28 starts. Kenseth finished in sixth in June in his first race at Michigan for new car owner Joe Gibbs.

    Others who run well at the track include: Greg Biffle, who won in June and has a total of four wins at the track, along with 10 top fives, 13 top tens, one pole, 565 laps led, and an average finish of 11.3 in 21 starts; Jeff Gordon, with two wins, 18 top fives, 25 top tens, five poles, 954 laps led, and an average finish of 12.4 in 41 starts; and Danica Patrick, who finished in 13th in her first start at the track in June.

    The remainder of the top ten statistically (Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Kyle Busch) also run well at Michigan and have a total of 11 wins between them.

    NASCAR Nationwide Series – Inaugural Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio

    Since there have been no Nationwide Series races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, there are obviously no statistics to pull from to see who will run well at the track. So, the best bet for Saturday’s race will be to go with drivers who run well on road courses. Drivers such as Ron Fellows in the JR Motorsports No. 5, Marcos Ambrose in the No. 9 for Richard Petty Motorsports, A.J. Allmendinger in the No. 22 for Penske Racing, and Max Papis in the No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing should find themselves up front along with Nationwide regulars Sam Hornish Jr. and Justin Allgaier.

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – Michigan National Guard 200 at Michigan

    After a few weeks off since last racing at Pocono, the Camping World Truck Series makes their return at Michigan with points leader Matt Crafton holding onto a commanding 52 point lead over rookie Jeb Burton in the standings. The race also marks the return of the Truck Series for consecutive weekends and the debut of Fox Sports 1 for the broadcast of the Truck Series race on Saturday.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Ty Dillon 1 0 0 1 0 3 5.0 6.0
    Miguel Paludo 2 0 1 2 0 3 6.0 6.5
    Kyle Busch 6 0 4 5 1 149 5.8 6.8
    Brendan Gaughan 7 1 3 4 0 48 18.4 8.9
    Joey Coulter 2 0 0 1 1 7 10.5 12.5
    Ron Hornaday, Jr. 9 0 1 6 0 15 10.3 12.7
    Dakoda Armstrong 2 0 1 1 0 0 20.5 13.5
    Johnny Sauter 4 0 0 0 0 1 8.0 13.5
    James Buescher 4 0 2 2 0 5 7.8 14.5
    Timothy Peters 6 0 1 3 0 0 16.7 14.8

    Who To Watch: Championship contender Ty Dillon leads all active drivers at Michigan with three laps led and a sixth place finish in his lone start at the track last season.

    A driver who has been running strong as of late is Miguel Paludo and he falls in second statistically at Michigan. Paludo has two starts at the track and in the two starts has one top five, two top tens, 3 laps led and an average finish of 6.5.

    Others who could find their way to Victory Lane include: Kyle Busch, who has six starts at the track, and in those six starts has four top fives, five top tens, one pole, 149 laps led and an average finish of 6.8; Brendan Gaughan, who has one win, three top fives, four top tens, 48 laps led and an average finish of 8.9 in seven starts; and Joey Coulter, who has one top ten, one pole, seven laps led and an average finish of 12.5 in two starts.

    Last, but certainly not least would be the promising crop of rookies in the series this year (Jeb Burton, Ryan Blaney, Darrell Wallace, Jr.), who are giving the veterans a run for their money. It certainly would not be a surprise to see one of those drivers win either.

  • Canadian stars shoot for victory in Montreal

    Canadian stars shoot for victory in Montreal

    [media-credit name=”nascar.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Skimming through the entry list for this weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Montreal one may find a few names that jump off the page.  What do Ron Fellows, Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Tagliani, and Patrick Carpentier all have in common this weekend?  They are all accomplished road course racers that venture into the NASCAR scene on rare occasion.  When the Nationwide Series makes its annual stop in Montreal, the four aforementioned drivers come to make an attempt at winning in their home country.

    Carpentier has returned from retirement for the NAPA Auto Parts 200 on August 18th, competing again in Michael Waltrip Racing’s #99 NAPA Toyota Camry entered by RAB Racing.  The five time CART winner has seen varying success at his home track.  In the inaugural running of the race in 2007, Carpentier grabbed the pole and finished 2nd.  The following year, Carpentier earned another runner-up finish at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

    The next three races in Canada saw the Quebec native encounter misfortunes.  In 2009, Carpentier finished 38th due to engine troubles.  In 2010 and 2011, the MWR driver came across the start finish line 32nd, both due to mechanical troubles.

    Carpentier enters the weekend not only looking to turn his bad luck around, but to obtain an elusive victory in front of his home fans.

    Jacques Villeneuve has competed around the circuit named after his late father ten times in Formula 1, none of which the 41 year-old Canadian was able to achieve victory.  Though Villeneuve has been exceptional in qualifying for the Montreal race (three top-five starts in four attempts), he has an average finish in Montreal of 12.5 on the circuit that lays along the St. Lawrence river.  Driving the #22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger owned by Roger Penske brings high expectations for Jacques.

    “I feel, after winning the pole last year at Montreal,  that we can have a lot of success. A NASCAR victory is something I want.”  Villeneuve says of his potential with Penske Racing.

    With the IZOD IndyCar Series being off this weekend, Alex Tagliani is taking the opportunity to race for a third time at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.  In only having two NASCAR Nationwide Series starts in Montreal, Tagliani has experienced both good and bad performances. In 2009, the 39 year-old Montreal native finished 26th for MacDonald Motorsports.  In last year’s event, Tagliani capitalized on his Penske Racing ride to finish 2nd.

    This year “Tag” will be racing Turner Motorsport’s #30 Chevrolet.

    “I’m always proud to come back to Montreal and to be able to race on this fantastic road course named after one of my all-time racing heroes, Gilles Villeneuve.”  Tagliani says when speaking to nascar.com.

    “Montreal has been good to me to date and I’m hoping to better my racing history here.  Having a competitive car to challenge for the win is all I can wish for. ”

    Back in June, the #30 Turner Motorsports team went to victory lane on the first road course race of the season at Road America.  Nelson Piquet Jr. piloted the car to victory that day earning his first ever NASCAR Nationwide Series victory, Tagliani will look to mimic Piquet’s feat this weekend.

    After claiming a victory on his home soil in the 2008 rain shortened iteration of the NAPA Auto Parts 200,  Ron Fellows has seen a streak of bad luck come his way.  The year after his victory Fellows failed to complete the race due to a crash in turns 8 and 9, yielding him a 35th place finish.  In 2010, the Ontario Native experienced engine troubles and placed 30th in his home race.

    With the highest of highs and lowest of lows making up the 52 year olds past in a Nationwide car at Montreal, Fellows is gunning for a new high in his Nationwide Career.  Adding a second victory in his home country would provide the road course specialist with just that.

    In the five year history of the NAPA Auto Parts 200, only Ron Fellows has earned the thunderous applause of his home country’s crowd by going to victory lane.  Ironically, of the four Canadian stars heading into this weekend’s race, Ron Fellows is the only one born outside of the province of Quebec.

    For the diehard Canadian race fans, a keen eye will be on all Canadian’s participating in Montreal this weekend, but only a victory from a Canadian road course star from inside the borders of Quebec will prove to be a moment of true greatness for them.

  • Ron Fellows: It’s a Privilege To Be Apart of the Ownership Group

    Ron Fellows: It’s a Privilege To Be Apart of the Ownership Group

    [media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”262″][/media-credit]During the 2012 racing off-season, it was announced that the ownership of Mosport Raceway had changed hands. Canadian Racer Ron Fellows, along with partners Alan Boughton and Carlo Fidani purchased Mosport from the previous ownership.

    “It’s really enjoyable to be a part of it. Mosport has been a big part of my life,” Fellows said last weekend at the Canadian Motorsports Expo. “I went to the first race in 1969 as an 11 year old kid and that’s where I got bitten by the bug to go racing for myself and have had a lot of firsts at Mosport in terms of big wins for me so the place has meant a lot to me. For me, to get an opportunity to be part of the ownership team with Carlo Fidani and Alan Boughton, it’s pretty special.”

    The interest to get in the ownership side began while out one day with Boughton and Fidani.

    “We were down at my performance driving school just west of Las Vegas and I had the two partners – Carlo Fidani and his two sons and Alan Boughton,” Fellows tells the story. “We were talking about owning a race track and Carlo basically said ‘What about Mosport? I heard it’s for sale’ and I said, ‘I know who to call’. So we got in touch with the previous ownership group and it started from there.”

    Fellows went to say that this is a good deal to be involved in as both Boughton and Fidani have business experience to lend to the venture in trying to improve the facility and run it.

    Immediately, the ownership group began making changes to the facility to upgrade it to improve it for drivers, fans, media and track staff.

    The first change they made was adding a new tunnel above turn nine to therefore improve the infrastructure of the track and allow people to be able to get around easier. They took out what Fellows called the “mouse tunnel” and put in a tunnel wide enough for two tractor trailers to fit through side-by-side.

    To improve the experience for the fans, they’ve done grading to improve the sight lines, created some new areas for camping, and there’s a road that connects all the facilities together now so fans don’t have to go on to the public road to get from one end to the other.

    There are also plans to put in a new registration centre and a new event centre, which will feature a media centre, timing and scoring and administration.

    It was announced at the Canadian Motorsports Expo that Mosport Raceway had formed a partnership with Canadian Tire. The deal marks a long-term partnership between the two parties and will see the track change names, now known at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. The newly named track will host the season opener for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series in May.

    “For the Canadian Tire Series to do their season opener at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park is absolutely ideal scenario for us,” Fellows said. “And then having a marketing partner like Canadian Tire, we feel its going to grow Mosport and create a lot more auto racing interest.”

    Through his years of racing at Mosport, Fellows has had a lot of accomplishments there. Some of these accomplishments include winning in a Ferrari back in 1997 and first TransAm win in 1989.

  • Ron Fellows and Scott Steckly To Appear at Canadian Motorsports Expo

    Ron Fellows and Scott Steckly To Appear at Canadian Motorsports Expo

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    NASCAR fans will get their good dosage worth of content at this year’s Canadian Motorsports Expo as both Ron Fellows’ No. 88 Canadian Tire NASCAR Nationwide Series Show car and Scott Steckly’s No. 22 Canadian Tire/Motomaster Dodge will be on display.

    Both Fellows and Steckly will also be on hand to sign autographs throughout the weekend.

    This will be part of Canadian Tire’s 5,000 square foot display.

    “We’re thrilled to be part of the 6th Annual Canadian Motorsport Expo and to connect with Canadians that share our passion for auto racing,” Allan McDonald, Senior Vice President of Automotive at Canadian Tire, says. “As title sponsors of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series we’ve been blown away by the support and enthusiasm of Canadian fans. We’re committed to fostering the growth of auto racing in Canada through our support of the series and are looking forward to an exciting 2012 season.”

    The display will also include Canadian Tire’s 53-foot racing hauler, a pit stop challenge and a money machine. The money machine, which resembles a glass phone booth, has Canadian Tire Money that swirls around and contestants can keep all the money they grab in 20 seconds. Canadian Tire will also be giving out samples of products during the weekend.

    “We are very proud to welcome Canadian Tire as a major exhibitor at the 6th Annual Canadian Motorsports Expo Powered by Inside Track,” CME Co-promoter Rob Morton says. “From the company’s long-running support of some of Canada’s top racers and events, to their current sponsorship of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Scott Steckly, Ron Fellows and others, Canadian Tire is an undisputed leader in Canadian motorsports. Racers and fans appreciate Canadian Tire’s commitment to their sport and their dedication to offering the best service, expertise and products – many of them race and track-tested.”

    The Sixth Annual Canadian Motorsports Expo will be happening February 10th to 12th at Toronto’s International Centre.

    Ron Fellow is a legendary road racer and the new owner of Mosport, while Scott Steckly won his second NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Championship last season.