Fellows Returns to JR Motorsports for 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Road Races

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images

A road racing ace who has stepped on the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, Canada's Ron Fellows has also been effective in showing his road racing mastery in NASCAR competition. Winning six times in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series, one of Fellows' greatest triumphs was in the 2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. A race track named after an inspiring figure for Fellows, the patriotic feat was achieved with a JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Less than a week ahead of 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series debut of the three-race road racing campaign, the dynamic duel of JR Motorsports and Ron Fellows will be back together.

Officially announced Monday, Ron Fellows will pilot the #5 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports for the three road course races starting with the June 23rd race at Road America. August races at Watkins Glen and the Montreal Circuit Gilles Villeneuve track will also be part of Ron Fellows' 2012 competitive outing. AER branding and colours will be worn on #5 Chevrolet at Road America this weekend only. Major retail chain Canadian Tire will be the primary sponsor for Fellows through the Watkins Glen and Montreal rounds later in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Canadian driver Ron Fellows enters the JR Motorsports three-car effort where he will be fielded alongside teammates Cole Whitt and Danica Patrick.

Happy to be part of the JR Motorsports in NASCAR Nationwide competition for a 5th year, Ron Fellows enters into the 2012 season confident in what he has grown accustomed of finding in the team. "They have an amazing group of people, and we've been competitive at almost all of the races." said Fellows who added, "That's what brings me back and keeps me young. My relationship with Dale Jr. began more than 10 years ago, and I'm proud to have driven for both him and his father.”

While the 2008 win at Montreal has been the only victory by the pairing, Fellows and the JR Motorsports team has scored 6 top-10 finishes in 9 races together including a close second at Road America last year. Maintaining a role largely behind the scenes in motorsports in general that includes becoming an member of the Mosport Park (now Canadian Tire Motorsports Park) new ownership, these NASCAR road races are some of the only occasions for fans to see one of Canada's most successful road racers.

Fitzpatrick Wins NASCAR Canadian Tire Series 2012 Season Opener

A 51-lap around the 2.46-mile road course now known as Canadian Tire Motorsport Park kicks off the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season. Formerly known as Mosport International Raceway, the prestigious venue dropped the green flag for the Vortex Brake Pads 200 on Sunday afternoon becoming the first time the series would open a season on a road course.

Taking pole on Saturday, Reigning NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion Scott Steckly driving hte #22 Canadian Tire Dodge recorded a speed of 105.484 miles per hour to take the preferred starting spot from a hungry, young JR Fitzpatrick. Taking green during a very hot but dry noon, the #84 Chevrolet of Fitzpatrick immediately set out on a mission to control the Vortex Brake Pads 200. JR Fitzpatrick was followed by Scott Steckly, Andrew Ranger, DJ Kennington and Rob Beauchamp Jr on the opening lap of the road course event that would quickly present troubles for some competitors. The #29 Dodge of Ray Courtemanche Jr was into the turn 2 wall on the second lap while the #50 Dodge of Joey McColm  trailed off the race track to draw the race's first caution on lap 4.

Going back to green flag green, Scott Steckly battled hard with JR Fitzpatrick's #84 Chevrolet. So hard fighting was Steckly that he acquired battle-scarring to the nose of his #22 Dodge early. While Steckly made a scheduled pit stop on lap 15, Andrew Ranger in the #27 GC Motorsports Dodge battled Fitzpatrick. Ranger would find a way around the #84 in turn 9 just before both race contenders darted to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park pit lane for their service. A full caution yellow on lap 18 would come out as Ron Beauchamp Jr and Jason Hathaway were leading the Vortex Brake Pad 200 field.

Robin Buck and Peter Klutt would stay out on the race day to lead the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series cars back to green on lap 22. Battling after the restart, Andrew Ranger fight with Kerry Micks resulted with both cars spinning in turn 8. At the front, JR Fitzpatrick reeled-in and Robin Buck and retook the lead on lap 24. JR Fitzpatrick's #84 Chevrolet would progressively pull away from second-place Buck in the following laps building a 3-second cushion by lap 30. A caution on lap 33 would erase the leading interval and give all competitors a breather.

For what would be an important race restart that would settle the outcome of the Vortex Brake Pads 200, 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion DJ Kennington sailed past the #84 car while Fitzpatrick and Steckly once again fought for position at the road course. Regathering himself with 6 laps remaining in the event, Fitzpatrick took back the lead in a decisive fashion.

Winning the Vortex Brake Pads 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, JR Fitzpatrick ends a winless drought stretching back to the Edmonton City Center Airport circuit race in 2010. Rounding out the top-5 for the Vortex Brake Pads 200 is DJ Kennington, Scott Steckly, Andrew Ranger and Louis-Philippe Dumoulin.

The next race for the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will take place on June 3rd at Circuit iCAR.



2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
Vortex Brake Pad 200
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Race Results

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Sponsor/Car Make
2	84	JR Fitzpatrick	Equipment Express Chevrolet
4	17	DJ Kennington	Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge
1	22	Scott Steckly	Canadian Tire Dodge
3	27	Andrew Ranger	Dodge/GC Motorsports Dodge
10	47	Louis-Philippe Dumoulin	WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge
6	3	Jason Hathaway	Snap-on Tools/Vortex Brake Pads Dodge
7	2	Kerry Micks	Leland/BDI/PartSource Ford
9	23	Jeff Lapcevich	Tim Hortons Dodge
11	66	Robin Buck	Quaker State Dodge
8	42	Peter Klutt	Legendary Motorcar Chevrolet
5	60	Ron Beauchamp, Jr.	Mopar/Mobil 1 Dodge
13	21	Jason White	A&W/Bower & Wilkins Dodge
17	56	Howie Scannell Jr.	Trailers by Jim Bray Dodge
22	10	Derek White	Burger Barn Chevrolet
23	94	Dave Coursol	Carquest Canada Dodge
20	81	Larry Jackson	B&B Decals/Speedy Auto Service Dodge
26	67	David Thorndyke	Thorsons EVT Chevrolet
16	90	Martin Roy	Veloce/Gamache Truck Center Dodge
14	44	Jarrad Whissell	SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford
18	15	Steven Mathews	Bill Mathews Motors Ford
19	7	Isabelle Tremblay	Frank Lyman Design Dodge
12	99	Steve Cote	White Motorsports Chevrolet
27	97	Hugo Vannini	Vannini Motorsports Ford
24	11	Michael Scholz	Jiffy Car Wash/Watchfinder.ca Chevrolet
25	50	Joey McColm	@JoeyMcColm Dodge
15	5	Noel Dowler	EMCO-Kohler/Rheem Dodge
21	29	Ray Courtemanche Jr.	Construction Danam Bonzai Dodge

         

Weekend Auto Racing Weather Forecast May 19-20, 2012

Photo Credit: Jamey Price/Getty Images for NASCAR

IZOD INDYCAR Series
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Indianapolis 500 Qualifying
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Saturday
	11 am	2 pm	4 pm
Temperature (Celsius):	22	27	28
Temperature (Fahrenheit)	72	81	82
Chance of Precipitation:	0%	0%	0%
General Race Conditions: Clear skies with a 10 kilometer per hour south wind.
Sunday
	11 am	2 pm	4 pm
Temperature (Celsius):	25	28	28
Temperature (Fahrenheit)	77	82	82
Chance of Precipitation:	0%	0%	40%
General Race Conditions: Hot day with afternoon cloud cover and thunderstorms possible.
NASCAR Sprint Cup
Concord, North Carolina, United States
Sprint All-Star Race
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Saturday
	4 pm	7 pm	10 pm
Temperature (Celsius):	26	21	15
Temperature (Fahrenheit)	80	70	59
Chance of Precipitation:	20%	10%	0%
General Race Conditions: Clear skies are expected through the night. Track will cool dramatically.
NASCAR Canadian Tire Series/ Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada
Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Saturday
	8 am	12 pm	4 pm
Temperature (Celsius):	14	19	21
Temperature (Fahrenheit)	57	66	70
Chance of Precipitation:	10%	10%	0%
General Race Conditions: Clear skies.
Sunday
	8 am	12 pm	4 pm
Temperature (Celsius):	16	21	23
Temperature (Fahrenheit)	61	70	73
Chance of Precipitation:	0%	0%	0%
General Race Conditions: Clear skies.
DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters)
Brands Hatch, Kent, England
Brands Hatch
Saturday
	9 am	12 pm	3 pm
Temperature (Celsius):	13	14	16
Temperature (Fahrenheit)	55	57	61
Chance of Precipitation:	10%	0%	0%
General Race Conditions: Day will be mostly to partly sunny with gentle southwest winds.
Sunday
	9 am	12 pm	3 pm
Temperature (Celsius):	11	13	15
Temperature (Fahrenheit)	52	55	59
Chance of Precipitation:	40%	20%	20%
General Race Conditions: Chance of rain through Sunday morning and into the day may dampen the Brands Hatch race track for main event.

2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series: Entry List for Vortex Brake Pads 200

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
Vortex Brake Pads 200
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Entry List

#	Car #	Driver	Sponsor/ Car Make
1	2	Kerry Micks	BDI/Leland/PartSource Ford
2	3	Jason Hathaway	Vortex Brake Pads Dodge
3	5	Noel Dowler	EMCO/Kohler Dodge
4	7	Isabelle Tremblay	Frank Lyman Design Dodge
5	10	Derek White	Burger Barn Chevrolet
6	11	Michael Scholz	Jiffy Car Wash/watchfinder.ca Chevrolet
7	15	Steve Mathews	Bill Mathews Motors Ford
8	17	D.J. Kennington	Castrol Edge/Mahindra Dodge
9	19	Brad Graham	TBA
10	21	Jason White	A&W/Bowers&Wilkins Dodge
11	22	Scott Steckly	Canadian Tire Dodge
12	23	Jeff Lapcevich	Tim Hortons Dodge
13	27	Andrew Ranger	Dodge/GC Motorsport Dodge
14	29	Ray Courtemanche Jr.	Construction Danam Bonzai Dodge
15	42	Peter Klutt	Legendary Motorcar Chevrolet
16	44	Jarrad Whissell	SMS/Komatsu Ford
17	47	L.P. Dumoulin	WeatherTech Canada/Bellmare Dodge
18	50	Joey McColm	Give It Your Everything Dodge
19	55	Dexter Stacey	WJS Motorsports Dodge
20	56	Howie Scannell Jr.	Trailers by Jim Bray Dodge
21	60	Ron Beauchamp Jr.	Mopar/Mobil 1 Dodge
22	66	Robin Buck	Quaker State Dodge
23	67	Dave Thorndyke	Thorsons EVT Chevrolet
24	81	Larry Jackson	B&B Decals/Speedy Muffler Dodge
25	84	J.R. Fitzpatrick	Equipment Express Chevrolet
26	90	Martin Roy	Veloce/Gamache Truck Centre Dodge
27	94	Dave Coursol	Carquest Canada Dodge
28	97	Hugo Vannini	Vannini Motorsports Ford
29	99	Steve Côté	White Motorsports Chevrolet