NASCAR Canada driver Anthony Simone in the groove with Stock Cars

Bradford, Ontario's Anthony Simone is a Canadian auto racing talent who has endured some career setbacks to become one of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series' brightest stars of 2009. A stark contrast to his 2008 rookie season which observed Simone and his #95 Crown Modular/United Lumber Chevrolet appear like a fish out of water, the auto racing idiom of 'losing some in order to win some' appears to have translated the 30 year old racer. "There are 2 major ingredients we found this year." Simone relies. "The first one is the hiring of Giulio Montanari as car chief. With him on board and working together with my crew chief Thatcher Krupp the cars are much better prepared from the shop going to the race tracks. The second is the reliability of the new NASCAR spec motor. Those two things have helped our program tremendously."

As like many aspiring Canadian racers through the 1990s, Simone's auto racing background applies heavily to open wheel racing. As a teenager, Anthony Simone made a sensation in competitive karting as he locked up a provincial Ontario championship as well as Junior title in the World Karting Association in two years. Following those honours with an engagement in Formula 1600 with AIM Motorsports, Simone's driving accomplishments attracted the notoriety for a Toyota Atlantic test session with the well-associated open wheel team PPI Motorsports. Anthony Simone would once again snatch a championship title in the highly-prestigious Skip Barber National Championship, a series instrumental in the success of other young racing talents such as AJ Allmendinger and Marco Andretti. Winning a record 6 races in that season, Anthony Simone looked destined for the top-level open wheel spotlight. Instead of Indy Car ambitions, Simone returned to Canada and would reemerge as a stock car driver.

"I decided to make the jump when I was approaching companies for sponsorship in the open wheeled series, and most of them were interested in getting involved if it had of been a fendered car." Anthony Simone responds to the reason for his current ride in the #95 Chevrolet. He adds "Your asking for a lot less money and more exposure being an all Canadian series where the open wheel stuff in primarily in the U.S".

Sitting 5th in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series standing for 2009, Anthony Simone lists his two second-place finishes at Trois Riviere and Mosport as his two greatest achievements to date. As Anthony Simone comes into the Barrie Speedway's Torbram Electric 300 presented by The Source, he's content that he can reverse disappointing 2008 Barrie Speedway results. Despite a test session conducted by him and his #95 Crown Modular/United Lumber team the week prior, Anthony Simone's end result did not improve greatly on the 2008 races. Though starting on the pole and leading during the early going of the what he considers his home race track, Simone was spun out in one incident and suffered a flat tire causing a multi-car accident when he attempted to access pit lane.

However, while Barrie Speedway did not provide the ideal circumstances for a final three-race run to the end of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series in 2009, Simone remains confident for his team saying “We would really like to win one of the last three races. We are still points racing, But we are going to try really hard to win one.”

Next for NASCAR Canadian Tire Series: Torbram Electric 300 at Barrie Speedway

Nascar Canadian Tire Series TV race fix: A&W 300 on TSN

Following this past weekend's Nascar Canadian Tire Series A&W 300 race at Barrie Speedway, TSN will be airing a one-hour recap of the short track action this 2:30PM eastern time this sunday afternoon(July 6).

For your local listings, please Click here

JR Fitzpatrick wins Dickies 200 at Mosport with a little rain dance

Starting as scheduled, Scott Steckly in his Tow Truck in a Cox/Erb Group Dodge Avenger took the field to the green flag for the Dickies 200 presented by Lucas Oil. Steckly's lead lap would be short-lived as front row starting companion Kerry Micks motored by Steckly, ceasing the top spot through the first corner on lap 2. After Micks led for half a dozen laps, Peter Gibbons overhauled the fellow Ford with his newly bodied Canadian Tire Ford Fusion. Gibbons would on to dominate much of the race, giving up the lead through only a green flag pit stop run.

The climax of the race occurred on lap 44 when rain clouds shadowed Mosport. (Admittedly, All-Canadian Racing News miscalled the weather based on weather forecasts made earlier Sunday morning). As the track surface was being moisten by precipitation, Ron Beauchamp Jr. fell victim to a wet Mosport race course and his dry weather racing slick tires. By Lap 48, weathering elements contributed to Beauchamp Jr. losing his #60 Mopar Dodge Avenger, ending by beached in the first corner gravel trap. It was then that NASCAR officials flew the yellow caution flag, allowing teams to come into the pit for rain tires with only 9 laps to go to the finish. While much as the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series field opted to make a pit stop, Peter Gibbons' team stood idle as the #1 Ford remained on a dampening 2.4 mile track.

Underestimating the advantages of wearing grooved rubber, even as the race restarted with just two laps remaining, Gibbons chances of winning were now literally washed away as DJ Kennington (who had just returned from running a Nationwide race in Kentucky the previous night) and JR Fitzpatrick would led a surefooted group of stock cars around a now hydroplaning #1 Canadian Tire/Mobil Super Ford. Dj Kennington's #17 Castrol Dodge and JR Fitzpatrick's #84 Chevrolet were duel committedly through the dicey final laps with a brave hearted JR Fitzpatrick.

His first win in the Canadian Tire Series since Edmonton nearly a year ago, Fitzpatrick's victory at Mosport was monumented to his father and team owner John Fitzpatrick. A second place final result by DJ Kennington was also consider an astonishing feat. Since DJ Kennington was racing on Kentucky requiring Kenny Forth to qualified the #17 Castrol Dodge on Saturday meaning, by NASCAR rules, Kennington needed to start the Dickies 200 presented by Lucas Oil in the back. Other drivers finishing Fitzpatrick's teammate Don Thomson Jr. in 3rd, Alex Tagliani and Andrew Ranger are 5th and 6th while pole sitter Scott Steckly ended up 4th in the day. Steckly also secures the points lead for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series heading to the Barrie Speedway in two weeks time.