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

         

The Maple Leaf at the Brickyard

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Commemorating 100 years since the first Indianapolis 500 ran at the 2.5 oval track, achievements transpiring at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway composes a rich tapestry for those who conquered the highest plateaus on auto racing. Of course, this Brickyard history includes some special efforts presented by many enterprising Canadians.

At least 17 drivers of Canadian nationality have inserted themselves into the open wheel classic field. Started when Arran, Ontario's Pete Henderson drove a Maxwell to 6th in the 1916 Indianapolis 500, another early Indy contender was Ira Vail. Making his first Indy 500 start in 1919, Vail would make five Indy 500 appearances collecting a best 7th place in 1921.

A heyday for Canadian determination at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 1990s saw the Canadian flag carried to three top-2 finishes. Racing to 2nd place in 1992 and 1997, Scott Goodyear came just 0.043 seconds short of Indy 500 victory in 1992. Goodyear also had a pivotal role in the 1995 Indianapolis 500 with 10 laps remaining. Mistiming the pace car, Scott Goodyear was black-flagged for jumping the restart allowing fellow countryman Jacques Villeneuve. Future Formula 1 World Champion, Villeneuve is acknowledged as Canada's first official Indy 500 winner. 1946 Indy 500 winner George Robson was unofficially the Canada's initial connection to victory lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A British-born driver possessing a Canadian background, Robson was declared an American citizen.

While Jacques Villeneuve's win is the first and only official victory by a Canadian driver at the Indianapolis 500, an strong argument could be made that Paul Tracy should have been the rightful victor of the 2002 event. In the height of the nasty North American open wheel where IRL and the CART fought for supremacy, an uneasy truce existed to allow CART drivers as well as teams to enter the field of the Indianapolis 500 race. In the closing laps of the 2002 Indianapolis 500, the IRL regular Team Penske car driven by Helio Castroneves battled with the one-off of Team Green's effort driven by Canada's Paul Tracy. A caution with 2 laps remaining flew for a turn 1 crash while Tracy was side-by-side with Castroneves in the process of passing the Penske car. When the yellow flag fell, Paul Tracy and many others believed the pass occurred before the time of caution. However, a ruling by IRL officials instructed that the pass was not completed before the caution paving the way for Helio Castroneves to roll to victory. Team Green appealed the finish but the results for the 2002 Indy 500 would not change. Many continue to believe that IRL/CART politics factored heavily into Tracy losing the race.

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Perhaps the most influential Canadian name surrounding the Indianapolis 500, Calgary's Stuart Hilborn success came outside of the open wheel cockpit. Selling teams on his then-radical concept of fuel injection, Hilborn's engineering expertise first propelled Troy Ruttman to a 1952 Indy 500 victory. By the 1960s, every Indy car would run Hilborn fuel injection systems.

Canada's history at the Indy 500 has been buoyed in the 2011 event that where the late Dan Wheldon took victory. Todd Malloy, a native from the province of Ontario and a graduate from the University of Waterloo, served as the Race Engineer on the winning #98 Bryan Herta Autosport entry. For 2012, Malloy will be partnered with French-Canadian IZOD INDYCAR driver Alex Tagliani driving the team's race car.

In 2012, Alex Tagliani returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the event's reigning pole sitter while sophomore driver James Hinchcliffe is intent on taking vengeance for losing the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honour to JR Hildebrand. Two Canadian drivers will take on the Brickyard aspiring to write new chapters in the books for the Indianapolis 500 that could involve the Maple Leaf flag back in the winner's circle.