(Barrie, Ontario) – With a new sponsor on board, J.R. Fitzpatrick and his Milwaukee Electric Tool Chevrolet Monte Carlo arrived in Barrie on Victoria Day weekend for the first race of the 2006 CASCAR Super Series season.
Fitzpatrick entered the event, riding his ninth-place finish in the 2005 championship campaign, and was 12th on the speed chart with a lap of 14.504 seconds following practice, but less than a quarter of a second off the fastest time.
A couple of hours later, with a qualifying position on the line, Fitzpatrick stepped it up and blitzed a lap of 14.410 seconds, good enough for the fifth-fastest time of the day, and almost a tenth of a second better than practice. “We were really pleased with that run. We fought a lot today. We had a broken carburetor, and some other things, but the guys worked hard all day and got me really pumped up before we went out.”
The next time the #84 machine hit the track was for a 50-lap qualifying race under the lights on Saturday night. J.R. rolled off third behind teammate Don Thomson Jr., and D.J. Kennington, but Peter Gibbons was on the outside of Fitzpatrick on the start and grabbed third position, shuffling J.R. back to fourth. The young driver went on the hunt, trying to find a way behind the two-time National champion, and after a couple of close calls, Fitzpatrick got position for good heading into turn three. He would complete the pass, but never caught Thomson, or Kennington, who finished first and second, with John Ryan bringing his mount home third. “That was really cool, passing Peter. I’ve always been a little intimidated by him, but tonight was the first time I had ever even stayed on his bumper. Tonight I was fast enough to pass him as well.”
Sunday’s feature was cancelled on account of rain most of the day, and run on Monday afternoon. Fitzpatrick rolled off fifth for the start of the go-racing.ca 250. He was quick to fall into line and ride through the early portion of the race. The third-year driver explained, “This is a tough place. You have to be around at the end and I know I have to have patience. The guys kept me calm, and I was able to stay out of trouble. I didn’t push on the start, and later, when Kerry Micks was faster, I just let him go. I knew if I save my car, then I’ll have a shot at the end.”
J.R. brought his car to pit road for two tires and fuel just after the halfway point of the race and returned to action just inside the top-ten. He worked his way forward, as his setup allowed him to be one of the only cars to be able to run the outside of the race track. Fitzpatrick also showed his quickness, picking up the Good Year award for turning the fastest lap during the race.
As the laps wore down, J.R. was able to attach himself to his teammate while the pair worked through traffic, and avoided trouble to be shown in sixth on a restart with just 20 laps to go, trailing Thomson, Micks, Kennington, Mark Dilley, and Scott Steckly. One lap after the green dropped, Kennington spun, and Micks visited pit road with damage from the contact. This moved Fitzpatrick to fourth before Dilley spun in oil with only a handful of circuits remaining. The three-lap sprint to the finish saw Steckly, Thomson and Fitzpatrick cross the line in that order, as none could advance their positions. J.R. was thrilled with the solid finish to open the season. “After the way Saturday started, this is an awesome end to the weekend. I wanted a change to the car partway through when we made our pit stop, and Ted talked me out of it. I have to hand it to him, because the car just got better and better the later we went in the race. I was able to work the outside better then almost everyone. That made it a little easier working through traffic.” For Steckly, it was his first career Super Series victory, as he led the final 107 laps, and held off a number of charges to take the checkers.
1. Steckly, 2. Thomson, 3. J.R. Fitzpatrick, 4. Brown, 5. Dilley.
Unofficial Point Standings (after one event) – 1. Thomson (249 points), 2. Steckly (238), 3. Brown (230), 4. J.R. Fitzpatrick (228), 5. Micks (223).
It was an excellent way to open the season, and J.R. is already looking forward to event number two, June tenth at Autodrome Ste. Eustache, just outside of Montreal. “This was a great way to start the season, but last year we got off to a good start at Delaware, and then had trouble at Ste. Eustache. Hopefully this year will be different. We’re going to try to ride the momentum of this week to next race.”
For more information on J.R. Fitzpatrick, Fitzpatrick Motorsports, CASCAR, Barrie Speedway, or Autodrome Ste. Eustache, please visit http://www.cascar.ca/, http://www.barriespeedway.com/, or http://www.autodrome-st-eustache.com/.
For more information on Milwaukee Electric Tool, please visit http://www.milwaukeetools.com/.
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