(Three Rivers, Quebec) – Following two tremendous outings earlier in the season on road courses, J.R. Fitzpatrick and his Milwaukee Tools Electric Tools Chevrolet Monte Carlo were ready for round six of CASCAR Super Series championship the Arctic Cat 100. Fitzpatrick entered the weekend holding a five-point lead over Kerry Micks in the standings.
Fitzpatrick had sat on the pole at both Mosport and the Grand Prix of Edmonton, and was looking to being in contention for his first road course victory when the checkered flag fell at the annual festival of speed, the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres. For the Super Series it would be their second visit to Three Rivers, and their first since 2001.
The weekend started with practice and Fitzpatrick took to the course quickly, posting the fastest times in both practice session. “We were good off the trailer and it made us that much more confident heading into qualifying.”
When it came time to set the grid for the feature, Fitzpatrick ripped off a quick lap, but not good enough to grab the pole. He came up just short of Kerry Micks, and teammate Don Thomson Jr. and wound up third. “We had a good set of tires that we wanted to save for the race. We put on some qualifying tires for early in the run, and then came in to change, but we couldn’t get a clear track to put up a pole winning lap.”
When the green dropped on Sunday’s feature, Fitzpatrick tucked into line behind his teammate and the pair started to work on Micks, but a lap one accident would put the field under a full course yellow. Micks would experience electrical problems, allowing Thomson to take the lead with Fitzpatrick moving to second. The race would go green again and The Fitzpatrick Motorsports teammates set sail, ripping off quick laps and putting distance between themselves and the field. “Both of us were fast, but I think I was a little faster than Don. If I could’ve got him I don’t think he would have been able to pass me back.”
J.R. hung on Thomson’s bumper for the entire distance until the final trip down the backstretch. “I got a run on Don, and got to the door, but I backed out. The last thing I wanted to do was take us both out.”
Thomson led Fitzpatrick over the finish line by a half of a second, but J.R. explained it was even closer than that. “I backed off right at the end, but I was all over him before that. We had an entire straightaway on the third-place car.”
Fitzpatrick still leads the point standings, but now it’s Thomson chasing him from 15 markers back. “I’m still trying to take it one race at a time, but I can’t tell you how happy I am that we finished one-two on the weekend, and that Donnie and I are one-two in the points.”
Fitzpatrick was also awarded the Good Year Belts and Hoses award for turning the fastest lap of the race.
1. Thomson, 2. J.R. Fitzpatrick, 3. Ron Beauchamp Jr., 4. Robin Buck, 5. Mark Dilley.
Official Points Standings – (after six of 11 events) – 1. J.R. Fitzpatrick (1064 points), 2. Thomson (1049), 3. Scott Steckly (1029), 4. Micks (1013), 5. David Whitlock (988).
The next event for the CASCAR Super Series will be Saturday August 12th as the series makes their second trip of the season to Mosport. This time the race will be on the oval track, ‘Canada’s Fastest ½-mile’. Fitzpatrick is looking to stay on a roll, “Watching tapes helped me learn so much about Edmonton and Three Rivers before I even saw the track, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt for the oval at Mosport as well. Donnie has always been fast there, so I’ve been getting tips from him, but I think we’ll be fine. We just have to be patient, not make any mistakes, and be in contention at the end.
For more information on J.R. Fitzpatrick, Fitzpatrick Motorsports, CASCAR, The Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres, or Mosport, please visit www.cascar.ca, www.gp3r.com, or www.mosport.com.
For more information on Milwaukee Electric Tools, please visit www.milwaukeetool.com.
From Maudsley Motorsports
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