Daytona Beach, Florida (February 16, 2011) – The Sunshine State threw a curveball at Canada’s J.R. Fitzpatrick at the Daytona International Speedway today with rain delaying much of the scheduled on-track practice ahead of Saturday’s ‘DRIVE4COPD 300’, the opening round of the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Fitzpatrick finally emerged late afternoon turning his first laps at the legendary 2.5-mile tri-oval track behind the wheel of the Schick Hydro/Energizer #27 Baker Curb Racing Ford Mustang.The 22-year-old from Cambridge, Ontario had the opportunity to run a mixture of single-car runs as well as some laps in the draft during a pair of hour-long practice sessions, as the NASCAR Nationwide Series field was finally unleashed having watched the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series hit the slow-drying track first.“I’m happier with the car after the last practice session,” stated Fitzpatrick - the 2006 CASCAR Champion. “I had the chance to work with Kyle Busch for a bit there and learned a lot about what we need for final practice tomorrow. Overall, with the weather, it wasn’t really the day we were hoping for but those things are out of our control. I’m grateful we got track time today and I’m looking forward to digesting a few more things overnight ahead of tomorrow’s final sessions.”Final practice is set for Thursday before the field qualifies at 4:10pm EST on Friday. The ‘DRIVE4COPD 300’ starts on Saturday 19th February at 1:15pm EST.
TSN2 in Canada will broadcast the race live with coverage starting at Noon EST.
THE NEED TO KNOW:Fitzpatrick Running #27 Baker Curb Racing Ford MustangRace fans in Canada have a fond appreciation of #27 given it is most closely associated with the late, great Gilles Villeneuve, who ran the number in 1981 and 1982 racing for Ferrari in Formula One. Villeneuve was the first, and to-date, the only Canadian to win on home soil, triumphing in the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.The track now boasts his name and for J.R. Fitzpatrick, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has proved to be a happy hunting ground. Having claimed the pole for the 2007 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series event, Fitzpatrick won the 2009 edition. He also holds starts there in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, his best finish coming in 2010 for JR Motorsports Inc, owned by 2011 ‘Daytona 500’ polesitter Dale Earnhardt Jr, the Canadian equaling his best finish in the series with 7th place at the checkered flag.ENDS – www.jrfitzpatrick.com / Twitter: @J_R_Fitzpatrick
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