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Nationwide
NNS: Danica Ready For The Road
Danica Patrick is set to make her NASCAR road-course debut Saturday at Montreal...
Danica Patrick will this weekend make her seventh Nationwide Series start of the season and first since July at Daytona. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Danica Patrick has experienced a lot of firsts since joining the NASCAR Nationwide Series on a part-time basis last season.
As unofficial reports about her future beyond 2011 continue to spur major chatter, Patrick will embark on another first this weekend – racing a stock car on a road course.
Patrick, who has considerable road-course experience from her continued role in the IZOD IndyCar Series, will tackle Montreal’s 2.709-mile, 14-turn Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Saturday’s Napa Auto Parts 200.
Patrick will make her seventh start of the season and first since July at Daytona, where she finished 10th.
In preparation for Montreal, the second-year JR Motorsports driver joined veteran Ron Fellows earlier this summer in a road-course test with the No. 7 GoDaddy.com team at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga.
Patrick, reportedly in line for a full-time Nationwide ride with JRM and part-time Sprint Cup ride with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2012, hopes her testing with a road-racing expert pays off Saturday.
“This will be a new experience for me, running a road course (in a stock car) this weekend. It’s going to be an interesting weekend,” Patrick said. “Fortunately, I was able to test with the Go Daddy team at Road Atlanta in preparation for the Montreal race. I’m grateful for that. Ron was there, and he offered a lot of insight for me.”
Patrick, 29, would need to look far and wide to find a better mentor than Fellows, one of NASCAR’s most formidable road-course “ringers.” The Canadian’s resume includes four road-course wins in the Nationwide Series, the most recent of them coming with JRM at Montreal in 2008.
Fellows has made two road-course appearances for JRM in 2011, finishing second at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., and seventh last weekend at Watkins Glen.
“JR Motorsports has done an amazing job preparing these road-course cars. It showed when we unloaded so well at Road America and Watkins Glen,” Fellows said. “Tony (Eury) Jr. and the guys should be proud of what they’ve been able to do. We’ve only had to make minor adjustments off the truck. Their cars have been solid.
“Heading back to Montreal is going to be a lot of fun. It’s a challenging course, and it’s always an exciting event for fans and competitors alike, just an all-around great venue. With 50 cars on the entry list, it should make things even more interesting this weekend.”
Patrick’s participation, as always, will add to the interest surrounding Montreal.
After a disappointing debut Nationwide campaign in 2010, the Roscoe, Ill., native has enjoyed a much smoother ride in her second partial season at the wheel of a stock car.
Patrick finished no better than 19th in 13 starts last year but already has three top-10s in six starts this year.
She owns an average finish of 14.7 and has led 14 laps on the season.
Patrick’s open-wheel experience on road courses, coupled with extra guidance from Fellows, could make Montreal her best outing yet.
“The 7 team has had some strong runs at the previous road races this year,” said Patrick, referring to Fellows’ second-place finish at Road America and Jimmie Johnson’s runner-up result last Saturday at Watkins Glen. “We’d like nothing more than to continue that this weekend.
“But realistically, I think if we keep our nose clean and keep all four wheels on the race track, we can come out of this one with a decent finish.”
After Montreal, Patrick’s 2011 campaign will conclude with outings at Richmond (Sept. 9), Kansas (Oct. 8), Texas (Nov. 5), Phoenix (Nov. 12), and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 19).
Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.
As unofficial reports about her future beyond 2011 continue to spur major chatter, Patrick will embark on another first this weekend – racing a stock car on a road course.
Patrick, who has considerable road-course experience from her continued role in the IZOD IndyCar Series, will tackle Montreal’s 2.709-mile, 14-turn Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Saturday’s Napa Auto Parts 200.
Patrick will make her seventh start of the season and first since July at Daytona, where she finished 10th.
In preparation for Montreal, the second-year JR Motorsports driver joined veteran Ron Fellows earlier this summer in a road-course test with the No. 7 GoDaddy.com team at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga.
Patrick, reportedly in line for a full-time Nationwide ride with JRM and part-time Sprint Cup ride with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2012, hopes her testing with a road-racing expert pays off Saturday.
“This will be a new experience for me, running a road course (in a stock car) this weekend. It’s going to be an interesting weekend,” Patrick said. “Fortunately, I was able to test with the Go Daddy team at Road Atlanta in preparation for the Montreal race. I’m grateful for that. Ron was there, and he offered a lot of insight for me.”
Patrick, 29, would need to look far and wide to find a better mentor than Fellows, one of NASCAR’s most formidable road-course “ringers.” The Canadian’s resume includes four road-course wins in the Nationwide Series, the most recent of them coming with JRM at Montreal in 2008.
Fellows has made two road-course appearances for JRM in 2011, finishing second at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., and seventh last weekend at Watkins Glen.
“JR Motorsports has done an amazing job preparing these road-course cars. It showed when we unloaded so well at Road America and Watkins Glen,” Fellows said. “Tony (Eury) Jr. and the guys should be proud of what they’ve been able to do. We’ve only had to make minor adjustments off the truck. Their cars have been solid.
“Heading back to Montreal is going to be a lot of fun. It’s a challenging course, and it’s always an exciting event for fans and competitors alike, just an all-around great venue. With 50 cars on the entry list, it should make things even more interesting this weekend.”
Patrick’s participation, as always, will add to the interest surrounding Montreal.
After a disappointing debut Nationwide campaign in 2010, the Roscoe, Ill., native has enjoyed a much smoother ride in her second partial season at the wheel of a stock car.
Patrick finished no better than 19th in 13 starts last year but already has three top-10s in six starts this year.
She owns an average finish of 14.7 and has led 14 laps on the season.
Patrick’s open-wheel experience on road courses, coupled with extra guidance from Fellows, could make Montreal her best outing yet.
“The 7 team has had some strong runs at the previous road races this year,” said Patrick, referring to Fellows’ second-place finish at Road America and Jimmie Johnson’s runner-up result last Saturday at Watkins Glen. “We’d like nothing more than to continue that this weekend.
“But realistically, I think if we keep our nose clean and keep all four wheels on the race track, we can come out of this one with a decent finish.”
After Montreal, Patrick’s 2011 campaign will conclude with outings at Richmond (Sept. 9), Kansas (Oct. 8), Texas (Nov. 5), Phoenix (Nov. 12), and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 19).
Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.
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