Fitzpatrick Ready for First Short Track Camping World Truck Race at Martinsville
Mooresville, North Carolina, (March 24, 2009) - John Ryan (J.R.) Fitzpatrick is ready for the first short track race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway, the Kroger 250 to run this Saturday.
The .526-mile Martinsville Speedway is affectionately known as the "paperclip." The track is the shortest on the NASCAR schedule and is sure to see a lot of action from the truckers.
Twenty-year old Fitzpatrick is leading the Raybestos Rookie of the Year points and is currently 11th in the series standings. The Cambridge, Ontario, Canada resident is visiting Martinsville for the second time. He raced there last year finishing 21st after qualifying 19th.
"I have been at the shop working with the guys on the short track truck," Fitzpatrick said. "It looks really nice. Martinsville will be the first track that we visit that I have raced at before. I am going to be more aggressive this year. Last year I ran three races and I had to make it through all three to get my truck license. Now I am getting more miles in the trucks and more comfortable. TRG Motorsports has just awesome equipment. We are going for the rookie of the year title. If I have to push and shove and little bit to move up we will. If I get pushed I am going to give it right back. Last year that is the way the race went and that is how you have to get to the front."
Fitzpatrick spent last weekend at Bristol watching and learning from the TRG Motorsports Sprint Cup team.
"I was able to go up with the spotters and watch the Sprint Cup and Nationwide guys at Bristol. I watched practice with my spotter, David Keith, and he showed me some things and I was able to pick up on a few pointers for this weekend. Every time I have a weekend off I hope to go to a track that we will visit. It will definitely help me a lot this weekend, spending last weekend at Bristol."
TRG Motorsports team principal Kevin Buckler is looking forward to J.R.'s run this weekend.
"The team and J.R. have been to Martinsville together last year," Buckler said. "He knows what to expect. We had him at the shop all last week helping the guys with the truck and building those relationships. We also had him at Bristol with Butch (Hylton, crew chief) learning all that he could from the Cup and Nationwide guys. He is a sponge right now and a really talented racer. This is my favorite combo.
He is putting in the effort off of the track to be successful and that will translate this weekend to his performance on the track."
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Kroger 250 at Martinsville will run on Saturday, March 28 and will be televised live on FOX starting at 2:00 p.m. ET.
TRG Motorsports is based in Mooresville, North Carolina. Currently the team fields a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry as well as a Camping World Truck Series effort and an ARCA RE/MAX Series team. The Racer's Group was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of sports car racing. TRG's Porsche sports car program is run out of the company's headquarters in Petaluma, California. The team has the most wins of any team in the Grand-Am Rolex Series with 26, including the 2005 and 2006 Rolex Series GT championship trophy to go along with wins in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona (three) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
For more information contact please contact Kyle Chura at (248) 821-0468 or chura@aol.com. Detailed team info can be viewed at
www.trgmotorsports.com or
www.theracersgroup.com.
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