J. R. Fitzpatrick will be making his third career start for Kevin Harvick
Inc. (KHI) and the No. 4 team at Nashville Superspeedway. In his
previous two attempts for KHI, Fitzpatrick finished 11th at Dover (Del.)
International Speedway in May and was involved in a crash at Michigan
International Speedway in June resulting in a 21st-place finish.
Fitzpatrick's career best Truck Series finish came earlier in 2009 at Daytona
(Fla.) International Speedway while competing for TRG Motorsports. He led 17
laps and finished fourth.
ROAD COURSE RINGER: Last week Fitzpatrick joined KHI team co-owner Kevin
Harvick at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) for a test session to prepare
for the Nationwide Series events at Watkins Glen International on August 8 and
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on August 30. Fitzpatrick learned quite a bit from the
boss who was quickest of the two at the session.
CANADIAN SUCCESS: The majority of Fitzpatrick's racing success has come
from the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (NCTS). Fitzpatrick a Canada native has a
total of 26 career NCTS starts accumulating three wins, 10 top-five and 14
top-10 finishes over three years of competition. Fitzpatrick's KHI teammate Cale
Gale will compete in a handful of NCTS races in 2009 for Farewell Racing.
TYLER, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT RACING ON A CONCRETE SURFACE?
"I am excited. I have actually raced on a concrete surface before and really
enjoyed it. I will study hard prior to leaving for Nashville and lean on the
experience of my team and teammate Ron Hornaday."
COMING FROM A SHORT-TRACK BACKGROUND, HOW DO YOU APPROACH THE 1.333-MILE
OF NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY? "To be honest, I really enjoy the
bigger tracks. I think the hardest thing is trying to get used to the trucks and
their reactions to changes. I'm used to racing cars, so it's a bit of a
transition. It's also hard because I'm not in the truck every week. I'm learning
to lean on my team to quickly adapt to the track and give the proper feedback."
SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN APART OF THE KHI FAMILY, WHO DO YOU LOOK TO FOR
ADVICE? "I always keep my ears open when it comes to taking
advice. Ron (Hornaday) and Kevin (Harvick) have been awesome in helping make me
fast every week. I just have to be smart and patient when I approach these races
because I do have limited experience."
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 4 KHI team will unload truck chassis No. 023 at
Nashville Superspeedway. Chassis 023 last competed at Texas Motor Speedway with
Ricky Carmichael behind the wheel. Carmichael drove the chassis to an 11th-place
finish.
