BRISTOL BOUND: J.R. Fitzpatrick will return to the helm of the No. 4 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Equipment Express truck this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. This will mark Fitzpatrick fourth Truck Series start of 2009 for KHI and his first at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Fitzpatrick is scheduled to run four more Truck Series events for KHI the remainder of the 2009 season including: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
SHORT-TRACK BEGINNINGS: Fitzpatrick is no stranger to tough, short-track racing. In his three years competing in the Canadian Tire Series he has recorded three victories. His first win came at Sun Valley Speedway, a half-mile track located in Vernon, British Columbia, where he led 41 of the 300 laps. Fitzpatrick's other two wins came on road courses.
BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER J.R. FITZPATRICK:
AFTER RACING TRACKS MAINLY ONE MILE OR LARGER DOES IT EXCITE YOU TO GET BACK TO A SMALL HALF MILE?
"It really does. I enjoy the type of racing that you see at Bristol. I have quite a bit of experience with these types of tracks. In Canada you normally don't see anything bigger than a mile."
BRISTOL IS KNOWN FOR BEING TAXING PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY. DO YOU HAVE ANY TYPE OF WORKOUT ROUTINE?
"I don't have a strict workout routine like some of the other drivers. The biggest thing at these races is to stay hydrated. It gets pretty hot in these trucks so you have to make sure you drink plenty of water.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 4 KHI team will unload truck chassis No. 032 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Chassis 032 last competed at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis with Ricky Carmichael behind the wheel. Carmichael was on his way to a career-best finish running in the top five with 11 laps remaining before he was taken out by another driver and finished the event in 19th position.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Two weeks ago at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, Fitzpatrick drove the No. 4 Equipment Express truck to a 23rd-place finish. Fitzpatrick encountered radio problems at the beginning of the race. With little communication, the team tried to work on the truck under a caution period. At lap 43, Fitzpatrick's window net disengaged, he tried to hold it up and get a quick caution, but the truck became extremely loose. Fitzpatrick hit the turn four wall and went 74 laps down to the leaders. The team made repairs and he was able to finish the event, taking the checkers in 23rd position.
