FITZPATRICK: New Hampshire Motor Speedway Preview
09-14-2009 1:02 pm

BACK TO BASICS: J.R. Fitzpatrck returns to the No. 4 Equipment Express Chevrolet this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS). This will mark his first trip to NHMS. Fitzpatrick is coming off a recent win in the NASCAR Candadian Tire Series on August 30th at the road course Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. The last time Fitzpatrick was behind the wheel of the No. 4 was in mid-August at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway when he drove from a 27th-place starting position, to become top-finishing rookie taking the checkers in the 11th position. 

"We just want to finish races," said Fitzpatrick. "I learned a lot of patience coming out of Bristol. I gained some confidence there and while in Montreal. I'm ready to get back behind the wheel of the No. 4 truck and continue to improve with the races we have left this season." 

IN THE LOOP: Season-to-date, Fitzpatrick ranks third among active drivers in NASCAR's Loop Data Statistical Category of "closers." Fitzpatrick has an average of 2.3 positions gained in the final 10 percent of each race. That is a total of 18 spots gained this season in the last few laps of each event. 

BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER J.R. Fitzpatrick:

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON YOUR PROGRESS THUS FAR IN 2009?

"I think the No. 4 team and I have really been working on not being as conservative as we have been in the past for this weekend. I think so far for the amount of races we have run together things have been going really well. Coming out of Bristol as the top finishing rookie was really a boost and it kind of stinks that it has taken me this long to get back into the truck after such a great run. But I did get the opportunity to compete in the Nationwide Series race in Montreal for KHI. We had a great time and an awesome run going until we got caught up into a wreck late in the race. All in all, things are going really well, and it is all about gelling and learning right now. Our main goal is to log laps and finish races." 

WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE COMING INTO LOUDON?

"We have run really well as some of the larger tracks this season, but at heart I'm a short-track guy. I really love the tight corners. I've heard that Loudon is really flat and you have to get your truck working through the corners to be fast. Kevin (Harvick) and Ron (Hornaday) have a lot of success and experience there so I'm really looking forward to going and competing." 

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 4 Equipment Express team will unload truck chassis No.014 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Chassis No. 14 last competed at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway with Ryan Newman behind the wheel. Newman won the pole and drove to a fourth-place finish. Chassis No. 14 is the oldest in the KHI stable and has been nicknamed "old faithful." This is the same truck Newman drove to his first Truck Series victory in 2008 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Last week at Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway Ricky Carmichael piloted the No.4 KHI entry finishing 22nd. Carmichael was running in the 11th position when the No. 25 and No. 29 trucks made a three-wide move to the inside of the No. 4 truck going into turn two and down the backstretch. Carmichael was a victim, as the three trucks ran out of room, slamming the No. 4 into the outside wall. The team brought the truck to pit road to assess the damage and quickly concluded that the truck had suffered a hard hit and they would be unable to get the No. 4 back on track.