Road America: JR Motorsports preview

Ron Fellows No. 88 AER Manufacturing Chevrolet

"It's great to be back with JR Motorsports this year. We've had some fun races in the past and we'll continue that this weekend. I'm very optimistic on our chances for a solid run at Road America. With the powerful Hendrick horsepower we have under the hood and solid preparation the No. 88 AER team offers, we have as good a shot as anyone in the field to go to victory lane.

"Road America is a great facility to be hosting a Nationwide Series race. It's one of the coolest natural terrain courses around. I've run there a few times in the past and it's always an adventure. You can bet you'll see some crazy things happening with guys trying to beat one another into the corners to make passes. It will throw a lot of challenges your way, especially with the elevation changes. You've just got to be prepared with your footwork inside the cockpit and match your RPM's when you downshift into the corners. Turn 14 is an important corner. If you don't get through that corner exactly right and carry the proper amount of speed up the frontstretch, you can lose a lot getting up to the top of that hill."

J.R. Fitzpatrick No. 7 Schick Hydro Chevrolet

"This is a great opportunity for me, and I'm excited to drive the No. 7 Schick Hydro Chevrolet. As a driver, surrounding yourself with good people and good equipment is all you can really ask for, and we've got that with JRM. Schick Hydro has been a wonderful sponsor of mine for some time, and I'm thankful to them for making this possible.

"It's going to be an interesting weekend to say the least. Racing at Road America is going to put a lot of drivers on the same page as far as experience. I'm one of the many guys in the field that hasn't raced there yet. Thankfully NASCAR has given us substantial practice time on Thursday to get accustomed to the track. I've spent the week on a simulator trying to get as familiar as I can with this place. It may be a four-mile track, but it's a fast four miles. We're going to be carrying a ton of speed down into turn one and I'm sure you'll see a lot of guys trying to get make passes there. I just want to keep the fenders on our Schick Hydro Chevrolet clean and hopefully we'll be up front near the end when it counts."

-source: jrm