BRISTOL, Tenn. (August 21, 2009) — J. R. Fitzpatrick and the No. 4 Equipment Express Kevin Harvick Inc.(KHI) team started Wednesday nights race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway from the 27th position, and went on to earn a solid 11th-place.
“This is exactly what I came here to do,” said Fitzpatrick following his first Truck Series start at Bristol. “I finally brought the truck home in one piece. I knew if I just finished all the laps we could get a decent finish and that’s what we did. I feel like we had a top-five truck but we are happy with our night.”
Having never competed at Bristol, Fitzpatrick had clear instructions from his team – be patient and take what the track will give you.
The rookie began the race in the 27th position and by the time the first caution flag waved on lap 34, he had moved inside the top 20. Most of the teams planned on making the 200-lap race in one pit stop and this caution proved to be very timely for the No. 4 team. Opting to take fuel only, Fitzpatrick was able to gain valuable track position on pit road and restarted the race in the seventh position on lap 41.
Fitzpatrick ran solidly in the top 10 for much of the remainder of the event, often running lap times comparable to the leaders. Carefully choosing his line around the tricky, high-banked track and methodically racing the other competitors as well as the .533-mile oval, the rookie was clearly mindful of his team’s pre-race direction.
With 50 laps remaining in the race, and 15 trucks on the lead lap, half the field opted to come down pit road for a splash of gas and four fresh tires. The No. 4 team stayed on the track not willing to give up the eighth position. However when the green waved, Fitzpatrick lost several positions and found himself 11th when the last caution flew with less than 30 laps left in the event. Making a split-second decision, crew chief John Monsam called the No. 4 to pit road for four fresh tires.
Restarting the race in the 13th position on lap 175, Fitzpatrick was able to gain two positions before crossing the finish line 11th.
“I feel like I cost us three or four spots there,” said crew chief John Monsam after the race. “It’s always a gamble and we got jumbled up in traffic. It (the truck) got better the longer we ran, but I felt like tires might have given us an advantage there at the end. I’m still kicking myself, but we brought it (the truck) home in one piece.”
Kyle Busch went on to defend his 2008 Truck Series win at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile,” followed by Matt Crafton, KHI teammate Ron Hornaday, Ryan Newman and Brian Scott.
STATS RECAP
Race Info
August 19, 2009
Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
Race: 15 of 25
Driver: J.R. Fitzpatrick
Started: 27th
Finished: 11th
Race length: 200 Laps/ 106.6 Miles
Track layout: 0.533-mile
Shape: Oval
Number of Race Cautions: 5 for 32 Laps
Next on the Schedule for the No. 4:
Date: August 28, 2009
Track: Chicagoland Speedway
Event Name: Chicagoland 225
Driver: Ricky Carmichael
Sponsor: Monster Energy
Broadcast Time: SPEED 8:30 p.m., EST MRN 8:30 p.m., EST