In February of 2009, the NASCAR world got a good look at J.R. Fitzpatrick as he paced the Camping World Truck Series event at Daytona for 16 laps, holding off the winningest NASCAR driver this year, Kyle Busch in the process.  Fitzpatrick would finish fourth that night, but shortly after lost his ride in the TRG Chevy.
Recently he received a second chance and has departed on a solid schedule south of the boarder for the remainder of the 2009 season in one of the prize Truck rides for Kevin Harvick.
At Michigan International Speedway on June 13th, Fitzpatrick had another solid outing, as he kicked off the event by qualifying eighth in his Auto-Owners Insurance Chevy.  The 21-year old fell into line in tenth early and was working on Brian Ickler for a number of laps J.R. drove it in real deep on the top and got alongside Ickler coming out of turn two with a few extra RPM’s from running around on the rim.  He cleared Ickler to move into ninth, and spoke about the lesson that he learned.  “I tried low earlier where everyone else was running, but my truck was so tight it wouldn’t go when I got down there.  Finally I got alongside the 15 and was able to keep up a head of steam.”
The race would be slowed by a couple of yellows, including one big wrecked that happened just behind Fitzpatrick.  J.R. was staring down the barrel of a top-five result, when he was caught on the bottom on lap 39.  With a truck that just wouldn’t turn in middle of turns one and two he lost a number of positions, and then started to go on the hunt again right up next to the wall.  He would pass Timothy Peters and Mike Skinner on the same lap in turns three and four around the top, and then would continue by moving by Rick Crawford before another yellow slowed his charge.  “We were in really good shape, and like I said, looking for a top-five.  We made some small adjustments on our stops, but we were just so good around the outside, and I was getting more comfortable up there every lap.”
Following hit second round of stops, Fitzpatrick was running 10th with 40 laps to go and four fresh tires when the green flew again, but his next surge to the front would be short lived.  He cut the wheel coming off of turn two to work underneath Dennis Setzer, and then pulled even with the veteran, before the truck started getting loose.  As the rear end slid towards the outside wall, Fitzpatrick tried to get the truck straightened up, but it caught and started turning to the right before swapping ends and hitting the outside fence.  J.R. would emerge unscathed, but his Chevrolet was wrecked.  While obviously disappointed, he spoke about his mistake, “When you get those trucks side by side, it takes the air off the spoiler, and just makes the back of the truck so light.  It was a real learning experience, and we ran well all weekend.  That track is so awesome.  It’s wide and fast, and if you’re truck isn’t handling, you can move around and find a line where it does handle.”
Fitzpatrick spoke about the lessons he learned in Daytona, and how he’s going to use them going forward, “I learned so much about racing on Super Speedways at Daytona, and all of the stuff I learned at Michigan I will be able to take with me to Talladega in the fall.”
For Fitzpatrick the deal with Harvick includes a total of ten starts in the Camping World Truck Series, and two starts in the Nationwide Series at both Watkins Glen and Montreal.  His next Truck start will be at Bristol Motor Speedway in August, a place where Kevin Harvick Inc. trucks have had success there before.  He will also be doing the final three road course events on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series trail, in Edmonton, Montreal, and Trois-Riviers.  His first start of the year at Mosport was a podium run, as he missed the top step by two positions.  He was forced to start at the back of the field after Jim Lapcevich qualified the car in his absence while at Michigan.
After making the 7 hour trek from MIS to Mosport, he climbed in and passed 21 cars on the way to third.
It’s going to be a busy summer and fall for J.R. as he makes a number of starts in three different vehicles, but as he’s shown already in his brief Truck career, he’s a quick study, and in KHI equipment South of the Boarder – he may just beat Rowdy Busch yet.