Almost 12 months after he contested his last race, Canadian driver Patrick Carpentier was back behind the wheel of a stock car this weekend, competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race held on Watkins Glen’s legendary road course.
Carpentier was home in Las Vegas when he received an unexpected phone call from team owner Bill Jenkins.
Jenkins’ road course specialist Boris Said had just been hired by the Red Bull Racing team to run the Watkins Glen race. Jenkins decided to call Carpentier, a veteran of the ChampCar, IndyCar and Sprint Cup series, to see if he was interested to race for him.
However, the No. 26 Ford of Jenkins was not qualified on owners’ points, meaning that Carpentier had to qualify the car on speed.
“The Friday practice sessions went well. The car was quick despite being shod on used tires. I was a bit surprised to be able to follow some of the fast guys out there,” Carpentier said on Friday.
“I’m going to have to qualify the car on speed,” he added. “I find this a little stressful because we only have one timed lap to do it. So, making the smallest mistake is out of the question. The key factor is to do a perfect out-lap to bring the tires to their correct working temperature,” explained Carpentier who set the 13th fastest time in the morning session and the 28th time in the afternoon.
Everything went well for Carpentier on Saturday. He drove brilliantly without making a single mistake, fast enough to plant the Ford in 17th place on the grid.
“I’m in love with NASCAR. I especially enjoy the ovals. This is great racing! I am happy to be here this weekend and be back behind the wheel of a race car. I would love to do three or four races each year. I am really happy that Bill Jenkins called me. I am also delighted that Air Guard decided to sponsor me,” Carpentier explained.
Carpentier endured at tough time during the 90 laps of the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen, navigating between the 20th and the 30th place.
“We had a slow leak right from the start of the race. I thought it was a problem with the set-up of the car. It was really loose,” Carpentier said.
“During the first pit stop, the crew made a series of changes. When I got back on the track, the car was a handful to drive. It was way too tight. We realised we’d just made a mistake. To get rid of some of the understeer, I had to go into the corners on the brakes. And that cooked them. During the full-course yellows, I was able to cool them down. So at restarts, I could pass some people under braking but after two laps, I was stuck again with no brakes,” Carpentier explained.
“I am really happy. I ran almost the entire race on used tires. I made it to the finish and the car is in one piece. There are a few marks on it but that’s from the restarts… I realised it is not possible to go though Corner 1 four wide!”
Carpentier will race against in three weeks against the best drivers of the Nationwide series, including fellow countrymen Jacques Villeneuve, Ron Fellows and Andrew Ranger at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal.
Carpentier was home in Las Vegas when he received an unexpected phone call from team owner Bill Jenkins.
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| photo: Philippe Champoux/Auto123.com |
Jenkins’ road course specialist Boris Said had just been hired by the Red Bull Racing team to run the Watkins Glen race. Jenkins decided to call Carpentier, a veteran of the ChampCar, IndyCar and Sprint Cup series, to see if he was interested to race for him.
However, the No. 26 Ford of Jenkins was not qualified on owners’ points, meaning that Carpentier had to qualify the car on speed.
“The Friday practice sessions went well. The car was quick despite being shod on used tires. I was a bit surprised to be able to follow some of the fast guys out there,” Carpentier said on Friday.
“I’m going to have to qualify the car on speed,” he added. “I find this a little stressful because we only have one timed lap to do it. So, making the smallest mistake is out of the question. The key factor is to do a perfect out-lap to bring the tires to their correct working temperature,” explained Carpentier who set the 13th fastest time in the morning session and the 28th time in the afternoon.
Everything went well for Carpentier on Saturday. He drove brilliantly without making a single mistake, fast enough to plant the Ford in 17th place on the grid.
“I’m in love with NASCAR. I especially enjoy the ovals. This is great racing! I am happy to be here this weekend and be back behind the wheel of a race car. I would love to do three or four races each year. I am really happy that Bill Jenkins called me. I am also delighted that Air Guard decided to sponsor me,” Carpentier explained.
Carpentier endured at tough time during the 90 laps of the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen, navigating between the 20th and the 30th place.
“We had a slow leak right from the start of the race. I thought it was a problem with the set-up of the car. It was really loose,” Carpentier said.
“During the first pit stop, the crew made a series of changes. When I got back on the track, the car was a handful to drive. It was way too tight. We realised we’d just made a mistake. To get rid of some of the understeer, I had to go into the corners on the brakes. And that cooked them. During the full-course yellows, I was able to cool them down. So at restarts, I could pass some people under braking but after two laps, I was stuck again with no brakes,” Carpentier explained.
“I am really happy. I ran almost the entire race on used tires. I made it to the finish and the car is in one piece. There are a few marks on it but that’s from the restarts… I realised it is not possible to go though Corner 1 four wide!”
Carpentier will race against in three weeks against the best drivers of the Nationwide series, including fellow countrymen Jacques Villeneuve, Ron Fellows and Andrew Ranger at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal.