NASCAR : Ranger and Carpentier, our champions!

Pole position and a second place for Carpentier

As for Patrick Carpentier, the weekend proved to be a gruelling and an exciting one. He first raced in the Grand-Am Rolex event on Friday and took part in the Busch race on Saturday afternoon, this time at the wheel of his Dodge 22 Zellers-Komatsu from Team Fitz Motorsports.

Start of the Grand Am Rolex race

Carpentier and teammate Kris Szekeres worked together on Friday but an accident involving Scott Pruett forced the pair back in tenth place.

Kevin Harvicks, winner of the NAPA 200

On Saturday, however, Patrick achieved quite a feat by winning pole position. His Dodge Zellers-Komatsu survived the carnage created by Robby Gordon near the end of the race and crossed the checkered flag only behind Kevin Harvicks' Chevrolet. Max Papis, also racing for Chevrolet, finished third.

As the official sponsor of the Montreal Busch race, Dodge could not have asked for a better result. Carpentier's car held most of the spotlight during the entire 75-lap race, which was broadcasted on RDS.

Just like Ranger, Carpentier undoubtedly opened a few eyes with his brilliant performance. A lot of team managers in the Busch Series ought to give him a chance in the future.

Actually, no less than one week later, Carpentier was at Watkin Glens to participate in the Zippo 200 at The Glen. Despite finishing in 19^th place, our beloved Quebecer still managed to beat several veteran drivers such as Ron Fellows and Carl Edwards.

Stay tuned for the sequel...