Ron Fellows finished eighth at Sonoma for PPI last year. Credit: Autostock

Fellows to drive PPI's No. 32 Chevrolet at Infineon

Regular driver Kvapil will step into No. 78 for road-course race

HICKORY, N.C. -- PPI Motorsports has announced that road-course expert Ron Fellows will once again drive the No. 32 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway on June 25.

Inside the Numbers Ron Fellows at Infineon Year Start Finish Status 2001 13 38 crash 2002 19 25 running 2003 3 7 running 2005 43 8 running RON FELLOWS •   Career stats

The team's full-time driver, Travis Kvapil, will drive the No. 78 Chevrolet in place of Kenny Wallace, who has a Busch Series commitment at The Milwaukee Mile on the same weekend.

Both Fellows and Kvapil will race identically prepared chassis built by Pratt and Miller Engineering and Fabrication -- the same company responsible for the championship winning Corvette Racing program in the American Le Mans Series, for which Fellows drives.

Fellows' experience last year in PPI's car at Infineon and Watkins Glen led him to suggest the new chassis design.

"Back in August of 2005, I agreed to sign Ron on to drive the [No. 32] Tide/Downy Chevrolet again in 2006," said Calvin Wells III, owner of PPI Motorsports. "He really stepped up our road-course program and was a privilege to work with, so it was not a hard decision to make -- especially since my full-time driver obligations were not solidified for the upcoming season.

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"Now with Travis on board, it was important for me to not only honor my commitment to Ron but also provide a solid opportunity for Travis to race as well [so] I want to thank Barney Visser, the owner of [the No. 78] Furniture Row Racing, and his crew chief, Joe Garone, for helping to make this happen."

"I am really looking forward to the weekend at Infineon," said Garone, who was instrumental in helping build Wells' Cup operation back in 1999. "It's a shame Kenny won't be with us because he would have really enjoyed running the Pratt and Miller chassis -- especially with the background PPI has in road racing.

"It would have been a great opportunity for him but since he can't be there, I'm glad we can put Travis in the car. I've been watching the progress being made with the Tide Racing program and I'm impressed with what's happening between Travis and his crew chief, Gary Putnam.

Travis Kvapil finished 21st in his only Cup start at Sonoma. Credit: Autostock

"They work well together and I think that same thing can happen between me and Travis. If all goes well in qualifying, I believe we have a legitimate shot to finish very well."

Not long after the Watkins Glen race, Fellows approached Wells about having a new chassis designed by Pratt and Miller. The owner agreed and for the last eight months, Fellows, PPI and Chevrolet Racing have been working together to develop the new road-course design.

To be fair, the manufacturer has made the technology available to teams in the Chevrolet Racing stable.

Last season Fellows was instrumental in earning PPI Motorsports its best result, an eighth-place finish at Infineon Raceway and was en route to another top-10 at Watkins Glen before a gear malfunction resulted in 25th place. The finishes were solid but the driver believes this new chassis is one of the best he's ever had.

"I really feel this chassis has the potential to be a contender for the win, quite frankly," said Fellows, 46, who has wielded Chevrolets in NASCAR's three national series -- with five NASCAR victories at Watkins Glen in the Busch and Craftsman Truck Series.

"A few years back I did something similarly with Dale Earnhardt Inc., and we got pretty close a couple of times of winning a race," Fellows said. "My goal is pretty simple. I want to win one of these Cup races."

So far, Kvapil and Fellows have participated in three days of testing at Virginia International Raceway in May, with another test scheduled for Kvapil, since Fellows is in France participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"Testing has gone very well," Fellows said. "We have come away very optimistic and are looking forward to taking this new design to the next level. The good news is when we were making small changes, you could feel it in the car and that's a huge plus for me.

"The car feels very nimble [and] it turns very well so our job now is to find out what the car really likes. We are just scratching the surface of it. I am really excited."

"This is a great opportunity for me and I look forward to working with Furniture Row Racing," Kvapil said. "We've been testing and I have been watching and listening to Ron quite a bit. It's interesting to hear what he has to say about the car, how he interacts with the engineers and what he says he needs to go even faster.

"Now that I've climbed into my car, I really like the feel of it and am eager to go back and get some more seat time."