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Patrick Carpentier has three top-five finishes in his Nationwide career; two have come at Montreal.Racing north of the border offers plenty of surprises
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The Nationwide Series goes to Montreal for the third time and if the first two races are any indication, just about anything is possible. A quick review:
3Burnouts by drivers in the first race: Kevin Harvick, who won; Robby Gordon, who thought he had won; and Patrick Carpentier, thrilled with a runner-up finish in his native Canada.
9Combined laps led by the first two race winners: Kevin Harvick led for two laps in 2007, fewest of any driver who led in the race; Ron Fellows led for seven laps in '08, the third and final lead change.
29Laps run under green in wet conditions in last year's race. The race was red-flagged on Lap 8, rain tires put on the cars and sent back out to the track. On Lap 13, the race went green. There were only three subequent cautions, the final one calling the race after 48 of the scheduled 74 laps.
The road aces have been especially good at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a 2.71-mile, 15-turn racing obstacle.
2Drivers who have posted top-five finishes in both races: Ron Fellows and Patrick Carpentier. Fellows finished fourth in 2007 before winning last year; Carpentier has finished second in both races.
2Races in which Marcos Ambrose led the most laps. Ambrose led 37 laps in 2007 but finished seventh after his late-race mishap with Robby Gordon led to the controversial ending; Ambrose led 27 laps in '08 but finished third after a pit-road speeding penalty. He joins Ron Fellows and Patrick Carpentier as the only drivers with top-10s in both races.
8Drivers who have led at Montreal; seven have extensive road experience: Marcos Ambrose (64), Scott Pruett (22), Patrick Carpentier (14), Ron Fellows (11), Niclas Jonsson (5), Boris Said (4) and Jacques Villeneuve (1).
Coverage of the NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Entry List | Tickets
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3Place of finish for Max Papis in 2007, when he drove the No. 1 Chevrolet of James Finch (the same car he is entered in this week). Papis finished 20th in last year's race. He has started second in both races.
6Place of finish for Carl Edwards in last year's race. He finished 30th in 2007, 10 laps off the lead.
7Drivers entered in this week's race with just one top-10 finish at Montreal: Brad Coleman, Carl Edwards, Jason Leffler, Stephen Leicht, Max Papis, Boris Said and Steve Wallace. Leicht is the only one of the group to have made just one start.
7Drivers not entered in this week's race with a top-10 at Montreal: Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Ron Hornaday, Kyle Krisiloff and David Reutimann.
9Native Canadians on the Entry List: Patrick Carpentier, Jean-Francois Dumoulin, Ron Fellows, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Darryl Harr, D.J. Kennington, Andrew Ranger, Alex Tagliani and Jacques Villeneuve. Dumoulin and Tagliani are debuting in a Nationwide car.
16Place of finish for Jacques Villeneuve in last year's race. Villeneuve started fifth on the track named after his father and was running sixth before a crash that preceded NASCAR calling the race.
THE BUSCH WATCH
Kyle Busch led one lap last week at Bristol, extending his series record of consecutive races with a lead to 21. He has led in every race but one this season.
0Starts at Montreal for Kyle Busch.
THE WOW FACTOR
50.149Average speed, in mph, during last year's race in the rain. The winning pole speed, set by Scott Pruett, was 95.082 mph.
THE SUPER LOOPER
52.0Percentage of Laps Led by Marcos Ambrose. The next closest driver is Patrick Carpentier at 11.4.
Driver Rating
| Pos. | Driver | Starts | Rating | Pct. Laps / Top 15 | Avg. Run Pos. | Avg. Fin. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Marcos Ambrose | 2 | 138.5 | 100.0 | 2.3 | 5.0 |
| 2. | Ron Fellows | 2 | 121.7 | 97.6 | 5.5 | 2.5 |
| 3. | Patrick Carpentier | 2 | 120.9 | 95.9 | 5.2 | 2.0 |
| 4. | Jacques Villeneuve | 1 | 108.1 | 97.9 | 4.4 | 16.0 |
| 5. | Max Papis | 2 | 99.5 | 78.9 | 10.1 | 11.5 |
| 6. | Boris Said | 2 | 97.7 | 82.9 | 9.8 | 16.5 |
| 7. | Stephen Leicht | 1 | 92.4 | 52.0 | 13.5 | 5.0 |
| 8. | Carl Edwards | 2 | 89.3 | 55.3 | 17.3 | 18.0 |
| 9. | Brad Keselowski | 1 | 79.6 | 35.4 | 19.9 | 12.0 |
| 10. | Andrew Ranger | 1 | 79.0 | 56.3 | 15.6 | 28.0 |
• Loop Data Statistics: Season-to-Date Box Score | * Entered in this race only
BLAST FROM THE PAST
65Age of legendary Hollywood stuntman Stan Barrett when he made his first Nationwide start last year at Montreal. He finished 39th with a DNF (brakes) after seven laps. Barrett's son, Stanton, finished 25th, marking the first time since 2002 that a father and son competed in the same Nationwide race. Stan Barrett, who hadn't made a NASCAR start since the last of his 19 career Cup races in 1990, finished 33rd a week later at Watkins Glen.
Note: Stan Barrett was the first person to exceed the speed of sound in a land vehicle (739.666 mph in 1979).
-- Sporting News Wire Service
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Nationwide Series
Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Kyle Busch | 3,900 | -- |
| 2. | -- | Carl Edwards | 3,652 | -248 |
| 3. | -- | Brad Keselowski | 3,597 | -303 |
| 4. | -- | Jason Leffler | 3,353 | -547 |
| 5. | -- | Justin Allgaier | 2,843 | -1,057 |
| 6. | -- | Steve Wallace | 2,785 | -1,115 |
| 7. | -- | Jason Keller | 2,727 | -1,173 |
| 8. | -- | Mike Bliss | 2,713 | -1,187 |
| 9. | -- | Brendan Gaughan | 2,649 | -1,251 |
| 10. | -- | Michael McDowell | 2,608 | -1,292 |
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