You'll have to forgive J.R. Fitzpatrick for wishing there were more Camping World Truck Series races early in the season. One, he's off to a great start, currently 11th in the points after three races. Two, it keeps him from going back to Canada and having to shovel snow.

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A lot of people don't know that you can't just roll a car into the garage and be competitive.

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J.R. FITZPATRICK

Fitzpatrick, who won't turn 21 for another two months, is attempting to run a full season for Kevin Buckler's TRG Motorsports team. He finished a surprising fourth in the season-opener at Daytona, then posted consecutive 22nd-place efforts at California and Atlanta.

"I had been running in NASCAR Canada back at home and am always looking for a new challenge," Fitzpatrick said. "Obviously, my goal is to become a full-time race car driver. As of now in Canada, that's not possible. So I'm looking to step up. The competition's great at home but the competition's even more fierce here."

Fitzpatrick, a three-time winner in the Canadian Tire Series, started his racing career at an early age.

"I started when I was 6," Fitzpatrick said. "My dad sponsored a car and there was a class being developed called the Late Model Junior division. I started running that. Basically I started in go-karts and worked all the way up to Late Models, Super Late Models and NASCAR Canada, and then to here."

Fitzpatrick made his Nationwide Series debut in 2007, but with little success. He finished 33rd at Mexico City and failed to finish a lap at Montreal because of electrical issues, winding up 43rd.

"We tried to do a couple of races but had some really bad luck," Fitzpatrick said. "A lot of people don't know that you can't just roll a car into the garage and be competitive. We have a good setup at our place. We have eight cars for NASCAR Canada and everything like that, but these guys are serious about what they do and they find out new things every day. You might see me in some Nationwide stuff this year but nothing's been announced so far." (Continued)