MONTREAL -- After racing to second place from pole position in his NASCAR debut, Canadian Patrick Carpentier may have driven his way to a full-time Busch Series ride in 2008.
Minutes after the end of NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on Saturday, team owner Armando Fitz started making calls to get the native of La Salle, Que., back in the No. 22 Dodge for this weekend's Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen in Upper New York State.
"We already have a driver committed for Watkins Glen, but if I can put something together for a second car, I'll put the other driver in that and keep Patrick in the No. 22," Fitz said. "I just have to see if I can make it work.
"Patrick did an incredible job and I'm just really happy for him. From the first day he got in the car, he impressed me and he really showed he can race with these guys."
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The 35-year-old driver gave the Fitz team its first Busch pole position since it began in 2001 and its second top-five finish this season. He drove a Busch car for the first time last Monday.
Carpentier raced in Champ Car for eight seasons, beginning in 1997, before moving to the IRL in 2005. He took a year off in 2006 and then joined the Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series this year with SAMAX Motorsport.
Although Carpentier's chances of racing this weekend will depend on sponsorship, he will definitely be back in the Fitz car when the Busch Series heads to an oval this year, probably at the Phoenix International Raceway in early November.
While many things must still be worked out, Fitz would like to see Carpentier driving for him next year, provided he runs well on an oval. The Busch Series has only three road courses on its 35-race schedule.
Carpentier has experience on the Phoenix flat track in both Champ Car and the IRL, which would help give him a leg up in his NASCAR oval debut.
"I'd like to do the Glen, but I really want to get a shot on an oval," he said. "I don't want to be labelled as a road-course racer, but I will be on their territory there, so it won't be as easy as it was in Montreal," he said.
"I've spent all my life on ovals - I come from road courses, but my first pole, my first victory, and all my track records came on ovals. It started with short-track speed skating when I was young and that's really what I love to do."
