TRANSAM: Trois-Rivieres report

• "Greg Rubenstein" <102354.2056@CompuServe.COM>
• MNI - Motorsport News International
• Mon Aug 5 11:45:38 EDT 1996

CANADIAN FELLOWS TAKES TROIS-RIVIERES TRANS-AM WIN


TROIS-RIVIERES, Quebec, Can. -- (August 8) Ron Fellows, of Toronto,
Ontario, Can., passed Scott Sharp, of Danville, Calif., on lap 16 and
was never seriously challenged, taking a 6.736-second margin of victory
over Dorsey Schroeder, of Osage Beach, Mo., on the 1.506-mile, 10-turn
Trois-Rivieres street circuit.

Defending Trois-Rivieres race-winner Fellows, in the #3 Sunoco/AER
Manufacturing Chevrolet Camaro, started the 55-lap, 82.83-mile race
third and moved past second-place starter Paul Gentilozzi on the race's
opening lap. Fellows then hotly pursued pole-sitter Sharp, in the #33
Rain-X Oil Energizer Camaro, for 15 laps before overtaking Sharp in
traffic.

"Traffic definitely played a part in today's race," said Fellows.
"Traffic was very hard to get through and the circuit was very slippery.
To win here two times in a row feels great. I really love coming to
Trois-Rivieres--the fans are extremely passionate about car racing and
so am I."

Once in the lead, Fellows easily pulled away from Sharp, who became
entangled in a battle for second with Dorsey Schroeder, in the #12
Raybestos Ford Mustang Cobra. Sharp began the contest on soft-compound
Goodyear tires, and as the race progressed his pace slowed as his tires
faded in the hot Trois-Rivieres weather, giving Schroeder an advantage
he took on lap 46, moving into his second-place finishing position while
Sharp finished third.

The early going of the race saw a spectacular seven-car train locked in
a battle for the lead, with Sharp, Fellows, Schroeder, Paul Gentilozzi,
Brian Simo, Greg Pickett, Jamie Galles and Tom Kendall running
nose-to-tail. On lap eight, Galles, in the #2 ICI/Glidden Camaro, spun
after getting nudged by Kendall, dropping Galles to 12th and Kendall to
18th one lap later after Kendall had to pit for a stop-and-go penalty as
a result of the contact.

With Fellows in the lead after making it by Sharp, the battle became a
chase for points, with Paul Gentilozzi, in the #5 HighwayMaster Camaro,
making a late-race re-pass on Brian Simo, in the #22 Valvoline Mustang
Cobra, for fourth, while Simo finishing fifth.

In taking the win, Fellows set a Trois-Rivieres record average speed of
82.65 miles-per-hour and earned the DynoMax Turn On The Power Award for his
effort.

John Fergus, in the #67 Carlin Combustion Mustang Cobra, finished
seventh in his Trans-Am debut, earning the Raybestos Rising Star of the
Race Award in the process. Kendall, in the #11 All Sport Body Quencher
Ford Mustang Cobra, finished eighth after starting 19th, improving 11
positions to win the OPTIMA Batteries Quick Charger Award.

Fellow's win, Chevrolet's fourth victory of the 1996 season, propels the
auto maker into a tie with Ford in the Manufacturers' Championship point
standings, 78 to 78.

In the Drivers' Championship point standings, Schroeder leads with
266 points, followed by Kendall, 257; Jamie Galles, 215; Sharp, 200;
Fellows, 199; Brian Simo, 186; Greg Pickett, 185; Paul Gentilozzi, 180;
Bill Saunders, 166; and Jon Gooding, 147.

Next up for the Trans-Am is Round 11 of 14, the Serengeti Eyewear
Trans-Am Classic, part of the NASCAR Bud at the Glen, Watkins Glen,
N.Y., August 8-11.