Patrick Laperle to compete on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (40)

NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT


For Immediate Release


A first on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for THE stock-car specialist in Quebec



WITH BACKING FROM THE DODGE DEALERS OF QUEBEC, 
FANS OF PATRICK LAPERLE WILL BE ABLE TO CHEER HIM 
ON AT THE NAPA AUTO PARTS 200 PRESENTED BY DODGE



Montréal, August 13, 2009 - Stock-Car Montréal, 
the organizing body of the NAPA Auto Parts 200 
presented by Dodge, is pleased to announce that 
it has concluded an agreement with the Quebec 
Dodge Dealer Association whereby stock-car 
specialist Patrick Laperle will make his 
first-ever start on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on 
August 30. A short track crowd favourite, Laperle 
is listed on the American Website speed51.com as 
the fifth best short track driver in North 
America. The Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu driver will 
pilot the No. 91 Dodge Avenger, owned by Derek 
Lynch of Ontario, in Sunday morning's NASCAR 
Canadian Tire Series event.



"With the support of our friends at the Quebec 
Dodge Dealers Association, we are now able to 
fulfill a wish that has been brought up many 
times by a great number of Quebec stock-car fans. 
Evidently, Patrick has a lot of admirers, and we 
quickly realized that it would be proper to give 
him the opportunity to showcase his racing skills 
in the biggest race event of the summer," 
explained François Dumontier, promoter of the 
NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge.



The 33-year old Laperle is undeniably one of the 
best active stock-car drivers from the province 
of Quebec on a short track. In 1999, he started 
to establish quite a reputation for himself in 
Quebec and the north eastern part of the United 
States with his first win in an American Canadian 
Tour (ACT) race in Plattsburgh, New York. In 
2002, he was runner-up in the ACT final 
standings, taking third two years later. He then 
won the Quebec-based ACT-Castrol crown in 2007. 
Laperle is also a three-time winner of the Annual 
Chittenden Bank Milk Bowl stock-car event held 
each year at Thunder Road International SpeedBowl 
in Barre, Vermont. Last season, he returned to 
the ACT series to win his first title. However, 
one of his greatest feats came last February at 
the World Series of Asphalt Stock-Car Racing held 
during the Daytona Speed Week at the New Smyrna 
Speedway located near the famed track. During the 
eight-race, nine-day program, he won three races, 
and finished second in the cumulative standings 
ahead of Hendrick Motorsports rising star Landon 
Cassill, who had entered 19 Nationwide Series 
races in 2008.



  "We responded to the proposal from Stock-Car 
Montreal, and decided to sponsor Patrick Laperle 
because we believe in his ability, and because he 
is a fan favourite across Quebec," said David 
Dumont, President of the Quebec Dodge Dealers 
Coop.  "The Dodge dealers of Quebec and their 
employees are also stock-car fans, and you can 
rest assured that they will follow with 
enthusiasm the performances of Patrick in the 
Dodge Avenger at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve."



Aware of the fact that he has limited race 
experience on a road course, Patrick Laperle is 
working hard on getting ready for his first race 
at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.



"The car has been delivered already, and it is a 
road course design with no modifications to 
make," said Laperle. "With my brother Éric, who 
is also my chief mechanic, we have plenty of time 
to set the car correctly to my driving style and 
I will have a lot of track time on a road course. 
The right preparation, the support of the crowd 
and the inspiration of running for the first time 
on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will serve me well. 
I am well aware that there are traps specific to 
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but I intend to avoid 
them, give the fans a great performance, and be 
up to the level that the Dodge dealers of Quebec 
and Stock-Car Montreal have showed by choosing 
me."



Tickets for the NAPA Auto Part 200, Presented by 
Dodge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on August 
29-30, 2009 are currently on sale. To order 
tickets, call 514 397-0007 or order online 
anytime at www.circuitgillesvilleneuve.ca/en/.



The Quebec Chrysler Jeep Dodge Dealers 
Advertising Coop represents its 93 dealers across 
the province.



Stock-Car Montreal, the event promoter is a 
wholly owned subsidiary of International Speedway 
Corporation (ISC) based in Daytona Beach, 
Florida. ISC is the leading promoter of 
motorsports in North America, hosting over 100 
major racing events each year.


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Media Inquiries:
Normand Prieur
Press Officer, Stock-Car Montreal
514 794-8900 mobile
450 492-6963
nprieur@videotron.ca