Ron Fellows
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Born: | September 28, 1959 | |
| Birthplace: | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | |
| Awards: | 2001 24 Hours of Daytona overall co-winner
2001, 2003 American Le Mans Series GTS class winner 2001, 2002, 2004 GTS class co-winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2002, 2004 GTS class winner at the 12 Hours of Sebring |
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| NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | None | |
| 2005 NEXTEL Cup Position: | 59th | |
| Best Cup Position: | 56th (2003 (Winston Cup) | |
| First Race: | 1995 The Bud At The Glen (Watkins Glen) | |
| First Win: | None | |
| Last Win: | None | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 0 | 5 | 0 |
| All stats current as of August 13, 2006. | ||
for the NFL player, see Ron Fellows (NFL).
Ron Fellows (born September 28, 1959) from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada is an accomplished Sports Car driver, and a NASCAR Road Course Ringer.
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[edit] Early career
He began his career in Karts, which lead to Formula Ford 1600 and Formula Ford 2000. When funds for these projects ran low, he left racing for a 9 year stint as gas pipeline worker. Fellows returned to the track in the 1980's with help from driving school instructor Richard Spenard. He made his professional debut in 1986 in the Player's GM Challenge, driving a showroom stock Camaro. He had a dominant 1989 season, capturing both the title at Mosport Park and his first SCCA Trans-Am Series race during the same weekend. His career skyrocketed as he became one of the most successful drivers in the history of Trans Am, with 19 wins in 95 starts.
Fellows then had 2 starts in the legendary Ferrari 333SP, including a 1997 win at Mosport Park in the FIA World Sports Car Series. Ron has also had various stints in the Craftsman Truck Series, Busch Series, and Nextel Cup Series, as a "Road Course Ringer". He has 2 wins and 3 poles in the Craftsman Truck Series, winning twice at Watkins Glen. He has had even greater success in the NASCAR Busch Series, where he has 3 wins and two poles in 6 starts. He was also the first non-American to win a NASCAR Busch Series event.
[edit] Corvette Racing
[edit] 1998-2001
In 1998, Ron Fellows began his long association with GM's Corvette Racing program, with the historic Chevrolet Corvette C5.R. He was also briefly involved with the development of the Cadillac LMP program. At the 2000 Rolex 24 at Daytona, he made history by setting the closest margin of victory in the history of the event, 31 seconds behind the winning Dodge Viper GTS-R of Olivier Beretta, Dominique Dupuy and Karl Wendlinger. Ron Fellows and Corvette Racing faired better the next year, winning overall with Chris Kneifel, Johnny O'Connell, and Franck Freon. Later that year in June, Corvette Racing achieved its ultimate goal, a GTS class win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Scott Pruett and Johnny O'Connell. Corvette Racing also captured the American Le Mans Series GTS title that same year.
[edit] 2002-2004
In 2002, the Corvette C5.R once again dominated the American Le Mans Series season, with a GTS class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring, along with a repeat of their [24 Hours of Le Mans]] GTS class victory. For the 2003 season, Corvette Racing won the American Le Mans Series GTS title with a very close down to the wire fight with the Prodrive Ferrari 550 team. In 2004 Corvette Racing continued to dominate the American Le Mans Series GTS class, including another GTS class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Fellows also competed in one NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Watkins Glen, where he started 42nd and climbed his way up to 2nd place. It was at this stage in his career when Fellows began working with performance scientist Dr. Jacques Dallare on physical and mental training, and to improve conditioning.
[edit] 2005
In 2005, Corvette Racing debuted the revolutionary Chevrolet Corvette C6.R at the 12 Hours of Sebring, with high expectations. A tire blow out erased their chances of capturing the GT1 (was GTS) win, with the Prodrive Aston Martin DBR9 taking the class win. However later that year, the tides would turn as Corvette Racing won their 3rd 24 Hours of Le Mans class title in 6 years, beating the Aston Martin DBR9's with superior reliability and strategy. Although Ron was not driving the winning Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, he ran a respectable race in the #63 car.
[edit] Current & future
For 2006, Ron is back with Corvette Racing in the American Le Mans Series.
Ron also has his 2006 NASCAR schedule for now. He will drive the road course races for Kevin Harvick Incorporated in the Busch Series, in the #33 Chevrolet, as well as for PPI Motorsports in NEXTEL Cup, in the #32 Tide Chevrolet.
He also supports many charities and programs and like many Canadians, he has a deep passion for hockey, namely in the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ron lives outside of Toronto with his wife, and three children.
