INNISFIL, Ontario — When J.R. Fitzpatrick put the No. 84 out front this past Saturday night at Sunset Speedway, there was no one surprised watching. Atter all, it is something fans of the APC Auto Parts United Late Model Series have grown used to in 2022.

This past weekend, it was Lap 70 in which he took the advantage from Rick Spencer-Walt, pacing the field for the final 30 laps as he stretched out his advantage to victory lane.

“It was a great drive,” he told SHORT TRACK MUSINGS in victory lane. “The car was phenomenal. The team worked really hard on it. We were struggling in practice and to turn the car around that good, it was awesome for the team and McColl (Racing) Enterprises and everyone involved. The car has just been great to drive this year. From what happened to us last week at Sauble and coming here coming off a victory is awesome.”

Outside of a 10th-place finish at Sauble Speedway due to contact, Fitzpatrick has no results outside of the top-five with four wins and a pair of fourths in seven races.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” he commented. “We’ve won four races and including all the other ones, we’ve won like 10 races this year. It’s been a dream year for my team and it’s definitely not for lack of hard work by the team as everyone is working really hard making sure nothing falls off, making sure it works. I’m glad to be back.”

He will hope to get his redemption at Sauble next weekend, as he heads into the event on Saturday, August 27th with a 12 point advantage over Kyle Steckly in the standings. Following that event, the series will crown their 2022 champion at Delaware Speedway in September.

“We just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year, right? Trying to win some races, and be careful,” he said. “We’re trying to be extra careful here tonight and it paid off so just got to keep doing that.”