LOUDON, N.H. – NASCAR’s popularity is growing in Canada and Sprint Cup/Nationwide series driver Patrick Carpentier is hoping to help foster further growth.

The native of Joliette, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal, certainly aided the cause by winning the pole for the Lenox 301 Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“There’s a lot more NASCAR fans in Canada now and we’ve got to keep growing the sport as much as we can,” said Carpentier. “We’ve got to keep working at it. It always helps what happened this weekend [winning the pole].”

“My best friend has been Jimmie Johnson’s best fan forever and you see a lot of guys coming down from Montreal,” added Carpentier.

Carpentier is one of several open-wheel drivers who has made the transition to NASCAR.

The 1997 CART Rookie of the Year ran three Sprint Cup races a year ago with his best finish being a 22nd at Watkins Glen. This season, he has qualified for 13 of 16 races and his best finish was 23rd last weekend at Infineon (Calif.).

He was 37th in points but was third in the rookie points, just 35 points behind fellow former open-wheel driver Sam Hornish Jr. Carpentier has had a lot more success in the Nationwide series with his first starts producing top-eight finishes before he wound up 18th in Saturday’s Camping World RV Sales 200 at NHMS.

“It has been a big adjustment. Everything has been a big adjustment. You travel so much more and you have so much more to do all the time. You have to learn the technical side of the car and be able to give the right information to the chief mechanics,” Carpentier said. “And you’re driving at all these tracks that have their own little tricks and the cars behave differently [at each track]. People don’t realize how much power these cars have. They’re pretty hard to drive.

“They’re like rental cars on steroids. But I’ve always liked rental cars.”

The various open-wheel series races don’t attract nearly as many fans as NASCAR events, and Carpentier has noted the difference.

“I really appreciate coming [to NASCAR]. Every time they sing the national anthem, it’s unbelievable looking up the packed stands and the cars and the guys I’m racing with,” said the 36-year-old Carpentier. “I love it. I hope I can do it for many, many years.”

Spencer relished Oxford race

Former Sprint Cup driver Jimmy Spencer was one of the featured guests at NHMS on Saturday as they celebrated 60 years of racing in the Modified class. Spencer is a former Modified racer as well.

He said Oxford Plains Speedway will always have a special place in his heart.

“I had a phone call one time and [former OPS and New Hampshire Motor Speedway owner Bob Bahre] told me we need you to come to Oxford. I said, ‘Wooooweeee, Oxford is a long way from [his native] Pennsylvania. I called up Richie [Evans] and he said ‘You can’t beat working for Bob Bahre.’ So I went and [Bahre] treated me with the utmost respect,” said Spencer.

“Oxford is one of the most unique racetracks in the world. I don’t think you can duplicate it. It’s about pure handling and the driver. That’s what I like about it,” he added.

He also loved the mentality associated with Oxford back then.

“When we had the drivers meeting, this guy stood up on some tires and I thought to myself, ‘Holy Hell, where am I at?’ He was talking about the rules and I raised my hand and said, ‘You didn’t say anything about the move-over flag [shown to slower drivers to force them to move out of the way of faster cars].’ He said they don’t have a move-over flag. You have to race here. And I said ‘This is my kind of racing.'”

Earlier in the day, Spencer answered several questions pertaining to the evolution of racing.

The controversial Spencer, known as Mr. Excitement for his aggressive driving, complained that some of the young drivers are “punks” who don’t respect other drivers.

“Our world is lacking respect,” said Spencer, who blamed a lack of discipline by parents for some of the problem.

He also dislikes drivers who “whine and complain.”

“They don’t realize they can be replaced. When the wallet gets fatter, the driver gets slower,” said Spencer.

Two of the young drivers he admires are Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne.

“I love their attitudes,” said Spencer.

He also thinks Sprint Cup points leader Kyle Busch is great for the sport even though he hears his share of boos.

“[The fans] may be displeased with some of the things he’s done, but they like to watch him race,” said Spencer. “When you’re getting a lot of boos [and cheers], you’re doing something right.”

Navy support an honor for driver

Brad Keselowski, who is running fourth in points in the Nationwide Series, said having the U.S. Navy as his primary sponsor is an honor.

“There’s some [added] responsibility having a branch of the military sponsor you, that’s for sure. But there’s a lot more pride that comes from it than there is responsibility. I’m very grateful, very fortunate and very lucky to have the Navy as my sponsor, especially in the times we’ve living in now.”

“To go out on a [Navy] ship and meet the men and women is a blast. It’s an eye-opening experience. I’m very fortunate to be where I’m at and I’m having a good time with it,” Keselowski added.

Keselowski had been having a terrific stretch of success with six consecutive top-10 finishes, including 10th in the Camping World RV Sales 200. That streak included a win at Nashville.

“We’ve had a good month. Things have been going well and we want to keep the ball rolling, so to speak,” said the 24-year-old Keselowski. “We’ll keep working to get the Navy Chevrolet to Victory Lane. I’m proud of where we’re at, but we still want more. We want to move up in the points.”

Logano sits out Nationwide race

Eighteen-year-old Joey Logano wasn’t in the Nationwide Series race as Cup driver Tony Stewart drove the No. 20 car to Victory Lane at the Camping World RV Sales 200.

Connecticut native Logano has burst onto the scene with a win and a second-place finish in his last two races. He has run four events so far.

“I’m pretty pleased right now,” said Logano. “We’ve got a win under our belts and followed it up with a second.”

He drove two races with Cherryfield’s Andy Santerre as his crew chief a couple of years ago in the Hooters Pro Cup series.

“He’s a good guy. He’s a smart guy. We ran a couple of races and won one of them,” said Logano, who will race again at Gateway on July 19.

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