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It was a historic day for NASCAR as rain tires were used in a points race for the first time. And despite Canadian fans being denied a normal race for the second year in a row, the home country fans got to see a home country driver -- Ron Fellows -- glide to a rain-shortened win, writes Paul Grant.

A win, a shoving match, a fine, an obscene gesture on national TV -- top rookie Juan Pablo Montoya experienced it all this season.

It's a long season, and drivers and crews have ways to cope. How do they do it? A lot depends on which ones you ask.

What did Patrick Carpentier and crew chief Paul Wolfe have to say in Saturday's Napa 200? Plenty, as it turns out.

A year and a half of planning and hard work came to fruition for Patrick Carpentier in Montreal. Spent and exhausted? He hopes he's just getting started, writes Paul Grant.

Patrick Carpentier's Friday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was even busier than his Thursday. The goal is to make it all worth it in Saturday's Busch race, writes Paul Grant.

Keeping up with Patrick Carpentier on the track is supposed to be hard. Off the track, the dynamo from Quebec can be just as hard to catch, writes Paul Grant.

Denny Hamlin looked a little out of place at posh Cipriani's restaurant. It's not that he didn't belong, it's that he seems to be so old-school, writes Paul Grant.

Chase leader Kevin Harvick is riding the crest of momentum at exactly the right time, writes Paul Grant.

Denny Hamlin is enough of a loose cannon to exchange pies with Kevin Harvick. What else has he got up his tricky sleeve? Paul Grant explores in a Nextel Cup notebook.