Born in Windsor, Ontario, on September 28, 1959, Fellows developed an interest in motorsports at the age of four. After attending a Formula 1 race at Île Notre-Dame Circuit, he began to idolize French-Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve. He began his racing career in karts, progressing to Formula Ford 1600 and Formula Ford 2000. Financial difficulties temporarily halted his racing ambitions, leading him to work as a gas pipeline worker for several years.
Fellows returned to racing with the support of driving school instructor Richard Spenard, making his professional debut in 1986 in the Player's GM Challenge. In 1987, Fellows finished second in the Player's GM Challenge standings, though a 25-second time penalty at Shannonville Motorsport Park dropped him from first to tenth place in the final race. The following season, a wreck while running second place knocked him out of a race, handing Spenard the championship lead, and ultimately the title. Fellows finished runner-up in the standings for the second consecutive year.
In 1989, Fellows achieved his first victory in the Grand-Am Series at Mosport, while also winning the Player's GM Challenge championship. He continued to compete in Grand-Am in 1990, finishing tenth in points with three podium finishes. From 1998, Fellows began a long association with GM’s Corvette Racing program, driving the Chevrolet Corvette C5R. At the 2000 Rolex 24 at Daytona, he finished second, with a margin of victory of 31 seconds – the closest finish in the event’s history. In 2001, Fellows and Corvette Racing won the 24 Hours of Daytona overall, alongside Chris Kneifel, Johnny O'Connell, and Franck Fréon. Later that year, Corvette Racing achieved a GTS class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Scott Pruett and O'Connell, and also captured the American Le Mans Series GTS title.
In 2004, Fellows competed in one NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, starting 43rd and finishing second. The 2006 season saw controversy surrounding performance balancing within the American Le Mans Series, with IMSA introducing penalties for Corvette Racing to level the competition against Prodrive Aston Martin. Despite these penalties, Corvette Racing won their fifth ALMS championship, and their fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans class title in six years. In 2007, Fellows returned to Corvette Racing in a limited role, serving as a third driver for long-distance races and providing technical input.
Fellows had a successful career as a “road course ringer” in NASCAR, competing in the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series, and Sprint Cup Series. He secured two wins and three poles in the Camping World Truck Series, both victories at Watkins Glen. He achieved even greater success in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, with four wins and two poles in six starts, becoming the first non-American to win a NASCAR Nationwide Series event. As of November 22, 2011, Fellows held the record for most wins by a foreign-born driver in NASCAR’s top three series with six wins. In 2008, Fellows won the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the Nationwide Series, a race marked by a red flag and a controversial black flag for Marcos Ambrose.
Fellows was inducted into the Trans-Am Series Hall of Fame in 2025. On December 31, 2019, he was awarded the Order of Canada for his contributions to motorsports. He is also the namesake of the Ron Fellows edition Corvette Z06, released in 2007, and owns the Ron Fellows Performance Driving Schools.
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