C'est la plus grande victoire de ma vie. Translation: This is the greatest victory of my life.

Listen closely, it's very possible you could hear these words following Sunday's Sirius at The Glen.

Canadian driver Ron Fellows -- who is actually from primarily English-speaking Ontario but does speak a little French -- leads a list of eight road course ringers into Watkins Glen this weekend. In a specialist role behind the wheel of the Dale Earnhardt Incorporated Pennzoil Chevrolet, he'll attempt to become the first non-regular to win a Winston Cup race since Mark Donahue conquered Riverside International Raceway in 1973.

Fellows nearly pulled off the upset in 1999. Driving for NEMCO Motorsports he finished runner-up to Jeff Gordon in one of the closest finishes ever at The Glen.

"I think the margin of victory for Jeff Gordon was under a second, like three quarters of a second," recalled Fellows. "We came very close and it's not gonna be any easier (this year) that's for sure. You know I've watched primarily from the outside looking in the previous four years and Winston Cup racing has become so much more competitive. And the number of guys who are a factor in a road race has increased by a lot."

Still, in comparison with this weekend's other competitors, Fellows' road racing experience is unparalleled. Among his accomplishments he has won 20 Trans-Am races, the Rolex 24 at Daytona (2001) and the 24 hours of Le Mans (2001 and 2002).

However, driving a Winston Cup car is much different than what Fellows is used to driving. The Corvette he drives during the endurance races is close to 1000 pounds lighter, has twice as much downforce, wider tires and much more durable carbon fiber brakes. These factors force Fellows to alter his driving style.

"A Winston Cup car takes quite a bit more finesse," Fellows explains. "You've got to be a little bit smoother. You got to be a little more attentive to the fact that you don't have the same grip level. You can easily overheat the brakes so you've got to be smart about that."

	Fellows has run Winston Cup events at Sonoma and Watkins Glen before.

Fellows has proved that his skills can be successfully transferred to stock cars. He has five NASCAR wins -- two in the Craftsman Trucks and three in the Busch series. Each of these victories occurred at Watkins Glen.

Sunday will be Fellows' 10th career Winston Cup start. And he doesn't hesitate when asked if this is the best opportunity he's ever had to win at this level.

"Without a doubt," Fellows said. "The resources that DEI has are a big advantage. A multi-car team, one of the best in the series. I never thought I'd get this kind of an opportunity."

The opportunity is a two-race deal. In his first event with Dale Earnhardt Incorporated at Infineon Raceway in June, Fellows started third and finished seventh.

Hoping to improve upon that finish and help the DEI road course operation across the board, Fellows tested at The Glen last Monday and Tuesday. There he fine-tuned the car, tutored his teammates and received his working orders.

"Junior leaned in the window at the test last week and said, 'You're just gonna go need to get the pole and I'll put you in the Bud Shootout,'" Fellows said, laughing and imitating Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s North Carolina drawl. "No pressure there."

Joking aside, there will be plenty of pressure heading to Watkins Glen where an outsider has never beaten the Winston Cup regulars.

"There are a number of really great racing drivers in the Winston Cup series and that's part of the attraction in wanting to be there, to measure yourself against the best," Fellows said. "You want to go and have a chance against the guys you admire and think are the best in the world."

Fellows, whose full-time commitment is to GM Racing and team Corvette, knows this weekend gives him a chance to catch lightning in a bottle. A victory would certainly bring recognition, but Fellows doubts it would garner him a full-time opportunity at the Winston Cup level.

"The reality is, I'm in my early 40s and I don't have a lot of oval experience," said Fellows in a somewhat disappointed tone. "You know, would I be interested in doing Winston Cup full time? Well, I'd be crazy to say no."

But for the time being his focus remains on the small picture, winning Sunday's Sirius at The Glen.

The Canadian national anthem will play before the race starts. The question is, will it play after it ends? If Fellows were to win, he'd become the first Canadian to do so at NASCAR's premier level since Earl Ross went to victory lane at Martinsville in 1974.

If he does win, it will certainly warrant the words, C'est la plus grande victoire de ma vie. It would truly be the greatest win of Fellows' life.

Mike Massaro covers NASCAR for ESPN and ESPN.com.