Team Target Martinsville II Advance
Casey Mears - #41 Target Dodge Old Dominion 500 Advance CONTACT: Nealie Hamilton, Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, cell: 704-500-6068, nhamilton@ganassi.com RACE INFORMATION: EVENT: Old Dominion 500 (race 32 of 36) TRACK: Martinsville Speedway QUALIFYING: Friday, October 17, 3:05 p.m. ET RACE: Sunday, October 19, 12:30 p.m. ET BROADCAST: NBC television and MRN radio TARGET TEAM FACTS: -Martinsville Memories: Mears had never competed on the half-mile track or raced on anything like it in his racing career. Yet this Spring, he completed the Virginia 500 and took home a 36th place finish with 496 laps of Martinsville education under his belt. "I am disappointed with the finish but I did come out of here with a lot of laps under my belt at this place," Mears said after the race. "This is my first race here and my first time on such a short track that requires a lot of braking. Team Target gave me great pit stops today. We had some problems with the turning of the car; it was tight all day. The good thing is that we completed the whole race and we're learning every weekend. I'll be prepared when we come back here later in the season." -Target Dodge: Team Target is taking chassis # 112 to Martinsville. This is the same car that raced in both Bristol races(32nd and 21st) and at New Hampshire (17th) and Rockingham (30th). -Team Target Wins IRL Championship: Casey's Target teammate Scott Dixon captured the IRL Championship this past Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. -Phoenix Testing: Casey and teammate Sterling Marlin tested at Phoenix International Raceway on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. -Best Qualifying: Mears' best qualifying effort this season was a fourth place starting position at Chicagoland Speedway. -Raybestos Rookie Teammates: Casey Mears and Jamie McMurray are the first teammate rookies to compete for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors. Mears currently sits in third place in rookie points while McMurray leads the points. -Leader: Mears became the first 2003 rookie to lead a lap and the only rookie to lead a lap in the Daytona 500. MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY STATS: Winston Cup Series DATE RACE LOCATION START FINISH STATUS 4/13/03 Virginia 500 Martinsville Speedway 22 36 Running TEAM TARGET CREW: Name Crew position Race shop duty Hometown Casey Mears Driver Driver Bakersfield, California Jimmy Elledge Crew Chief Crew Chief Redding, California Andy Graves Team Manager Team Manager Syracuse, New York Tony Glover Team Manager Team Manager Kingsport, Tennessee Darren Wolfe Front Tire Changer Front Mechanic Fletcher, North Carolina Marty Forcier Front Tire Carrier Paint Shop Superior, Wisconsin Randy Cox Rear Tire Changer Car Chief Trinity, North Carolina Heath Cherry Rear Tire Carrier Race Day Only Belmont, North Carolina Mark Jacobs Jack Man Race Day Only Ft. Walton Beach, Florida Les Huntley Gas Man Suspension Specialist Renwick, Iowa Todd Anderson Catch Can Man Chassis Setup Jewell, Iowa Doug Spees Windshield Tire Specialist Toledo, Ohio Russ Bales Engine Specialist Engine Specialist Sandy Springs, Georgia Tim Smith Engineer Engineer Cope, South Carolina Tim McKichan Spotter Body Shop Ontario, Canada Paul Clapprood Pit Support Front Mechanic Stafford Springs, Connecticut Trevor Lynse Pit Support Test Team Fergus Falls, Minneapolis Dave Shano Pit Support Truck Driver El Cajon, California Eric Hoyle Pit Support Rear Mechanic Asheville, North Carolina Roger Parkinson Pit Support Shocks San Diego, California Melissa Zeno Scorer/Cook Cook Lynchburg, Virginia XXX Nealie Hamilton Media Relations Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates office: (704) 662-9642 x1130 cell: (704) 500-6068 nhamilton@ganassi.com