Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Rookie NEXTEL Open
Advance
Chip Ganassi Racing w/ Felix Sabates Rookie Advance
NEXTEL Open - Lowe's Motor Speedway Advance - 5/20/06
David Stremme, No. 40 Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon Dodge
Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Dodge
No. 40 & No. 41 Team Fast Facts:
Chassis: Crew Chief Steve Lane and the No. 40 Lone Star Steakhouse &
Saloon crew are taking chassis #308 for the NEXTEL Open and hopefully
the All-Star Challenge this weekend. This is the first time the team
will run this chassis this season.
Crew Chief Jimmy Elledge and the Target Team have selected chassis #206
for this weekend's NEXTEL Open. This is the same car the team used at
California Speedway at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier in the season.
In Memory: This weekend David Stremme will be participating in a
charity poker tournament at the TrackCouture Launch Party in downtown
Charlotte. Stremme will be playing in memory of team member Bill Ellis
who passed away last month. A trust is currently being set up for his
wife and three children.
Feels Like the First Time: Sorenson and Stremme will be making their
first appearance in the NEXTEL Open this weekend. The event will mark
Sorenson's first competition in a NEXTEL Cup car at the 1.5-mile
speedway, however, Stremme competed in last season's October
event-finishing 36th. Both have multiple starts at the track in Busch
Series competition with Sorenson capturing a career high fifth-place
finish (May '05) and Stremme an eighth-place finish (May '04 & '05).
Testing at Charlotte: The No. 40 & 41 team both tested at Charlotte two
weeks ago in preparation for the race weekends ahead at Lowe's Motor
Speedway, focusing much attention on the circuit's longest race, the
Coca-Cola 600. After two days of testing Stremme was atop of the speed
chart with a speed of 186.929 mph. Sorenson turned in the 21st fastest
lap at 181.781 mph.
Paint Scheme Change: The Target team is running the reverse colors of
its primary paint scheme for the third consecutive race. What is red is
white and visa versa. The scheme will also run in next weekend's race
at Lowe's in addition to the October event at the track, and it will run
in July at Daytona.
Rookie Ranks: Sorenson currently sits fifth in the Raybestos Rookie of
the Years standings with 93 points trailing leader Denny Hamlin by 26
points. Stremme falls in line sixth in the standings with a total of 77
points and 42 points out of the lead.
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points standings: Sorenson and the Target team jumped
up two positions to 24th in the overall standings after their 11th-place
effort at Darlington. They are 46 points out of 20th and 128 out of the
top 15. Stremme gained one spot in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship
points standings, he is now 36th. He is 335 points out of the top 20
and 531 points out of the 10th spot.
Meet Reed in Concord This Week: On Thursday, May 18, Reed Sorenson will
stop by the Discount Tire Store located at 575 Dickens Place NE in
Concord, N.C. to meet fans and sign autographs from 4:30 to 6 p.m. ET.
For more information, call (704) 786-2001.
Meet Pruett, too, Next Week: Scott Pruett, co-driver of the #01 CompUSA
Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus-Riley, will be at the CGRFS Concord, N.C. shop
Thursday, May 25, to meet area fans and sign autographs from 11 a.m. to
1 p.m. ET. Copies of his three children's books, "Twelve Little Race
Cars," "Twelve More Little Race Cars" and "Rookie Racer," will also be
available for purchase and signing, so bring the kids to meet the 2004
Rolex Series Champion.
Stremme on the NEXTEL Open...
"This year will be the first time I compete in the NEXTEL Open so I am
looking forward to going out there and having some fun. I know it is a
non-points race but that doesn't mean we aren't going to run as hard as
we would on any other weekend. The No. 40 team came and tested here two
weeks ago and we had a really decent test. We made a lot of runs and by
the end of testing we were sitting on top of the speed charts. That
definitely helps my confidence going into these next few weeks. The
entire team has been working hard to get where we need to be and I think
that we are doing a good job getting the cars dialed in and improving
every week."
Sorenson on the NEXTEL Open...
"It's an all or nothing race, pretty much like the whole evening. Only
the winner of the NEXTEL Open advances to the All-Star event, and
everyone out there wants to be in that race. I believe there is a fan
vote that gets one extra driver in, but we're going out there to win
this thing. We've got a strong race car and I believe we have a
legitimate shot at it. It's a short race so it's pretty important to
get a good starting position. We'll give it all we have and hopefully
we'll come out on top."
David Stremme, Lowe's Motor Speedway Stats (1.5 miles):
Date
Series
Start
Finish
Laps
Winnings
10/11/2003
Busch Series
16
14
199/200
$20,230
5/29/2004
Busch Series
15
8
200/200
$24,835
10/15/2004
Busch Series
29
34
143/200
$16,645
5/28/2005
Busch Series
20
8
200/200
$26,835
10/14/2005
Busch Series
38
23
191/200
$20,778
10/15/2005
Cup Series
34
36
243/336
$63,790
David Stremme's Cumulative NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Stats:
Starts Wins Top 5s Top 10s
Poles Winnings
15 0 0
0 0 $ 1,406,121
Sorenson's Lowe's Motor Speedway Stats (1.5 miles)
Date Series Race Start
Finish Laps Status Winnings
10/14/05 Busch Dollar General 300 4 35
123/200 Accident $23,140
5/28/05 Busch Carquest Auto Parts 300 6 5
200/200 Running $45,180
Sorenson's Cumulative NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Stats:
Starts Wins Top 5s Top 10s
Poles Winnings
13 0 0
1 0 $ 1,307,858
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