D. Stremme No. 41 Discount Tire Dodge Advance for the AT&T 250 at The Milwaukee Mile 06.24.06
Media Contact: Angie Copen, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, 704-662-9642, acopen@ganassi.com David Stremme, No. 41 Discount Tire Dodge AT&T 250 - The Milwaukee Mile - 06.24.06 To view the 2006 Discount Tire Media Guide, please visit www.discounttiremotorsports.com <http://www.discounttiremotorsports.com/> No. 41 Discount Tire Team Fast Facts: * Stremme Stepping In: Reed Sorenson's Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) teammate David Stremme, primary driver of the No. 40 Coors Light and Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon Dodge in the NEXTEL Cup Series, will step in to drive the No. 41 Discount Tire Dodge in this weekend's Busch Series event at The Milwaukee Mile. Instead of splitting his time between the NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series competitions, Sorenson will stay out west all weekend to run the No. 41 Target Dodge at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Chip Ganassi Racing road-course ace Scott Pruett will be driving the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge at Infineon, allowing Stremme to compete at Milwaukee. Both Stremme and Sorenson will resume driving duties in the No. 40 Dodge and No. 41 Busch Series entry next week at Daytona International Speedway. * He Can Seriously Manage "The Mile": Stremme has three NASCAR Busch Series starts at the Milwaukee Mile, and in those three starts he has totaled one pole, two top-five starts, and three top-five finishes. His best results were in June 2004, when he started on the pole and went on to finish second. * Where They Stand Now: After the Discount Tire team's 39th-place finish at Kentucky Speedway this past weekend, the driver and team are now 12th in the NASCAR Busch Series driver standings and 16th in the owner standings. They are 98 points out of 10th in the driver ranks. On the owner side, they are 117 points out of 10th. * CGRFS NEXTEL News & Updates: With their fifth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) this past weekend, Sorenson and the Target team moved up four positions, to 20th, in the overall NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship standings. The team is 116 points out of 15th and 299 points out of the top 10. Stremme and the No. 40 CGRFS NEXEL Cup team grabbed a 19th-place finish at MIS on Sunday, which marked their best finish of the 2006 season. The strong results also bumped them up one spot, to 36th, in the NEXTEL Cup standings. * Sorenson's NEXTEL Rookie Rank Update: Sorenson is currently third in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings with 136 points. He trails leader Denny Hamlin by 38 points. Sorenson has captured rookie of the race honors in three of the 15 races run thus far in '06 (finishing 10th at Atlanta, 12th at Martinsville and fifth at Michigan). * Chassis: The No. 41 Discount Tire team will return chassis #453 to the Milwaukee this weekend. It is the same car the team took to the Wisconsin based track last year and left with a 12th-place finish (started 23rd). The chassis was last run at Phoenix International Raceway in April when the CGRFS Busch team put forth an all around impressive run that resulted in a second-place, season-best finish. Before that, the chassis helped the Discount Tire team and Sorenson soar to their second victory of the 2005 season at Gateway International Raceway (Madison, Ill.) last July. Q&A with Stremme What does this mean to you to get to go run at The Mile, which looking at your stats, you've got that place pretty much figured out? "I actually feel good going into Milwaukee because I've had nothing but top-fives there and should have won the race two years ago. I look forward to getting in the Discount Tire car because I raced against it all last year and wished that I would've been in it [smiles]. It's going to be a lot of fun." Q&A with Sorenson Why did you decide to take a break from the Busch car this weekend and focus on the Cup program out west? Was it a hard decision? "If we were a little better off in the point standings I would more than likely be making the trip to Milwaukee. Since we're not though, we all thought it would be better to focus all of my attention on the Infineon race. I've never raced at the track and don't have a ton of road course experience. It was a tough decision, but I know David (Stremme) will do a great job in the car at Milwaukee and I look forward to getting back into the Discount Tire Dodge in Daytona." David Stremme Milwaukee Mile NASCAR Busch Series Stats (1-mile oval in West Allis, Wis.) Date Race Start Finish Laps Completed Total Laps Status Winnings 06.25.05 SBC 250 14 5 200 200 Running $23,280 06.26.04 Alan Kulwicki 250 1 2 250 250 Running $45,100 06.29.03 GNC Live Well 250 4 3 250 250 Running $31,310 Total/Average: 3/6.3 3/3.3 700 700 $99,690 Track Summary: 3 Starts 0 Wins 3 Top 5s 3 Top 10s 1 Pole No. 41 Discount Tire Team 2006 NASCAR Busch Series Results Date Race Start Finish Winnings Rank/Pts. Date Race Start Finish Winnings Rank/Pts. Feb. 18 Daytona 13 9 $60,900 9th/138 July 8 Chicago Feb. 25 California 35 11 $33,275 8th/130 July 15 Loudon March 5 Mexico 25 36 $44,640 15th/55 July 22 Martinsville March 11 Las Vegas 27 10 $42,708 11th/134 July 29 St. Louis March 18 Atlanta 28 42 $17,505 16th/37 Aug. 5 Indianapolis March 25 Bristol 18 27 $21,850 19th/82 Aug. 12 Watkins Glen April 8 Texas 2 13 $23,750 17th/124 Aug. 19 Michigan April 15 Nashville 4 19 $14,150 17th/111 Aug. 25 Bristol April 21 Phoenix 5 2 $55,900 11th/175 Sept. 2 California April 29 Talladega 13 17 $20,000 12th/112 Sept. 8 Richmond May 5 Richmond 9 36 $14,215 13th/55 Sept. 23 Dover May 12 Darlington 23 23 $14,700 14th/94 Sept. 30 Kansas May 27 Charlotte 22 21 $16,050 14th/100 Oct. 13 Charlotte June 3 Dover 16 10 $18,975 12th/134 Oct. 28 Memphis June 10 Nashville 36 23 $16,275 11th/94 Nov. 4 Texas June 17 Kentucky 3 39 $17,370 12th/46 Nov. 11 Phoenix June 24 Milwaukee Nov. 19 Homestead June 30 Daytona Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Pts. Total Winnings 16 0 1 4 0 1,621 $432,263 David Stremme NASCAR Busch Series Career Totals Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles 87 0 13 31 1 Reed Sorenson NASCAR Busch Series Career Totals Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Laps Led Money 56 2 14 26 2 468 $1,841,185 No. 41 Discount Tire Crew: Name Crew position Hometown Name Crew position Hometown Brian Pattie Crew Chief Zephyrhills, Fla. Dan Chivari Swing Mechanic Erie, Pa. Tony Glover Team Manager Kingsport, Tenn. Bruce Jones Rear Mechanic Lakeland, Fla. Mike Calinoff Spotter Hauppauge, N.Y. Brian Taylor Front Mechanic Cuthbert, Ga. Phil Drye Front Tire Changer Concord, N.C. Tim O'Brien Engineer Lebanon, Ohio Shane Bourgeois Front Tire Carrier Peachtree City, Ga. Todd Hamm Engine Tuner Kutztown, Pa. Tyler Jones Rear Tire Changer Royalton, Vt. Brandon Stafford Tire Specialist Taylorsville, N.C. Doug Riepe Rear Tire Carrier Danbury, Conn. Evan Clark Pit Support Mt. Pleasant, N.C. Marcus Bonicelli Jack Man Colorado Springs, Colo. Michael Smolka Pit Support Albemarle, N.C. Tim Coffey Gas Man/Transport Driver Greenwood, Ind. Claude Collignon Scorer Charlotte, N.C. Adam Cooke Catch Can/Shock Specialist Zephyrhills, Fla. Phil Horton Pit Crew Coach Charlotte, N.C.