R. Sorenson No. 41 Discount Tire Texas Motor Speedway Advance 11.04.06
Media Contact: Angie Copen, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, 704-662-9642, acopen@ganassi.com Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Discount Tire Dodge Texas Motor Speedway - 11.04.06 To view the 2006 Discount Tire Media Guide, please visit www.discounttiremotorsports.com <http://www.discounttiremotorsports.com/> No. 41 Discount Tire Team Fast Facts: * Meet Reed in Texas: Reed Sorenson will stop by the Discount Tire store located at 2405 Grapevine Mills Circle in Grapevine, Texas from 4:30 to 6 p.m. CT Thursday, November 2, to sign autographs and meet area race fans. * Sorenson has Texas Talent: Sorenson has three Busch Series starts and one NEXTEL Cup start at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS), in which he has never started or finished outside the top 15. In Busch, he has averaged a top-10 performance across the board at the1.5-mile speedway, sitting on the outside pole when he raced at Texas this past April. He grabbed two top-five finishes at the Lone Star State track during his 2005 rookie season (started 15th and finished third in April, started ninth and finished fourth in November). This past April he also started and finished 13th in his NEXTEL Cup debut at the Dallas-Ft. Worth area race track. Sorenson has completed every lap of competition in races run at TMS (904) and he has led a total of 31 laps. * Still Standing Strong: After scoring a steady seventh-place finish at the Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park this past weekend, Sorenson and the No. 41 Discount Tire team maintained their top-10 stance in the Busch Series standings. The team's running tally of 3,517 helped hold its ninth-place position in the owner standings while Sorenson held on to 10th in the driver ranks with 3,432 points. * Habla usted espaņol?: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) announced earlier this week its official website-www.chipganassiracing.com <http://www.chipganassiracing.com/> -has expanded its online arsenal to include a fully-functioning Spanish microsite located at http://espanol.chipganassiracing.com <http://espanol.chipganassiracing.com/> . The initial Spanish site will work to immediately accommodate the outpouring of Juan Pablo Montoya fans and media that have spiked the website's traffic number since the Montoya-Ganassi announcement in July. CGRFS plans to incorporate all of its teams in the months to come. Visitors can also access the Spanish site by selecting the "En Espanol" button in the navigation scheme on the team's homepage. * Montoya to Compete the Remainder of 2006: CGRFS announced earlier this week Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline NASCAR Busch Series team is scheduled to compete in the final three races of the 2006 Busch Series season, including Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Montoya made his NASCAR debut last Saturday in the Busch Series race at Memphis, piloting the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge to an 11th-place finish after qualifying in ninth place. The 31-year old driver also participated in his first official NASCAR sanctioned test at Homestead-Miami Speedway last week. * On the Cup Side: Sorenson and the No. 41 Target team were pushed up against the outside wall in the early going of last Sunday's BASS Pro Shops 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. From that point on, the driver and team fought handling issues en route to a 29th-place finish. Still, they maintained their 25th-place spot overall in the NEXTEL Cup standings and are 170 points out of 20th heading into this Sunday's Dickies 500. Sorenson also still stands third in the NEXTEL Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year race. * Chassis: Crew chief Brian Pattie and the No. 41 Discount Tire team have selected chassis #556 to run at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. It is the same car the No. 41 team brought to Texas last fall to finish fourth in the November race (started ninth). The chassis' most recent run was at Kansas Speedway last month when Sorenson and team maintained an average running position of seventh place all day to call it a day just the same (started fourth). In June, the same car helped Sorenson and the CGRFS team average a 10th-place running position the entire 200-lap race at Dover International Speedway before finishing it just the same-in 10th place (started 16th). In 2005, the car was entered in a total of five events, and helped the team score a total of four top-five finishes (at both Dover races, Kentucky and the second Texas race). Reed, comments about his return to Texas Motor Speedway: "I really like running at Texas. Everyone here at the shop does a really good job putting together the 1.5-mile cars and the finishes we've had this year at tracks like that prove they do a good job. Casey [Mears] got a win at Chicago earlier this year and it is another 1.5-miler. We're also bringing back the same car we ran at Texas this same time last year and managed to come out with a top-five finish. We've learned even more since then, so hopefully we can grab a good start like we did there earlier this year. I'll take another fourth-place finish, but would really like to move up just three more positions ahead of fourth to get that win that has eluded us so far this year. "I am really looking forward to the last three races because I really like Texas, Phoenix and Homestead. We had a really good test in Florida with the Cup car, so both the Target and Discount Tire teams should be able to wind things down here on a positive note. I'm just glad October is behind me. That was a tough month. That's for sure." Reed Sorenson Texas Motor Speedway Stats NASCAR Busch Series (1.5-mile tri-oval in Ft. Worth, Texas) Date Race Start Finish Laps Completed Total Laps Status Winnings 04.08.06 O'Reilly 300 2 13 206 206 Running $23,750 11.05.05 O'Reilly Challenge 9 4 200 200 Running $49,845 04.16.05 O'Reilly 300 15 3 200 200 Running $58,703 Total/Average: 3/8.7 3/6.7 606 606 $132,298 Track Summary: 2 Starts 0 Wins 2 Top 5s 2 Top 10s 0 Poles No. 41 CGRFS 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 4 8 $28,750 18th/142 Feb. 25 California 35 11 $33,275 8th/130 July 15 Loudon 7 17 $16,025 19th/112 March 5 Mexico 25 36 $44,640 17th/55 July 22 Martinsville **9 4 $36,825 16th/160 March 11 Las Vegas 27 10 $42,708 13th/134 July 29 St. Louis 14 4 $31,775 11th/160 March 18 Atlanta 28 42 $17,505 18th/37 Aug. 5 Indianapolis 8 2 $32,775 11th/170 March 25 Bristol 18 27 $21,850 21st/82 Aug. 12 Watkins Glen 35 28 $15,130 11th/79 April 8 Texas 2 13 $23,750 19th/124 Aug. 19 Michigan 34 7 $19,035 9th/151 April 15 Nashville 4 19 $14,150 19th/111 Aug. 25 Bristol 2 42 $19,915 13th/37 April 21 Phoenix 5 2 $55,900 14th/175 Sept. 2 California 17 19 $22,700 12th/106 April 29 Talladega 13 17 $20,000 16th/112 Sept. 8 Richmond 9 5 $21,300 10th/155 May 5 Richmond 9 36 $14,215 16th/55 Sept. 23 Dover 22 6 $18,925 9th/150 May 12 Darlington 23 23 $14,700 17th/94 Sept. 30 Kansas 4 7 $29,600 9th/151 May 27 Charlotte 22 21 $16,050 16th/100 Oct. 13 Charlotte 38 38 $14,445 9th/49 June 3 Dover 16 10 $18,975 15th/134 Oct. 28 Memphis 38** 7 $21,950 9th/146 June 10 Nashville 36 23 $16,275 13th/94 Nov. 4 Texas June 17 Kentucky 3 39 $17,370 16th/46 Nov. 11 Phoenix *June 24 *Milwaukee *11 *26 *$17,200 *20th/85 Nov. 19 Homestead June 30 Daytona 6 40 $19,485 21st/43 Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Pts. Total Winnings 32 0 5 13 0 3,517 $798,098 *Indicates when David Stremme drove the No. 41 **Indicates when Kevin Hamlin qualified the No. 41 Reed Sorenson 2006 NASCAR Busch Series Totals Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Laps Led Pts. Total Money 31 0 5 13 0 31 3,432 $780,898 Reed Sorenson NASCAR Busch Series Career Totals Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Laps Led Money 71 2 18 35 2 482 $2,189,820 No. 41 Discount Tire Crew: Name Crew position Hometown Name Crew position Hometown Brian Pattie Crew Chief Zephyrhills, Fla. Ryan Quann Catch Can Man Richmond, Va. Tony Glover Team Manager Kingsport, Tenn. Adam Cooke Shock Specialist Zephyrhills, Fla. Lorin Ranier Spotter Prestonburg, Ken. Dan Chivari Swing Mechanic Erie, Pa. Trevor Lysne Front Tire Changer Fergus Falls, Minn. Bruce Jones Rear Mechanic Lakeland, Fla. Adam Mosher Front Tire Carrier Fort Mill, S.C. Brian Taylor Front Mechanic Cuthbert, Ga. Daryl Lockyer Rear Tire Changer Los Angeles, Calif. Tim O'Brien Engineer Lebanon, Ohio Doug Riepe Rear Tire Carrier Danbury, Conn. Todd Hamm Engine Tuner Kutztown, Pa. Shaun Peet Jack Man Nanaimo, B.C Brandon Stafford Tire Specialist Taylorsville, N.C. Tim Coffey Gas Man/Transport Driver Greenwood, Ind. Shane Bourgeois Pit Support Peachtree City, Ga.