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NASCAR NNCS (DOVER) MONTOYA PRE-RACE NOTES


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Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Team Facts:

· Walking for a Cause: Montoya will participate in the 2007 NASCAR Foundation Track Walk at Dover International Speedway on Saturday following the NASCAR Busch Series race. Montoya will be walking on behalf of the Formula Smiles Foundation. He created the Formula Smiles Foundation to improve the quality of life for Colombian children and their environment by implementing programs that instill values through sports and recreation. Fans can register to walk with Montoya on the NASCAR Foundation website or at the track on Friday and Saturday. The Track Walk gives fans the unique opportunity to walk a lap around Dover International Speedway with Montoya. Not only do walkers experience the track from a different perspective and get to enjoy the sights and sounds from the actual racing surface, they are also raising funds for Formula Smiles.

· Hamlin Scores top 10 at Mansfield: CGRFS development driver Kevin Hamlin piloted the No. 4 Bobby Hamilton Racing (BHR) Dodge to a 10th-place finish (started 27th) at Mansfield (Ohio) Motorsports Park in last Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race. The top-10 finish also made Hamlin the top finishing Raybestos® Rookie of the race. Hamlin is scheduled to drive a few more races for BHR as the season progresses, including the Milwaukee Mile and the Memphis Motorsports Park in June; Kentucky Speedway in July; Nashville Superspeedway in August; and Gateway International and Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September. Hamlin will get back behind the wheel of the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Busch Dodge next weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, which will mark his second start in the No. 42 Dodge. The Washington native made his debut in the Texaco/Havoline Dodge at Nashville Superspeedway this past April. To learn more about Hamlin, go to www.kevinhamlin.com.

· Helping out: On Thursday, Montoya will play in the sixth Annual Drive for Autism Research Celebrity-Am Golf Outing to be held at the world-class DuPont Country Club located in the Brandywine Valley, Wilmington, Del. The money from the golf outing will go directly to the Autism Society of Delaware whose mission is to improve the lives of people with autism and their families. Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. It is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain. Autism associated behaviors have been estimated to occur in as many as one in every 150 births.

· Where They Stand: Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Busch team battled a loose-handling race car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (LMS) last Saturday night and concluded with a 40th-place finish. The No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Busch team is now 12th in the NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) owner standings, just 14 points out of the top 10.

· Rookie Rundown: Montoya still stands second in the NBS Raybestos® Rookie ranks, now five points behind rookie class leader David Ragan. Montoya has scored rookie of the race honors four times this 2007 NBS season—at Richmond, Phoenix, Mexico City and Atlanta. On the Cup side of things, Montoya was rookie of the race for the fifth time this season in the 600-mile Charlotte event Sunday at LMS and leads David Ragan by six points (131-125) in the NEXTEL Cup rookie standings. Montoya has also earned Rookie of the Race honors four other times this season in NEXTEL Cup competition—at Darlington, Texas, Atlanta and Las Vegas.

· Welcome, Ross!: The No. 42 Busch crew welcomes engineer Ross Fletcher to the team this weekend at Dover. Fletcher joined CGRFS this past February, initially serving as support engineer for the No. 42 NEXTEL Cup team but will now serve as the full-time team engineer for the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Busch team. Before coming on board at Ganassi, Fletcher earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at North Carolina State. He also volunteered with MGM Racing out of Charlotte, N.C. He is originally from Lincolnton, N.C., and a graduate of Lincolnton High School.

· Chassis: The No. 42 Busch team is bringing chassis #654 to race in this weekend’s Dover 200. The same chassis was entered in a total of six NASCAR Busch races in 2006. The most memorable run was at Chicagoland in July when Casey Mears drove the chassis to his first NASCAR victory, which ironically that same weekend is when CGRFS announced Montoya was coming back on board with the team to go stock car racing in 2007. Montoya also raced the same chassis to a 14th-place finish in the last NASCAR Busch race of the 2006 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. Altogether, #654 car collected one win, three top-five and five top-15 finishes last year.