CGRFS NBS Memphis Advance Notes
Race: Sam's Town 250 on Saturday, October 27, 2007 Track: Memphis Motorsports Park (.75-mile tri-oval) Location: Memphis, Tenn. CGRFS Busch Series Media Contact at Memphis: Angie Copen, No. 41 Memorex Dodge Kelby Krauss, No. 42 Target Dodge Bryan Clauson and the No. 41 Memorex Dodge Team Facts: * Fourth Run, but First Time: This weekend's run at Memphis will mark 18-year-old Bryan Clauson's fourth career NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) start but his first run at the Memphis Motorsports Park. Clauson, who just graduated from Noblesville (Ind.) High School and turned 18 this past June, has made three previous starts in the Busch Series. He made his debut at Richmond International Raceway (RIR) in early September, where he raced up to as high as 21st before a left-front tire rub relegated him into a four-lap deficit to finish the night in 36th place. He then proceeded to Kansas Speedway, where he started 33rd and moved up to as high as fifth place before falling victim to competitors with fresher tires (finished 23rd). He most recently raced at Lowe's Motor Speedway where he scored a 14th-place starting position earlier in the day and then went on to avoid two colossal on-track collisions to finish the night in 20th. * Meet Bryan Clauson in Memphis: Clauson will stop by the OfficeMax store located at Wolf Chase Commons (8055 Giacosa Place) in Memphis, Tenn., from 5 to 7 p.m. CT Wednesday, October 24, to sign autographs and meet area race fans. For more information, call 901-371-9123. * Making His Way Around Town: Thursday, Clauson will spend the day hanging out with some of his fellow NBS competitors to take in some of the sites and scenes of the Elvis Presley's hometown of Memphis. He, along with Scott Wimmer, Jason Keller, Brad Coleman and Chase Austin, will start their day visiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and then proceed to visit Graceland from there. They will wrap up the day and stop in on the Sam's Town 250 Fanfest at the Peabody Place Retail and Entertainment Center. For more information go to www.memphismotorsports.com. * Standings Update: The No. 41 Memorex team is still 17h in the overall NBS owner ranks, with a current tally of 3,186. The team is 78 points outside of the top 15 and 178 points out of the top 10. * Chassis: Crew chief Brad Parrott and the No. 41 Memorex team are taking chassis #454 to Memphis this weekend. The car has had two fair runs this year. First, at Richmond International Raceway in May, Juan Pablo Montoya and team started and finished their run in 11th place. Then, CGRFS development driver Kevin Hamlin and team overcame a tight-handling condition and a late-race tap at the Milwaukee Mile to pull off a 16th-place finish (started 22nd) in June. * When to Watch: The Memphis Busch race is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, October 27. It will broadcast live on ESPN2 and MRN radio. Qualifying for the 250-lap competition is scheduled to start at 10:35 a.m. EDT Saturday. At this time qualifying is not scheduled for broadcast. Clauson's Cumulative NASCAR Busch Series Stats Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s Laps Led Winnings 3 0 0 0 0 0 $59,210 Clauson's 2007 NASCAR Busch Series Stats Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s Laps Led Winnings 3 0 0 0 0 0 $59,210 No. 41 Memorex Team 2007 Results Date Race Start Finish Winnings Owner Points Date Race Start Finish Winnings Owner Points 17-Feb Daytona 25 38 $42,475 37th 6-Jul Daytona 10 7 $27,860 22nd 24-Feb California 20 36 $22,370 44th 14-Jul Chicago 32 15 $23,530 21st 4-Mar *Mexico 1 5 $63,825 26th 21-Jul St. Louis 2 1 $59,850 15th 10-Mar Las Vegas 3 30 $22,680 32nd 28-Jul ***Indianapolis 12 34 $14,650 18th 17-Mar Atlanta 30 39 $13,260 32nd 4-Aug *Montreal 7 14 $35,500 16th 24-Mar Bristol 24 16 $22,825 31st 11-Aug *Watkins Glen 5 18 $17,800 14th 7-Apr **Nashville 1 11 $18,150 25th 18-Aug Michigan 4 20 $18,500 15th 14-Apr Texas 36 35 $19,955 31st 24-Aug Bristol 8 33 $20,420 17th 20-Apr **Phoenix 18 11 $18,475 25th 1-Sep California 11 11 $26,225 16th 28-Apr Talladega 14 27 $18,775 26th 7-Sep Richmond 25 35 $16,635 16th 4-May Richmond 10 8 $16,845 21st 22-Sep Dover 6 5 $22,525 16th 11-May **Darlington 2 30 $14,600 26th 29-Sep Kansas 30 23 $23,700 17th 26-May Charlotte 30 42 $15,265 29th 12-Oct Charlotte 14 20 $18,875 17th 2-Jun Dover 21 27 $15,025 28th 27-Oct Memphis 9-Jun **Nashville 34 14 $16,600 27th 3-Nov Texas 16-Jun **Kentucky 27 4 $33,825 25th 10-Nov Phoenix 23-Jun ***Milwaukee 10 35 $16,165 27th 17-Nov Homestead 30-Jun Loudon 14 9 $17,175 25th *Scott Pruett races **David Stremme races ***Scott Lagasse Jr. races Bryan Clauson races Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Winnings 31 1 4 7 2 $734,360 No. 41 Memorex Crew Name Crew position Hometown Name Crew position Hometown Brad Parrott Crew Chief Harrisburg, N.C. Mark Rette Chief Mechanic Freehold, N.J. Ross Fletcher Engineer Lincolnton, N.C. Tyler Jones Rear Mechanic South Royalton, Vt. Lorin Ranier Spotter Prestonsburg, Ky. Dan Bormann Swing Mechanic Shingle Springs, Calif. Jon Lucas Front Tire Changer Charlotte, N.C. Felipe Vazquez Engine Tuner Kutztown, Pa. Todd Drakulich Front Tire Carrier Tucson, Ariz. Scott Vogelsong Shock Specialist Camp Hill, Pa. Evan Clark Rear Tire Changer Mt. Pleasant, N.C. Bart Apple Tire Specialist Baltimore, M.D. John Gaynor Rear Tire Carrier Vancouver, Wash. Jody Hall Pit Support Concord, N.C. Marcus Bonicelli Gas Man/Front Mechanic Colorado Springs, Colo. Shane Bourgeois Pit Support Peachtree City, Ga. Tony Cardamone Jack Man Cary, N.C. Jeff Neuendorf Truck Driver Watertown, S.D. Ryan Quann Catch Can Richmond, Va. Claude Collignon Scorer Arbuckle, Calif. Dario Franchitti and the No. 42 Target Dodge Team Facts: Media Alert: Dario Franchitti will visit the Memphis Motorsports Park infield media center at 5:15 pm CT Friday, October 26, for a media question and answer session. Post-race media question and answer session will also take place in the media center if applicable. * Next Step: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) announced earlier this week Dario Franchitti will make his NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) debut at Memphis in the Sam's Town 250. The run will mark the third official step in Franchitti's stock car development process. Prior to racing at Martinsville in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race last weekend, Franchitti raced the No.42 Target Dodge in the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway. Franchitti will again race under the guidance of CGRFS Crew Chief Brian Pattie. In preparation for the 250-lap race this upcoming Saturday, Franchitti is scheduled to spend this Wednesday testing at Kentucky Speedway. * Chassis: Pattie and the No. 42 Memorex team will run chassis #452 this weekend at Memphis. The car most recently carried AJ Allmendinger to a 21st-place finish at Dover International Speedway in late September. Before that, David Stremme and the No. 42 team scored a top-10 start and top-15 finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in late August. The car also proved to be the No. 41 CGRFS Busch team's best chassis last season. With a total of six starts in 2006, the car tallied four top-five finishes and five top-10 finishes. The same chassis played a key part in the team's high point of 2006 when Reed Sorenson drove the car to two fourth-place finishes back-to-back in July at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Gateway International in St. Louis, Mo. Sorenson went on to record a second-place finish in early August at the O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind. The only time the chassis finished outside the top five was at Richmond International Raceway in May when the team practiced, qualified and raced inside the top 10 all day and night. Unfortunately, a late hit from another car sent the No. 41 CGRFS Dodge slamming into the outside wall and out of the race the remainder of the night (finished 36th). * Franchitti joins Ganassi: CGRFS announced earlier this month Franchitti, reigning Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series Champion, had signed a multi-year deal with the organization to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) beginning in 2008. Franchitti will become the first European driver in the 59-year history of NASCAR to join the series full-time when he assumes the driving duties of No.40 Dodge Avenger next season. Franchitti will run for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year title along with an assortment of Nationwide Series races. * He's got talent: Franchitti joins CGRFS with impressive open-wheel credentials. The 34-year-old recently captured the 2007 Indianapolis 500 title, becoming only the second Scottish-born driver to win the race (Jim Clark in 1965), before going on to win the 2007 IndyCar Series Championship over Ganassi driver Scott Dixon in the final turn of the season. With over 180 starts under his belt between the CART and IndyCar Series resulting in 18 wins, 17 poles, 63 top-five and 95 top-10 finishes (1997-2007), Franchitti is the winningest driver in U.S. open-wheel history from Great Britain. He also captured the prestigious 12 Hours of Sebring in the LMP2 Class earlier this season in his first ever American Le Mans Series start - much like Montoya did in February at the Rolex 24 At Daytona for CGRFS in his first sports car start. * Where did he start? Franchitti began racing karts in 1984 at age 11, landing his first crown in the Scottish Junior Kart Championship. After securing back-to-back British Junior Kart championships (1985-1986), the Scottish Kart championship (1988), the Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship (1991) and the British Formula Vauxhall Lotus Championship (1993), he competed and won in the British Formula 3 Championship (1994) and the FIA International and German Touring Car Championships (1995-1996) before making the move to CART in 1997. * Ganassi Globalization: The addition of Franchitti to Ganassi's stable of drivers furthers the team's international appeal, which now represents seven countries across five series (United States-Reed Sorenson-NNCS, Bryan Clauson-NBS, Scott Pruett-Grand Am, Rob Finlay-Grand Am, Chris Festa-Indy Pro Series; Colombia-Montoya-NNCS; Scotland-Franchitti-NNCS; New Zealand-Scott Dixon-IndyCar; England-Dan Wheldon-IndyCar; Canada-Michael Valiante-Grand Am; and Mexico-Memo Rojas-Grand Am). * Standings Update: After the No.42 team's most recent run at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where the crew finished 26th with AJ Allmendinger behind the wheel, the team maintained its 19th position in the overall NBS owner standings and is just 199 points outside the top 15. No. 42 Memorex Team 2007 Results Date Race Start Finish Winnings Owner Points Date Race Start Finish Winnings Owner Points 17-Feb Daytona 16 40 $44,375 39th 6-Jul Daytona 17 30 $26,600 15th 24-Feb California 29 39 $24,115 46th 14-Jul Chicago 17 21 $27,245 15th 4-Mar Mexico 3 1 $125,646 19th 21-Jul *St. Louis 13 7 $33,950 13th 10-Mar Las Vegas 35 20 $29,955 20th 28-Jul *Indianapolis 30 8 $21,700 12th 17-Mar Atlanta 10 8 $26,720 11th 4-Aug **Montreal 34 21 $39,570 15th 24-Mar Bristol 34 14 $28,450 9th 11-Aug Watkins Glen 2 33 $20,505 17th 7-Apr *Nashville 28 18 $21,750 10th 18-Aug *Michigan 18 42 $23, 740 22nd 14-Apr Texas 14 30 $26,455 12th 24-Aug ***Bristol 9 15 $27,490 19th 20-Apr Phoenix 20 21 $22,150 11th 1-Sep ****California 18 36 $28,575 23rd 28-Apr Talladega 20 7 $28,000 10th 7-Sep ****Richmond 12 14 $25,550 19th 4-May Richmond 11 11 $22,850 9th 22-Sep ****Dover 14 21 $22,900 20th 11-May Darlington 19 15 $23,775 9th 29-Sep ****Kansas 8 25 $28,730 19th 26-May Charlotte 37 40 $20,815 12th 12-Oct ****Charlotte 28 26 $22,775 19th 2-Jun Dover 24 14 $21,325 12th 27-Oct Memphis 9-Jun *Nashville 28 23 $23,875 12th 3-Nov Texas 16-Jun *Kentucky 29 21 $26,975 13th 10-Nov Phoenix 23-Jun *Milwaukee 22 16 $24,125 12th 17-Nov Homestead 30-Jun Loudon 7 34 $20,835 13th *Kevin Hamlin races **Michael Valiante races ***David Stremme races ****A.J. Allmendinger races Dario Franchitti races Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Winnings 31 1 1 5 0 $911,521 No. 42 Memorex 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. Lucas Tucker Tire Specialist Myrtle Beach, S.C. Tim Fedewa Spotter Holt, Mich. Bruce Jones Rear Mechanic Lakeland, Fla. Adam Mosher Pit Coach/Support Fort Mill, S.C. Brian Taylor Front Mechanic Cuthbert, Ga. Dan Chivari Front Tire Changer/Mechanic Erie, Pa. Tim O'Brien Engineer Lebanon, Ohio Adam Cooke Front Tire Carrier/Shock Specialist Zephyrhills, Fla. Todd Hamm Engine Tuner Kutztown, Pa. Daryl Lockyer Rear Tire Changer Los Angeles, Calif. Brandon Stafford Swing Mechanic Taylorsville, N.C. Doug Riepe Rear Tire Carrier Danbury, Conn. Scott Hutchins Pit Support Thomasville, N.C. Mark Jacobs Jack Man Ft Walton Beach, Fla. Bill Cole Catch Can Man/Truck Driver Milan, Ill. For more information go to: www.chipganassiracing.com