TEAM REPORTS (DAYTONA, FLA.) - GANASSI/SABATES DAYTONA ADVANCE

Dario Franchitti and No. 40 Dodge Journey Team (NSCS) and No. 40 Fastenal Dodge (NNS)

History Maker: Franchitti will become the first European driver in the 59-year history of NASCAR to join the series full time, running for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year title along with an assortment of NASCAR Nationwide Series races.

“Super Dario” – HBO REAL SPORTS with Bryant Gumbel: HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel will feature Franchitti six times over the course of the next month in a feature about the 34-year-old Scotsman’s switch to NASCAR. In this REAL SPORTS/Sports Illustrated collaboration, correspondent Mary Carillo profiles NASCAR's newest attraction.

Three’s Company: In his first official race for CGRFS in 2008, Franchitti won the Rolex 24 At Daytona and became the first driver to ever capture the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Indianapolis 500, an open wheel title and the Rolex 24 At Daytona consecutively, accomplishing the feat in less than a year. Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt are the only others to win the four titles, but neither did so in succession.

Stock Car Development Plan: To date, Franchitti has made seven ARCA/NASCAR starts beginning with the October ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway (2007). He finished the 2007 season with a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway before taking on the final four Nationwide Series races at Memphis, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami. Last week in Daytona he continued his development with a 10th-place finish in the ARCA race at Daytona.

Welcome aboard, Fastenal: CGRFS welcomed the Fastenal Company, a leading global industrial and construction supply distributor, into its family of sponsors in mid-November last year. The new partnership includes a multi-year deal to sponsor Dario Franchitti and the No. 40 Dodge Charger in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS). The program will feature Franchitti as the car’s primary driver and also include select races with his fellow CGRFS teammates Bryan Clauson, Kevin Hamlin, Scott Pruett and Reed Sorenson behind the wheel. The company is stepping up to CGRFS and the Nationwide Series following two seasons in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as the primary sponsor of Bobby Hamilton Racing’s No. 18 Dodge truck. Fastenal is America’s No. 1 fastener distributor and one of the world’s fastest growing full-line industrial suppliers, providing 700,000 varieties of industrial and construction supplies (including 300,000 fastener types) through 12 regional U.S. distribution centers and 2,100+ Fastenal stores spanning North America and the world.

Reed Sorenson and No. 41 Target Team (NSCS)

Top Five in Shootout: Sorenson recorded an impressive fifth-place finish in his first appearance in the 30th annual Budweiser Shootout. He qualified for the event by capturing the pole position for last season’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sorenson currently holds the record for the youngest pole winner, at 21-years of age, for any event in the tracks 99-year history.

Picture Perfect: CGRFS recently announced that the Polaroid Company has signed a multi-year agreement to become a major associate sponsor on the No. 41 Target Dodge driven by Sorenson in the NSCS and the No. 9 and No. 10 Target Hondas driven by Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon in the IndyCar Series beginning with the 2008 season. In addition to placement on the cars and uniforms during each race, Polaroid will have a primary paint scheme during one event in both the Sprint Cup and IndyCar Series.

Daytona Duels: Sorenson will start 18th in the first of two Gatorade Duels on Thursday after qualifying 41st during last Sunday’s round of time trials.

Daytona Stats: This will mark Sorenson’s third Daytona 500 start. His previous finishes are 13th (2007) and 29th (2006).

Career Milestone: Sorenson will be making his 75th Sprint Cup Series start when he takes the green flag for the 50th running of the Daytona 500.

Total Non-Stop Action: On Monday, Sorenson, along with CGRFS teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, stood ringside for a three-way bout on TNA (Total Nonstop Action Wrestling) iMPACT!. Sorenson was teamed up with The Motor City Machineguns. The event will air Thursday evening at 9 p.m. on Spike TV.

Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Team (NSCS)

Daytona: Montoya will make his third NASCAR Sprint Cup start at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday for the Daytona 500. Montoya qualified 42nd and will participate in the first Duel race on Thursday night to determine his starting sport for the 50th running of the Great American Race. Montoya finished 20th last year in his inaugural 500. The last time Montoya raced at DIS, he earned his second-consecutive Rolex 24 At Daytona victory with Sprint Cup teammate Dario Franchitti, and Grand American drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas.

Pit Stop: Texaco/HavolineŽ, sponsor for Montoya and the No. 42 race team, provided race fans the opportunity to meet its driver and crew at a local Orlando area Texaco station. Montoya and the team pumped fuel and checked tire pressures for patrons at the Texaco fuel stop on 4115 Town Center Blvd., in Orlando, Fla.

Fans also had the opportunity to win various prizes including: gift cards, autographed Montoya photographs, hats, t-shirts and numerous other Texaco/Havoline No. 42 race team merchandise.

Happy Birthday: Montoya’s crew chief Donnie Wingo celebrated his birthday on Wednesday at Daytona. Wingo and several of his team members spent two days with Montoya and his family at Universal Studios on Monday and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on Tuesday.

Montoya vs. Sorenson: Montoya and teammate Reed Sorenson each managed a tag team pair for a Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling match on Monday, Feb. 11. Montoya and Sorenson, along with Hermie Sadler and Jimmie Spencer headed to Universal Studios for the television taping for TNA iMPACT!, which will air Thursday, Feb. 14, on Spike TV (9 p.m. ET). Montoya teamed with LAX (the Latin America Exchange) and had a surprise impact on the outcome of the match.

Bryan Clauson and No. 41 Texaco/Havoline Team (NNS)

Sixth Start on Saturday for Clauson: When Clauson takes the green flag Saturday, Feb. 16 in the Camping World 300, it will mark the 18-year-old rookie’s sixth start in Nationwide Series competition. Clauson made his NASCAR debut late last year at Richmond International Raceway (RIR), where he raced 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 went on to make four additional starts in NNS competition, grabbing a career-best finish of 18th place in a collision-filled NNS race at Memphis in late October and a career-best start of 10th at Texas Motor Speedway in early November.

Clauson’s Last Superspeedway Run: The last time 18-year-old Clauson climbed behind the wheel of a stock car to take to a superspeedway was in the ARCA RE/MAX 250 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway this past October. It was his sixth ARCA start and resulted in a career pole position, which he earned after lapping the 2.66-mile superspeedway at 184.84 mph in 51.807 seconds. He went on to finish the race 11th. That run marked his first superspeedway race but final ARCA competition of 2007. In just six career ARCA starts he earned one win (at Gateway International Raceway in August), one pole and four top-five finishes, always finishing inside the top 15 during each effort.

Clauson Still No. 1: Clauson is still ranked number one on the David Smith Motorsports top 75 list of young aspiring NASCAR Sprint Cup stars. Clauson has been number one on that list since mid 2006. According to Smith, president and head talent scout for DSM…“It doesn’t take a scout to see that Bryan has talent,” Smith said. “He’s winning races at the national USAC level and at a young age, like Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne did. He’s beating legendary drivers.” Clauson’s success in his short stock car career has also caught Smith’s eye. “Bryan has a lot of untapped potential and that’s something that can be very special. He’s making the most of his opportunities and he has lived up to every expectation put before him.”

Racing Close to Home: Three members of the No. 41 Texaco/Havoline NNS team will be racing close to home this weekend in the Sunshine State. Crew chief Brian Pattie hails from Zephyrhills, Fla., along with the team’s shock specialist and front tire carrier, Adam Cooke. The two grew up together in the Florida town. Bruce Jones, a team mechanic, is also from Florida. He calls Lakeland his hometown and still has many family and friends who reside in the area.

QUOTES

Topic: Your thoughts on the season-opener at Daytona and your outlook for the 2008 season…

Dario Franchitti: “At 34 years old, I'm doing something completely different. I never thought I'd get this chance to learn something completely new. I achieved more than I ever thought I'd achieve in open-wheel, now I'm getting the chance to come and race in NASCAR. For me, it's brilliant.”

Reed Sorenson: “There’s nothing like getting down to Daytona and getting the season started. Everyone starts out with a clean slate and although it’s the first of 36 races, it’s important to get the season started off on the right foot. It kind of sets the stage for how the season is going to go, at least it seems that way. We had a good test in January, but we really won’t know how good the car is until we get out there in a big draft and turn a good number of laps. Handling is going to play a big role at Daytona, unlike the first CoT race at Talladega. The teams that put their finger on the handling will be up front at the end of the 500.

“Overall we’re looking forward to the season. We had a lot of DNF’s last year, but we finished higher in the points. We improved how the car ran at most of the tracks last year, but we had a ton of bad luck. I think if we can get rid of that we’ll be good. Jimmy (Elledge) and I are great friends and we know what the other is saying and thinking. This is our year and our goal is to win a race or two, eliminate the mistakes and finish consistently in the top 15 each week. If we can do that we’ll be in line to make the Chase.”

Juan Pablo Montoya: “It’s really hard to say that we’re going to have a great Daytona 500 or we’re going to struggle at it in the Texaco/Havoline Dodge. Hopefully we have a good race and everything goes really smooth and well. At the same time some things in these races are completely out of your hands. That is part of the excitement of it, you just don’t know what will happen.

“The Daytona 500 is way up there on the list of important races to me. It’s always a big race. There are maybe three or four races in the world and you always want to be in them. I’ve always run pretty well in those pressure-filled, high-profile races and I hope I can make something happen here.

“I think the Daytona 500 is a really cool race. The fans make it what it is more than the drivers do, and that is what’s so great about this sport.”

Bryan Clauson: “We had a really good test in January. I had never even seen Daytona until we came here to test so all of this has really been a whole new experience for me. When I think about this track I always think about Dale Earnhardt winning in 2001, which I think I was only eight-years old then. I can remember watching that with my dad and thinking how cool it was when he won especially how the entire sport seemed to come together to congratulate him.

“Looking ahead to what is to come for me this year, there are a lot of uncertainties right now because of sponsorship. I know Chip, Felix and everyone are working to make sure I am on the track but it is hard coming into this deal not having a lot of stock car experience and then throwing on top of that not running every week. It’s tough. They are piecing things together and I am confident they will do the best they can and make the right decisions as we move forward. It’s about continuing that learning process we started last year that went pretty well between the ARCA and Nationwide races. We have a good start lined up right now. Definitely not being in the car adds a few more hurdles to overcome but all you can do when you aren’t out there on the track is go, watch and listen to learn as much as you can to keep the momentum you’ve started going.

“I’m also very fortunate to have guys like Brian Pattie and Brad Parrott to guide me, as well as Dario, Juan and Reed. Reed has been especially helpful here lately. He stuck around at the Las Vegas test and got in the car, told me what he felt so we could compare notes. I really appreciated that and it really did help a lot.”

CHASSIS INFO

No. 40 Dodge Journey Dodge (NSCS): New Chassis, #810.

No. 41 Target Dodge (NSCS): The team used chassis #748 is last season’s second Talladega race and first CoT superspeedway race (10th-place finish)

No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge (NSCS): Crew Chief Donnie Wingo and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline team brought chassis #750 to Daytona International Speedway for the first race at the 2.5-mile track in the CoT. Montoya piloted this chassis last season at Talladega Superspeedway where he finished the 188-lap contest in the 15th position. Montoya and the team also tested this chassis in February, and while it wasn’t the quicker of the two cars they brought to Florida, it was the most stable and drafted the best.

No. 40 Fastenal Dodge (NNS): The blue, black and white Fastenal colors will be carried aboard chassis #751 this weekend. Montoya last raced this car at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2007 during the Aaron’s 312, which he and the team started 20th and then finished seventh.

No. 41 Texaco/Havoline Dodge (NNS): The No. 41 Texaco/Havoline Dodge—chassis #551—made three starts in 2007, including two runs at Daytona International Speedway and one at Talladega Superspeedway. Sorenson raced the same car in the 2006 Daytona Nationwide race during which he and the No. 41 CGRFS team took two early-race setbacks and turned them into a second-half comeback. The team maintained a top-10 run the remainder of the race and survived a last-lap colossal collision to grab a ninth-place finish (started 13th).