CGRFS NNS and NSCS Advance Notes for Atlanta
CGRFS Atlanta Motor Speedway Advance Notes
Race: Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday, March 9 (NSCS)
Nicorette 300 on Saturday, March 8 (NNS)
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54 miles)
Location: Hampton, Ga.
CGRFS Media Contacts at Atlanta:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) NASCAR Nationwide Series
(NNS)
Angie Copen, No. 40 Fastenal Dodge Patrick Rogers,
No. 40 Fastenal Dodge
Patrick Rogers, No. 41 Target Dodge Heather Kincel,
No. 41 Polaroid Dodge
Heather Kincel, No. 42 Wrigley's(tm) Big Red(r) Dodge
NOTES
Dario Franchitti and No. 40 Fastenal Dodge Teams (NSCS/NNS)
Leading Rookie: Franchitti currently leads the Raybestos Rookie of the
Year race in both the NSCS (31-30 over Regan Smith) and the NNS (37-25
over CGRFS teammate Bryan Clauson).
Catching On: In last weekend's NNS race at Las Vegas, Franchitti scored
a NASCAR career best finish of sixth in the No. 40 Fastenal Dodge,
topping his previous best finish of 20th earlier this season at Daytona.
The result moved him up eight places in the NNS standings from 17th to
ninth.
Fastenal Making it Easy for Franchitti: This weekend Franchitti's
primary NNS sponsor Fastenal will be adorning the hood of his NNS car as
well as the NSCS car as he pulls double duty for the fourth straight
weekend. With two identical cars, the former open wheel pilot (who's
never had to consistently juggle two series in the same weekend) will
find it easy to bounce back and forth between the NNS and NSCS garages.
Parrott's Atlanta Persona: Franchitti's NNS crew chief Brad Parrott
called a strong NNS race last year at AMS with another NASCAR newcomer
Juan Pablo Montoya. The team lined up inside the top 10 and finished
eighth. Parrott has an impressive history at Atlanta that includes Carl
Edwards' first career NNS win in March 2005.
Reed Sorenson and No. 41 Target Dodge Team (NSCS)
Phoenix Test: Sorenson, along with most of the NSCS driver and teams,
participated in a NASCAR mandated test session at Phoenix International
Raceway on Monday and Tuesday. Sorenson posted the fourth fastest time
of the two-day session with a lap of 27.486 sec/130.976 mph. His CGRFS
teammate Juan Pablo Montoya topped the charts with a time of 27.385
sec/131.459 mph.
Career Best Finish: Sorenson recorded his career-best NSCS finish of
third-place in last season's second race at what is considered his
hometown track - Atlanta Motor Speedway (Oct. 28).
Atlanta Results: In five NSCS starts at the 1.54-mile speedway Sorenson
has one top five (third) and three top-10 finishes. His average start is
20.8 and average finish is 18.4.
Homecoming: This weekend's race at AMS will be a homecoming of sorts
for Sorenson, who hails from Peachtree City, Ga. AMS is the site of
Sorenson's first NSCS start, which came on Oct. 30, 2005. Sorenson
started the event 22nd and finished 41st after an accident took him out
of contention on lap 133 of 325. Sorenson grew up racing Legends Cars
(5/8 scale replicas of classic coupes and sedans of the '30s) at AMS,
capturing three track championships ('98, '99, '01) 22 wins, 40 top-five
finishes and 42 top-10 finishes in 43 starts.
BFF: Sorenson's good friend and Target teammate Shane Bourgeois also
hails from Peachtree City. The two grew up together and Bourgeois
helped Sorenson on his ASA team before moving with him to North Carolina
and to CGRFS. Bourgeois was recently promoted to the Engineering
Department as Quality Engineer - Inventory Mileage Tracking.
Additionally, he provides pit support on race day.
Points Report: Sorenson and the Target team currently sit 18th in the
overall NSCS driver point standings. The team is only 27 points out of
12th place - the final cutoff position for the Chase - and 170 points
out of first place.
Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Wrigley's(tm) Big Red(r) Dodge Team (NSCS)
Spicing It Up: Juan Pablo Montoya will drive the bold red color of
Wrigley's Big Red this weekend on his No. 42 Dodge. This is the first
time this paint scheme will take to the track this season. Montoya
drove the Bid Red Dodge twice last season at California Speedway and
Watkins Glen International.
Phoenix Testing: Montoya and the Big Red team spent two days after the
race in Las Vegas testing at Phoenix in preparation for the April 12
race. The team consistently had one of the quickest cars on the track
and posted the fastest lap time of the two-day, NASCAR sanctioned test
at 27.385 sec. and 131.459 mph.
Sight of First Top Five: Montoya, making only his fifth start on the
NSCS circuit in 2007, drove the No. 42 Dodge to a fifth-place finish at
AMS in March. He crossed the finish line a nose ahead of the No. 07 car
to earn his first-career top-five finish. In the fall race, Montoya
blew a tire early and settled for a 34th-place finish.
Welcome to Colombia: Montoya and his wife Connie will host NASCAR
officials during an unprecedented trip to Cartagena, Colombia March
10-11, to visit their charitable foundation, Formula Smiles.
A contingent from NASCAR, CGRFS and the Victory Junction Gang Camp will
be arriving in Colombia on March 10. The purpose of the trip is to visit
the Formula Smiles' project in Cartagena and showcase NASCAR's support
through the NASCAR Foundation with a $25,000 donation to the program.
For more information visit: www.formulasmiles.com.
About last week: Montoya and his Donnie Wingo-led team rallied from
falling almost two laps down at the midpoint of the UAW-Dodge Dealers
400 to finish 19th and on the lead lap in a back-up car. Montoya and
the team battled a loose handling Dodge the entire race weekend in Las
Vegas, but never gave up and after making massive changes to the car
earned the top-20 finish.
2008 Standings: Montoya and the team gained another three spots in the
standings after their 19th-place finish in Las Vegas. They moved up
from 27th to 24th and sit just 72 points out of 12th, the cutoff for the
Chase to the Sprint Cup.
He's "SIRIUS" Again: For the second year in a row, listen to SIRIUS
Satellite Radio every Monday on channel 128 for the "Juan Pablo Montoya
Report." Montoya will provide exclusive updates on the No. 42 Team;
gives post-race downloads and share his thoughts on the events of the
season. He will chat with hosts David Poole and Mike Bagley on "The
Morning Drive" every Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Brian Clauson and No. 41 Polaroid Team (NNS)
Clauson Returns to No. 41: Clauson, 18-year-old driver of the No. 41
Dodge, is returning behind the wheel of the No. 41 Polaroid Dodge this
weekend at AMS. His last run was in Fontana last month when he and team
encountered a cut tire that derailed their run and ended it way too
early in 34th place. Prior to that, he left his mark on Daytona during
the NNS season opener, scoring a career-best sixth-place finish in only
his sixth career NNS start. Clauson, who just saw DIS for the first
time in January during the NNS test session, also scored a career-best
start of seventh place and was named the Raybestos Rookie of the Race.
Polaroid Makes NASCAR Debut in Atlanta: Polariod is making its NNS
debut this weekend at Atlanta on the No. 41 Dodge. Last fall, Polariod
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 this 2008 season. In addition to NNS
competition, Polaroid will have a primary paint scheme during one event
in both the NSCS and IndyCar Series.
BT Phone Home: Brian Taylor (a.k.a. "BT"), mechanic on the No. 41
Polaroid team, hails from the Peach State. He grew up in Cuthbert and
has been with CGRFS for four years and in NASCAR for 10. He is a 1996
graduate of Randolph Southern High School in Shellman, Ga.
Rookie Standings: Clauson currently stands second in the Raybestos
Rookie of the Year standings. He has a current tally of 25 points, just
12 behind NNS rookie class leader and fellow teammate Dario Franchitti.
Owner Standings Update: The No. 41 team dropped 14 positions in the
owner standings after last weekend's effort at Las Vegas when Kyle
Krisiloff made his first start for the team and went high on the race
track to make a pass. Unfortunately, he lost control of the No. 41
Dodge, wrecking the car and calling it a day way too early in 43rd
place. The team now stands 28th, 227 points away from first place and
107 points outside the top 10.
QUOTES
Bryan Clauson
How hard is it to stop and go with the races you are running? You raced
at Daytona and California, but sat out Las Vegas while Krisiloff drove.
Does that make this upcoming weekend's run even more challenging? "It
does throw an additional element into everything else I am trying to
take in. So, it is a little bit different, but we have a really good
car we are taking to Atlanta. The biggest hurdle is just learning about
the track. I know this same team had a really good setup there last
year at this time. I think we should be pretty good off the truck. I
also will be leaning on Reed a little bit. He has been helping me over
the last few weeks so I will definitely lean on him for some direction
and insight."
What are your thoughts on Brett Favre retiring? "I don't follow football
as much as I follow basketball, but it is going to be a different game.
It seems as long as I have been alive or almost my entire life, Brett
Favre has been football. He has been a big part of it and I am sure will
still be part of it some way or another, but the game will be different
without him in there. That is for sure."
CHASSIS INFO
No. 40 Fastenal Dodge (NSCS): Chassis #807. No previous starts.
No. 41 Target Dodge (NSCS): Chassis #633. Two previous starts in 2007,
Bristol 1 (43rd) and Darlington (40th).
No. 42 Big Red Dodge (NSCS): Chassis #805. No previous starts, but was
run at the two-day test at California Speedway.
No. 40 Fastenal Dodge (NNS): Chassis #652. The car had some good runs
in 2007, including a 15th-place finish with Sorenson behind the wheel at
Chicagoland in early July; a 14th-place finish with Montoya at Bristol
and a 20th-place finish with Montoya at Las Vegas in March 2007.
No. 41 Polaroid Dodge (NNS): Chassis #753. The car helped the program
score some strong finishes in 2007, including a 13th-place effort by
A.J. Allmendinger at Phoenix last fall. Prior to that, it also carried
CGRFS development driver Kevin Hamlin to a second-straight, top-10
finish in late July last year. Hamlin and team came home with a
seventh-place finish from Gateway on July 21 and then the following
weekend turned a 30th-place starting position into an eighth-place
finish at the O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind. With the same
car.
2008 STATS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s Ave Start Ave
Finish Pts. Pos./(Prev)
Dario Franchitti 3 0 0 0 0 36.0
32.7 36/(35)
Reed Sorenson 3 0 0 1 1 21.0 20.0
18/(17)
Juan Pablo Montoya 3 0 0 0 0 22.3
23.7 24/(27)
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s Ave Start Ave
Finish Pts. Pos./(Prev)
Dario Franchitti 3 0 0 0 1 10.7
16.7 9/(17)
Bryan Clauson 2 0 0 0 1 11.0 20.0
28/(14)
CAREER STATS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s Ave Start Ave
Finish
Dario Franchitti 3 0 0 0 0 36.0
32.7
Reed Sorenson 77 0 1 5 12 24.7 23.9
Juan Pablo Montoya 40 1 0 3 6 21.9
23.0
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s Ave Start Ave
Finish
Dario Franchitti 6 0 0 0 1 11.6
25.0
Bryan Clauson 7 0 0 0 1 17.6 23.4
TEAM ROSTERS
John Fernandez - Managing Director
Tony Glover - Team Manager
Steve Hmiel - Director of Competition
No. 40 (NSCS) Hometown Hometown
Crew Chief: Steve Lane Winston Salem, NC Rear Tire Changer:
Chuck Efaw Big Prairie, OH
Chief Mechanic: Jim Poulman Oak Lawn, IL Rear Tire Carrier: Doug
Riepe Danbury, Conn.
Front Tire Changer: Evan Clark Carmel, NY Gas Man: Benjy Grubbs
Richmond, VA
Front Tire Carrier: Andy Silver Weaverville, NC Catch
Can: Jim Poulman Oak Lawn, IL
Jack Man: Tony Cardamone Charleston, WV Spotter: Mike Calinoff
Hauppauge, NY
No. 41 (NSCS) Hometown Hometown
Crew Chief: Jimmy Elledge Redding, CA Rear Tire Changer:
Jason Sheets Indianapolis, IN
Chief Mechanic: Jeff Vandermoss Green Bay, WI Rear Tire
Carrier: Adam Mosher Fort Mill, SC
Front Tire Changer: Mike Trower New Hampton, Iowa Gas Man:
Randy Hildreth Charlotte, NC
Front Tire Carrier: Adam Cooke Zephyrhills, FL Catch Can: Eric
"Pee Wee" Hoyle Asheville, NC
Jack Man: David Cox Statesville, NC Spotter: Lorin Ranier
Prestonsburg, KY
No. 42 (NSCS) Hometown Hometown
Crew Chief: Donnie Wingo Spartanburg, SC Rear Tire
Changer: Rich Macco North Syracuse, NY
Chief Mechanic: Mike Brill Woodsville, NH Rear Tire Carrier: Chip
Goode Statesville, NC
Front Tire Changer: Trevor Lysne Fergus Falls, MN Gas Man:
Mike Bodick Norwalk, CT
Front Tire Carrier: Eric Bilyeu Waterford, MI Catch Can:
Heath Silver Asheville, NC
Jack Man: Mark Jacobs Fort Walton Bch, FL Spotter: Tab Boyd
Pensacola, FL
No. 40 (NNS) Hometown Hometown
Crew Chief: Brad Parrott Charlotte, NC Rear Tire Changer:
Chuck Efaw Big Prairie, OH
Chief Mechanic: Mark Rette Freehold, NJ Rear Tire Carrier: Todd
Drakulich Tucson, AZ
Front Tire Changer: Evan Clark Carmel, NY Gas Man: Marcus
Bonicelli Colorado Springs, CO
Front Tire Carrier: Marty Forcier Superior, WI Catch Can:
Scott Vogelsong Camp Hill, PA
Jack Man: Will Sturgill Lexington, KY Spotter: Mike Calinoff
Hauppauge, NY
No. 41 (NNS) Hometown Hometown
Crew Chief: Brian Pattie Zephyrhills, FL Rear Tire
Changer: Daryl Lockyer Los Angeles, CA
Chief Mechanic: Dan Chivari Erie, PA Rear Tire Carrier: Adam
Mills High Point, NC
Front Tire Changer: Trevor Lysne Fergus Falls, NY Gas Man:
Shane Bourgeois Peachtree City, GA
Front Tire Carrier: Adam Cooke Zephyrhills, FL Catch Can: Ryan
Quann Richmond, VA
Jack Man: Mark Jacobs Fort Walton Bch, FL Spotter: Lorin Ranier
Prestonsburg, KY
Sponsor websites
www.target.com/racing
www.texacohavoline42.com
www.fastenalracing.com
www.wrigleysracing.com
About Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
With 13 wins in 2007, CGRFS continues to add to its tally of 90 trips to
victory lane. Chip Ganassi created his own one-car IndyCar team in 1990
and established a partnership with a new sponsor, Target. Today, his
teams include two IRL IndyCars, one Indy Pro Series car and along with
Felix Sabates he has three cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, two
entries in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and a Daytona Prototype in the
world of Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series racing. Ganassi's IndyCar
teams have amassed five Championships and 56 wins since 1994; his NASCAR
teams have 12 wins and two Rookie-of-the-Year titles; and the Grand
American team has won two Rolex Series Daytona Prototype Championships
and are the three-time defending Champions of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Chip Ganassi Racing operates out of state-of-the-art race shop
facilities in Indianapolis, Ind., and Concord, N.C., with a corporate
office in Pittsburgh, Pa.
For more information log onto www.chipganassiracing.com
<http://www.chipganassiracing.com/>
