Earnhardt Ganassi Racing - Atlanta Motor Speedway Advance
Notes
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Atlanta Motor Speedway Advance Notes
Race: Pep Boys Auto 500 on Sunday, Sept. 6
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval)
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
Earnhardt Ganassi Media Contacts at Atlanta Motor Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Jarrod England No. 1 Guitar Hero(r) 5 Chevrolet
Shayna Keller No. 42 Target Chevrolet
NOTES
Martin Truex Jr. and No. 1 Guitar Hero(r) 5 Team
Atlanta History: Martin Truex Jr. will make his tenth Sprint Cup Series
start at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. In nine prior starts at
the track Truex has an average start position of 19.7 and an average
finishing position of 24.2. His best finish came in 2007 when he took
the checkered flag in eighth. Truex has led 135 laps at the 1.5 mile
oval. Earlier this season, Truex was taken to the hospital for a kidney
stone after final practice was finished on Saturday. He was then able to
overcome the kidney stone and post an impressive 10th-place finish.
Bristol Weekend: After posting the fastest lap during the first
practice at Bristol Motor Speedway, Truex looked poised to have a strong
finish. Taking the green flag from 24th position, Truex quickly showed
how fast the Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevy was, moving into the
top-10 by lap 35. He raced his way as high as second place before
spending most of the evening battling inside the top-10. When the
caution flew for rain with 40 laps remaining, Crew Chief Kevin "Bono"
Manion called Truex to pit road from the 8th position to make his final
stop of the night. Some teams stayed out so Truex would lineup for the
restart in 14th. While fighting his way back to the front, the 26 car
made contact with the left front fender of the No.1 Bass Pro Chevy. The
contact forced the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet into the pits to repair the
damage. Truex would come out of the pits in 22nd position where he would
go on to finish the race.
Guitar Hero(r) 5 on the Hood: The #1 best-selling video game, Guitar
Hero(r), returns to the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway as primary
sponsor of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates' No. 1 Chevrolet
driven by Martin Truex Jr. The paint scheme coincides with the launch
of the popular video game franchise's latest hit, Guitar Hero(r) 5 on
Tuesday, Sept. 1. The video game returns as primary sponsor of Earnhardt
Ganassi Racing for the sixth time this season after sponsoring Aric
Almirola and the No. 8 Team for four races, including the 2009 Daytona
500, and the No. 1 team with driver Martin Truex Jr. at Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
About Guitar Hero(r) 5: Living room legends will rock any way they
want in Guitar Hero(r) 5. The entire set list is at your finger tips
from the start, featuring genre-defining hits from some of the biggest
rock artists and bands of all time, including The Rolling Stones, The
White Stripes, Kings of Leon, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Santana
and Vampire Weekend. You will take complete control as Guitar Hero 5
allows you to personalize and customize how you experience music by
being able to play with any in-game instrument combination -- multiple
vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers, in any game mode. With the
game's all-new Party Play Mode, getting the band back together has never
been easier. You can now jump in or drop out of gameplay seamlessly,
without interrupting their jam session. Elevating the Guitar Hero(r)
series to new heights with unmatched social gameplay, an enhanced style,
new in-game artists and more rock legends, Guitar Hero 5 features new
surprises and challenges that will fire-up long-time fret board fanatics
and create a new generation of addicts.
Bass Pro Shops Comes to Altoona, Iowa: Martin Truex Jr. joined many of
the top hunters and fishermen in the country to help welcome the nearly
150,000 square foot Altoona, Iowa store to the Bass Pro Family last
week. The store includes, a Bass Pro Shops first, bowling like you've
never seen before. Another unique feature includes a state-of-the art,
upscale billiards room, named for the 'Black Widow' America's Billiard
Player Jeanette Lee. Truex joined other celebrities on stage to
officially welcome the store and then accepted a No. 1 Bass Pro Shops
bowling ball in appreciation for his dedication to the company for the
last six NSCS seasons.
In the Points: Truex and the No. 1 Chevrolet moved up one spot in the
NSCS standings to the 23rd position.
Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Target Team
MEDIA ALERT: Juan Pablo Montoya will be available at the No. 42 hauler
for a brief media Q&A session on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 10:15 a.m. ET.
Atlanta History: Juan Pablo Montoya will be making his sixth NSCS start
at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. He has an average starting
position of 16.8 and an average finishing position of 24.4 in his five
prior NSCS starts. Montoya's best finish of fifth came in his first
NSCS start at the 1.54-Mile Quad-Oval. Earlier this season, Montoya
qualified fourth but battled an ill-handling car before coming home
27th. In the NNS garage, Montoya has one start which resulted in an
eighth-place finish.
Montoya Holds Benefit Concert: While many in NASCAR used the off week to
relax, Juan Pablo Montoya took the opportunity to continue with his
philanthropic efforts. Juan Pablo and his wife Connie held a benefit
concert in Panama City, Panama, called Formula Latina, last week to
benefit his Formula Smiles foundation. Formula Latina was a private
concert, held to benefit nearly 5000 underprivileged Colombian children
to whom new opportunities are offered through sports and healthy
recreation. Nearly a dozen popular stars of the Latin music scene
participated in the benefit concert including Latin pop sensation Luis
Fonsi.
About Bristol: Juan Pablo Montoya maintained his position inside the
top-12 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings after a 25th-place finish at
Bristol Motor Speedway. Montoya had a fast car all weekend and
qualified 11th for the start of the Sharpie 500. He battled inside the
top-10 for the majority of his day, often appearing inside the top-5.
Montoya moved into the second position as a caution fell for rain with
only 40 laps remaining, but after the restart he started falling back
and was eventually forced to pit with a right rear tire going down. The
pit stop put the Target Chevrolet two laps down, relegating Montoya to a
25th-place finish.
In the Points: With only two races remaining before the Chase cutoff,
Montoya sits ninth in the NSCS standings. He is now 64 points in front
of 13th position and just 20 points out of seventh. Just 89 points
separates 7th through 14th position in the standings.
2009 In Numbers: Montoya and the Target team have one pole award, one
top-five, 11 top-10 and 15 top-15 finishes in the 2009 season. In the 24
Cup races run this season Montoya has earned 19 top-20 finishes. He has
led 133 laps and averages a starting position of 12.4 and a finishing
position of 14.0 for the season.
CHASSIS INFO
No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #804. The No. 1 Bass Pro
Shops Chevrolet team will bring chassis #040 to Atlanta Motor Speedway
this weekend. This chassis has been used once this season at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #818. Pattie and the No. 42
team are brining chassis #819 to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend,
marking the fourth race of the season for this chassis. Montoya's best
finish with this chassis came at Pocono Raceway where he finished a
season-high second place. The team also used chassis #819 at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Montoya qualified on the outside pole
and led 116 of the races 160 laps.
2009 STATS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s Ave Start Ave
Finish Pts. Pos./(Prev)
Martin Truex Jr. 24 0 1 0 3 17.9
22.3 23/24
Juan Pablo Montoya 24 0 1 1 11 12.4
14.0 9/7
CAREER STATS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s Ave Start Ave
Finish
Martin Truex Jr. 141 1 2 12 34 18.2
19.8
Juan Pablo Montoya 97 1 1 6 20 20.0
21.1
TEAM ROSTERS
Tony Glover - Team Manager
Steve Hmiel - Director of Competition
No. 1 (NSCS) Hometown Hometown
Crew Chief: Kevin Manion Boylston, MA Rear Tire Changer: Evan
Clark Carmel, NY
Chief Mechanic: Gary Putnam Vernon, CT Rear Tire Carrier: Mark
Kennerly Salisbury, NC
Front Tire Changer: Dennis Terry Mozbur, NC Gas Man:
Preston Cordell Middleburg, FL
Front Tire Carrier: Shannon Keys Byron, GA Catch Can: Eric
Hoyle Asheville, NC
Jack Man: Jeff Kerr China Grove, NC Spotter: Joey Meier
Marathon, FL
No. 42 (NSCS) Hometown Hometown
Crew Chief: Brian Pattie Zephyrhills, FL Rear Tire
Changer: Chris McMullen Troutman, NC
Chief Mechanic: Heath Silver Asheville, NC 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: TJ Ford Charlotte, NC Spotter: Tab Boyd
Pensacola, FL
For more information log onto:
www.earnhardtganassi.com
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