Las Vegas Motor Speedway Advance Notes
Race: Kobalt Tools 400 on Sunday, March 6
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5 miles)
Location: Las Vegas Earnhardt Ganassi
No. 42 Clorox Chevrolet NOTES Team of the Year: RACER Magazine recently named Chip Ganassi Racing the 2010 ‘Team of the Year’ for their record-breaking season. Ganassi’s teams claimed 19 victories across all three major motorsports series which they complete.
Did You Know?: 10 years-ago this weekend Sterling Marlin drove Ganassi’s No.40 to victory lane leading 37 of the 267 laps at Las Vegas. Marlin went on to win Darlington later in the season before he was sidelined by an injury, he was replaced by current Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver Jamie McMurray who would go onto score a victory in only his second career NSCS race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Wheaties Most Popular Driver: Voting for the 2011 NASCAR® Sprint Cup Wheaties most-popular driver has now started. Fans can visit www.wheatiesfuelmostpopulardriver.com once a-day to vote for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray until 11:59 PM CT Sept. 10 following the race at Richmond International Raceway.
At that point, the 10 drivers with the most votes will be announced as finalists, and the vote count will reset to zero. Fans will then have 10 race weeks to cast their vote once a day to determine the 2011 NASCAR® Wheaties FUEL Most Popular Driver from the final field of 10 drivers. Voting will conclude November 20 at 11:59 PM CT. The winner will be announced at the NASCAR® NMPA Myers Brothers Luncheon in December. Intermediate Magic:Dating back to the 2001 season, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams have accumulated 10 NASCAR wins (NSCS, Nationwide Series) at tracks deemed intermediate (NSCS: Charlotte: 2001, 2002, 2010; Las Vegas: 2002; Darlington: 2002; Nationwide: Phoenix: 2002; Nashville: 2002; Gateway: 2005, 2007; Chicagoland: 2006).
Bristol Entrance Song:Earnhardt Ganassi Racing drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray want fans to help choose the songs they will use for driver introductions prior to the start of the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 20. Fans are encouraged to visit www.earnhardtganassi.com and the Earnhardt Ganassi facebook page topost their song suggestions on a discussion board this week. At the conclusion of this weekend’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, all suggestions will be tallied to determine the top-three songs. On Monday March 7, the top-three song suggestions will be announced and fans will be able to vote for their favorite until 5:00 p.m. ET on March 10.
Follow EGR on Twitter: Continue to followEarnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates on their official team Twitter page. Follow the No. 1 and No. 42 teams throughout the 2011 season @EGRTeams.
Gear Up!: Fans, be sure to check out the latest in Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team merchandise by visiting the team’s merchandise trailer, trackside, in Vegas.
For those fans that cannot make it to the race track, please be sure to visit www.earnhardtganassi.com to pick up your favorite Jamie McMurray or Juan Pablo Montoya gear. Jamie McMurray and No. 1 McDonald’sTeam Las Vegas McDonald’s: Las Vegas race fans, be sure to stop by the local McDonald’s to get breakfast, lunch or dinner on your way to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There are three convenient locations for your choosing near the speedway: 301 Fremont Street, One South Main Street, 2050 East Charlestown Boulevard, 1601 West Charlestown Boulevard, 1003 East Lake Mead Boulevard. Each McDonald’s is located within 15 minutes of the race track. Las Vegas Stats: McMurray will be making his ninth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. McMurray has one top-five and three top-10 finishes, in eight previous starts at the one-and-a-half mile facility, with his best start and finish of fourth coming in the 2004 season with Ganassi.
Phoenix Recap: McMurray and the No. 1 teamposted a top-10 qualifying effort last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, and hoped for a strong run in the Subway Fresh Fit 400. Starting from the eighth-position, the team took advantage of an early caution on lap 35 to pit and take four tires.
With a car that the No. 1 team thought could contend for the win, McMurray would restart in the 16th position; however running a bit further back in the pack would prove costly as the No.1 car was collected in a 13-car incident on lap 67, which resulted in a 35th place finish. McMurray is currently 26th in the 2011 NSCS standings, 44 points behind leader Kyle Busch.
Bass Pro Shops Appearance:On March 3, McMurray will be making an appearance at Bass Pro Shops from 7:00-8:30 p.m. The store is located at 8200 Dean Martin Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89139, and can be reached at 702-730-5200. Lure of Vegas: It would take 21,120 of the four and a half inch Bass Pro Shops® Cut Tail Worm lures placed end-to-end to go the 1.5-mile distance of LVMS.
Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Clorox Team Viva Las Vegas: Juan Pablo Montoya will be making his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. His best start was fourth in his Rookie season (2007) and best finish of 19th came in 2008.
Phoenix Rewind: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series headed out west last weekend, for race number two of the 2011 season. The Target Chevrolet started midfield and would battle handling concerns, avoid on track melee and damage to the right front fender to cross the finish line in the 19th position. Montoya enters Las Vegas in a three-way tie for positions seven through nine in the point standings. He currently has 64 points and is 16 points out of the first-place position Blue 42: The No. 42 car will sport the red, white and blue colors of Clorox this weekend for the Kolbalt Tools 400. Clorox® is a leading manufacturer and marketer of some of consumers’ most trusted and recognized brand names, including its namesake bleach and other cleaning products. The Clorox Company is committed to helping families live easier, healthier and better lives. For more information, visit http://www.clorox.com/. Meet Montoya: JuanPablo Montoya will be signing autographs at the Deer Springs Town Center Target store on Saturday March 5 starting at 4:30 p.m. The first 200 people in-line are guaranteed to receive an autograph from the Target driver. Members of the No. 42 pit crew will also be on-hand to provide demonstrations. The store is located at 7090 N 5th Street, North Las Vegas, NV 89084, and can be reached at 702-216-4501. The Clorox Company Foundation:Since founding The Clorox Company Foundation in 1980, we have awarded more than $77 million to schools, colleges and nonprofit organizations supporting K-12 education, youth development and cultural and civic enrichment.
