Earnhardt Ganassi Racing/ Richmond I Advance Notes

Richmond International Raceway Advance Notes

Race:                     Crown Royal presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400 on Saturday, April 30

Track:                    Richmond International Raceway (0.750-mile oval)

Location:              Richmond, Va.   Earnhardt Ganassi Media Racing with Felix Sabates Contacts at Richmond International Raceway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)                                     

Jeff Dowling         No.1 McDonald’s Chevrolet

Shayna Keller      No. 42 Target Chevrolet  

NOTES Jamie McMurray and No. 1 McDonald’s Team  

Richmond History: McMurray has 16 previous NSCS starts at Richmond International Raceway (RIR). His best NSCS results came in this same event in 2009 when he finished seventh after starting 27th.  His best start at Richmond was in the spring race last year where he started eighth and finished 19th.   Short-Track Success:  McMurray will look to build on his success from his last short-track outing where he won the pole at Martinsville for the 2011 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 and got his first top-10 finish of the 2011 season.  Saturday’s race will be McMurray’s 51st start on a short track.  McMurray currently has three top-fives, 19 top-10s, one pole, and has led 136 laps in his 50 NSCS short track racing starts.   Talladega Review:  The No. 1 team limited their practice time on Friday to just a few laps to “shake-down” the car and make sure there were no issues.  The direction was to drop back to the rear of the field to work with draft partner and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.  Everything was going according to plan until Montoya was involved in a late-race incident, which left McMurray scrambling to find a partner with only a handful of laps remaining.  Without a tandem drafting partner McMurray was shuffled back and credited with a 21st-place finish.   In-Studio Guest:  Jamie McMurray was the featured in-studio guest last week on Inside NASCAR on Showtime.  Hosts Chris Myers, Kyle Petty, Brad Daugherty and Michael Waltrip had Jamie give his opinions and recap of the Aaron’s 499 from Talladega.  The official website of Showtime Sports has a replay of the episode.  

Hamburger University:  McDonald’s Hamburger University celebrates its 50th anniversary since the opening in 1961, where 15 students graduated in the first class.  Over five decades, it has grown into a world-class global center to develop and train employees as well as establish consistent restaurant standards around the world.  To date, more than 275,000 McDonald’s franchisees, employees and suppliers have graduated from the university worldwide.  The school offers a restaurant manager curriculum, a mid-management leadership curriculum, and programs for executive development.  

Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 TargetTeam  

Montoya at Richmond:  Montoya has eight starts on America’s premier short track.  His best start was in the 2010 fall race where he started second and finished seventh.  In the spring race of 2010, Montoya made his best finish of sixth after starting 19th. 

Talladega Recap: Juan Pablo Montoya and the Target team worked with teammate Jamie McMurray throughout the 188-lap event. The pairing made a charge to the front in the closing laps when disaster struck. The No. 42 Target Chevrolet was involved in an on-track incident with 18 laps remaining and had to settle for a 30th-place finish. The finish moved Montoya to ninth in the points, 49 out of first.   Climbing:  The 2011 season has been the highest points streak that Montoya has held so far in his NSCS career.  Montoya started the 2011 season in the fifth position in points and has maintained position in the top-10 over the course of eight races.  The highest points position Montoya has held thus far, in his career, is third.  Montoya has gained 15 spots from last year when he was 24th in points at this time, this year he is currently ninth.   Short-Track Stats:  Montoya has earned two top-fives, eight top-10s, and has led a total of 78 laps during his 26 NSCS short track racing starts. This season, Montoya has a best short track finish of fourth at Martinsville after starting 27th.

Commitment to Giving: Target has announced a new chapter of their commitment to giving, pledging $500 million by the end of 2015 to support education and help kids learn to read.  This will be their largest gift in the history of the company, bringing their legacy of giving to education to $1 billion.  A significant portion of this giving will fund programs and partnerships that help more U.S. children reach one of the most critical milestones on the path to graduation:  reading proficiently by the end of third grade.  

Biggest Fan:  Montoya wants to know who his biggest fan is. Visit www.jpmontoya.com to enter the sweepstakes and become eligible for an autographed Juan Pablo Montoya No. 42 Target Chevrolet diecast car. Fill out the online form, submit your picture and write a short story about why you are Juan Pablo Montoya’s biggest fan. A winner will be determined every Wednesday. Must be 18 years of age and only one entry per household allowed.  

CHASSIS INFO No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet (NSCS):Chassis #1008.  Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion has elected to bring chassis #1008 to RIR this weekend.  This chassis was last used by Bono and gang in February at Phoenix International Raceway where McMurray started eighth and finished 35th.  This chassis visited last year’s spring (started 13th, finished 24th) and fall race (started fifth, finished 10th) in Phoenix.  Chassis #1008 also ran both races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2010.  McMurray started the June Loudon race in the 27th spot and finished in the 18th position.  He started the September Loudon race in the fourth position and finished third. 

No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #1109.  For the second time this year crew chief Brian Pattie will bring chassis #1109.  This chassis was last used in February at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) where Montoya started 22nd and brought home a 19th-place finish.