SONOMA RACEWAY (1.99-MILE ROAD COURSE)
LOCATION: SONOMA, CALIFORNIA
EVENT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 16 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 3 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, JUNE 28 (FS1/PRN/SIRIUSXM)
No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS / Kasey Kahne
Driver Kasey Kahne Hometown Enumclaw, Washington
Age 35 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
9th in standings
15 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
2 top-five finishes
5 top-10 finishes
41 laps led
Career
411 starts
17 wins
27 pole positions
85 top-five finishes
151 top-10 finishes
4,582 laps led
Sonoma Career
11 starts
1 win
2 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
4 top-10 finishes
41 laps led
SEASON-TO-DATE: After the first 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season, Kasey Kahne currently ranks fourth in laps in the top 15 (3,752), fourth in fastest speed in traffic (8.400 average rank), fifth in average running position (11.418) and fifth in fastest drivers late in a run (7.846 average rank). He ranks sixth in the following categories: green-flag speed (7.462 average rank), fastest drivers on restarts (10.867 average rank) and fastest drivers early in a run (7.846 average rank). Kahne ranks eighth in quality passes (1,014), ninth in driver rating (95.5) and 10th in fastest laps run (161).
SONOMA LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR loop data from the last 10 races at Sonoma, Kahne ranks sixth in quality passes (242), seventh in fastest laps run (37), eighth in speed in traffic (88.538 mph), eighth in laps in top 15 (610) and 10th in fastest drivers late in a run (89.005 mph).
ROAD-COURSE STATS: In 22 starts on road courses, Kahne has posted two top-five finishes and four top-10s. In addition, he has collected one of his 17 career Cup wins and two of his 27 pole positions at those tracks. Kahne’s most recent road-course win was at Sonoma Raceway in June 2009.
GREAT CLIPS / GREAT CLIPS RACING VIP SWEEPSTAKES: Great Clips will adorn the hood of Kahne’s No. 5 Chevrolet SS this weekend at Sonoma, and will be the primary sponsor on the car for four more Sprint Cup Series races this year: Daytona International Speedway (July 5), New Hampshire Motor Speedway (July 19), Chicagoland Speedway (Sept. 20) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 22). Now until Aug. 13, fans can enter for the chance to win a VIP racing experience thanks to Great Clips. The sweepstake’s grand prize includes a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina with airfare as well as hotel accommodations covered for three nights, tickets to the NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Oct. 9-10, behind-the-scenes tour at the track, and the opportunity to meet Kahne. For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/18SLkLD.
THE DRIVE: Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson and Kahne selected the Strong Against Cancer initiative to be the beneficiary of The DRIVE, a private charity concert, auction and celebrity-amateur golf event scheduled for June 29-30 in Cle Elum, Washington, at the Suncadia Resort. Fans are encouraged to join Wilson and Kahne to support Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Strong Against Cancer initiative. To donate, please visit . Together, with help from fans, they will raise awareness and valuable funds for research that supports immunotherapy — a medical treatment that harnesses the power of a child’s immune cells to fight cancer. For more information on The DRIVE, please visit http://kaseykahnefoundation.org/.
No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS / Jeff Gordon
Driver Jeff Gordon Hometown Pittsboro, Indiana
Age 43 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
10th in standings
15 starts
0 wins
3 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
162 laps led
Career
776 starts
92 wins
80 pole positions
322 top-five finishes
462 top-10 finishes
24,826 laps led
Sonoma Career
22 starts
5 wins
5 pole positions
14 top-five finishes
18 top-10 finishes
457 laps led
Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS, is scheduled to visit the Sonoma Raceway media center at 10:30 a.m. local time Friday.
TOPS AT SONOMA: Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS, tops the following statistical categories at Sonoma: starts, wins, pole positions, top-five finishes, top-10s, laps completed (2,233), laps led and average finish (8.0).
KING OF THE ROAD: The native of Vallejo, California, is the all-time leader in NASCAR road-course victories with nine. Along with five wins at Sonoma, the 43-year-old driver has visited Victory Lane four times at Watkins Glen International in New York.
SIX STRAIGHT: From August 1997 through June 2000, Gordon won six consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup road-course races – three each at Sonoma and Watkins Glen.
WHERE IT ALL STARTED: On Saturday, June 20, Gordon visited Roy Hayer Memorial Speedway with his wife, Ingrid, and children, Ella and Leo. The quarter-midget track in Rio Linda, California, is where the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion first raced as a 5-year-old. The day also included a stop at Vallejo Charter School (formerly Springstowne Middle School) in Vallejo, California, where Gordon attended middle school.
MEMBER ADVANTAGES: AARP Member Advantages will sponsor four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet SS to spread awareness about the many benefits available to AARP members. The special AARP Member Advantages paint scheme will be featured in six Sprint Cup Series events in 2015, beginning at Sonoma Raceway on June 28, and is part of Hendrick Motorsports’ existing partnership with Drive to End Hunger, which is AARP and AARP Foundation’s multi-year effort to raise awareness of and support for the fight against older adult hunger. AARP Member Advantages is a collection of discounts, products, services and insurance programs available to AARP’s millions of members through third party providers. The provider offers include a variety of health products, financial products, travel and leisure products, and life event services.
No. 48 Lowe’s ProServices Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 39 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
5th in standings
15 starts
4 wins
0 pole positions
9 top-five finishes
10 top-10 finishes
387 laps led
Career
486 starts
74 wins
33 pole positions
202 top-five finishes
302 top-10 finishes
17,538 laps led
Sonoma Career
13 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
4 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
86 laps led
LOWE’S PROSERVICES ON THE HOOD: Jimmie Johnson will race the No. 48 Lowe’s ProServices Chevrolet SS in this weekend’s race at Sonoma. Lowe’s Commercial Services are designed to help customers save time and money and make their businesses run smoother. Stores across the country have a dedicated ProServices team ready to help by offering five percent off everyday purchases with a Lowe’s Business Credit Account, quick-turn, customizable quotes on volume purchases, providing an order ahead option and pulling materials for pick up, giving reduced delivery rates and offering bulk discounts on supplies used the most. Johnson has two wins this season with ProServices on the hood – at Kansas and Dover.
LAVA MAGAZINE: Earlier this season while racing at Richmond International Raceway, Johnson spent time with Lava Magazine – a triathlon publication. Johnson is featured as the cover story in the July edition, which hit newsstands at Barnes and Noble on June 16. For more information, visit LavaMagazine.com.
SONOMA STATS: In the last 10 races at Sonoma, according to NASCAR loop data, Johnson is tied with Tony Stewart for the third-best driver rating, 98.8. During that span, he has an average starting position of 16.7 and an average finish of 11.1, leading 86 total laps at the track.
JIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION HABITAT BUILD: From June 22 through June 26, San Diego Habitat for Humanity, in partnership with local homebuilders, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, and Lowe’s, will build four homes – from the ground up – in five days. The homes represent the second phase of Habitat for Humanity’s Foundation Lane community – four homes were built in 2009 through a generous gift of nearly $1 million from the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. Johnson and his wife, Chandra, return to El Cajon, California, with another substantial donation of $50,000 from their foundation to help build the first four homes of the next phase of the development.
CALIFORNIA CREW MEMBERS: Longtime No. 48 team mechanic Zack Miller hails from Mission Viego, California. Miller is responsible for the interior of the Lowe’s ProServices Chevrolet SS and Johnson’s personal equipment and comfort. Additionally, race engineer Julian Pena is from Aliso Viejo, California, and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in mechanical engineering.
LONE SONOMA WIN: Johnson has one win at the road course in wine country. It came on June 20, 2010, when he led 55 laps en route to Victory Lane.
No. 88 Microsoft Chevrolet SS / Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hometown Kannapolis, North Carolina
Age 40 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
4th in standings
15 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
8 top-five finishes
9 top-10 finishes
108 laps led
Career
556 starts
24 wins
13 pole positions
135 top-five finishes
233 top-10 finishes
7,955 laps led
Sonoma Career
31 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
1 top-10 finish
9 laps led
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be available to members of the media on Friday at 11:15 a.m. local time in the media center at Sonoma Raceway.
MICROSOFT WINDOWS 10: A global leader in technology and innovation, Microsoft will support the upcoming launch of Windows 10 with primary sponsorship of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Chevrolet SS at Sonoma Raceway on June 28 and Pocono Raceway on Aug. 2. Microsoft will utilize the two-time Daytona 500 champion as a spokesperson to promote Windows 10, which will be available July 29 as a free upgrade for qualified Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices. In addition, its new multi-year partnership with Hendrick Motorsports will incorporate technology solutions and training across the team, including competition, business and IT functions.
EARNHARDT AT SONOMA: In 15 Sprint Cup starts at Sonoma Raceway, Earnhardt has posted seven top-15 finishes and completed 94.7 percent of the laps he has attempted (1,573 laps of 1,661 total). He scored a career-best third-place finish at the 1.99-mile road course in 2014.
ROAD-COURSE STATS: In 30 combined Cup starts at Watkins Glen International and Sonoma, Earnhardt has scored three top-five finishes, four top-10s and 55 laps led. He has scored a career-best third-place finish at both Sonoma (2014) and Watkins Glen (2003).
CONGRATULATIONS!: While vacationing in Germany learning about his ancestors, Earnhardt proposed to longtime girlfriend Amy Reimann on June 17. She said, “Yes.”
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT SONOMA: In 26 races at Sonoma, Hendrick Motorsports leads the competition with six victories, nine pole positions, 30 top-five finishes, 46 top-10s and 593 laps led. Gordon owns five of the organization’s wins there, while Johnson most recently took the checkered flag at the 1.99-mile track in June 2010.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 236 victories, 204 pole positions, 963 top-five finishes and 1,594 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 64,539 laps since 1984.
