Daytona International Speedway Advance Notes
Race: Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola on Saturday, July 2
Track: Daytona International Speedway (2.5-mile superspeedway)
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.
NOTES Jamie McMurray and No.1 McDonald’s Team
Back For More: Jamie McMurray will be looking for his third career win at Daytona International Speedway when the Sprint Cup Series returns to the “World Center of Racing”. This weekend will mark McMurray’s 18th Sprint Cup Series start at the famed 2.5 mile tri-oval. The 2010 Daytona 500 champion is coming back to the track where he landed his biggest career win. McMurray also won the 2007 edition of the July race at Daytona, beating Kyle Busch to the line by .005 seconds, the third-closest finish in NASCAR history.
Better To Be Lucky: McMurray has had quite a bit of luck and success at restrictor plate tracks in his career. He has tallied three wins, eight top-fives and 10 top-10s. He has led 188 laps at Daytona and Talladega combined and completed more than 90% of the laps run at the superspeedways since his first start at Talladega in October of 2002.
Sonoma Review: Jamie McMurray andthe No. 1 McDonald’s team traveled west to wine country and took on the rest of the NSCS at Infineon Raceway. McMurray started the day from the outside of the front row and managed to have a strong run near the front during the early portion of the race. However, the rest of the race would test the fortitude of the No.1 team. The team would have to overcome issues after being caught up in an on-track altercation on lap 38 and having a flat tire on lap 55. McMurray and the McDonald’s team raced back through the field on both occasions to regain some important track position and brought the car home in the 15th-positon.
Three’s Company: With a victory in the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola, McMurray would have three career NSCS wins at Daytona. This would put him in a tie with some of the great names that have won at Daytona including Dale Earnhardt, A.J. Foyt, Bobby Isaac, Sterling Marlin, Tony Stewart, Michael Waltrip and LeeRoy Yarborough for 10th on the all-time wins list at Daytona International Speedway. (only includes NSCS points events)
Starting Eleven:With a win on Saturday night, Jamie McMurray can become only the 11th driver in NASCAR history to win multiple summer races at Daytona. The list of other drivers with more than one win includes Hall of Famers Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough. Also on the list are Bill Elliott, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, Fireball Roberts and Tony Stewart.
Dinner reservations: Jamie McMurray, the 2010 Daytona 500 winner, will be the honored guest at the Stewart-Marchman-Act Foundation (SMA) dinner Wednesday night in the Daytona 500 Club at Daytona International Speedway. The dinner is an annual fundraiser for the SMA Foundation. SMA Foundation is a single-purpose organization that exists to support the clients and programs of SMA Behavioral Healthcare which provide “beyond state-of-the-art” substance abuse and mental health services for prevention, treatment and aftercare. The Stewart-Marchman-Act Foundation was founded by Jim Foster, former Daytona International Speedway President and incorporated in 1997 as a tax-exempt charitable organization.
Visit McDonald’s: Attention Race Fans – Stop at one of the many McDonald’s locations within minutes of Daytona International Speedway. Two locations can be found at 1388 West International Speedway Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL 32114 and 2994 US Highway 92, Daytona Beach, FL 32124
In the Points: After his 15th-place finish at Infineon Raceway, McMurray and the No. 1 team picked up one position to move into 27th in the NSCS driver standings. McMurray is now 105 points out of the coveted 12th-position. The No. 1 team is also only 55 points out of wild card contention.
Juan Pablo Montoya and No.42 TargetTeam
On A Roll: Montoya has nine NSCS starts at Daytona International Speedway. He has picked up three top-10 finishes at DIS, all of them coming within the last four races. His best finish at the “World Center of Racing” came earlier this season in the Daytona 500, when he started in the 13th position and took the checkered flag in sixth.
Seeing The Checkers: Montoya has finished seven of nine races at DIS and completed more than 96% of the laps run since his first career start at the track. That lap completion percentage ranks Montoya ninth among Sprint Cup Series drivers who have started the last nine races at DIS.
Moving Past Legends: Juan Pablo Montoya’s sixth-place finish in the 2011 Daytona 500 gave him his third career top-10 in just nine starts at Daytona International Speedway. With that finish he moves ahead of racing legends Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones and Curtis Turner for all-time top-10s at DIS. With another solid finish in the Coke Zero 400, Montoya can tie Buck Baker, Dan Gurney and teammate and past Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray on the list.
Coming Home: Florida is the home state of crew chief Brian Pattie, spotter Tab Boyd and jackman Mark Jacobs. Brian Pattie is from Zephyrhills and got his start working with David Reutimann on DIRT modified and Late Model circuits throughout central Florida. Tab Boyd is a native of Pensacola and grew up racing at local short tracks with his family. When Boyd comes down from the spotters stand, he works in the fabrication department at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Jackman Mark Jacobs hails from Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The ex-University of Kentucky defensive tackle got his start working as a member of Bill Elliott’s pit crew during the 2000 season.
Infineon Recap: Juan Pablo Montoya began the Toyota/Save Mart 350 from the 17th position, but it didn’t take long for him to find his way into the top-10. The No. 42 team relied on solid pit strategy and endured an on-track beating for the first 100 laps of the race. Crew chief Brian Pattie frequently radioed in that the No. 42 Cottonelle Chevrolet was the fastest car on the track. The team made their last pit stop of the day on lap 90 and mounted a final charge to the front. While battling for the fifth position, Montoya had an on-track incident with a fellow competitor causing the car to go off course. The No. 42 would eventually have to settle for a 22nd-place finish when the checkered flag fell.
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Fast Fact: After last week’s 22nd place finish, Juan Pablo Montoya has now been running at the finish in 31 of the last 32 Sprint Cup Series events. He has finished every event during the 2011 season. His only DNF during that stretch was in the 2010 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In the points: Montoya fell one position in the point standings after his 22nd-place finish in Sonoma last weekend. He currently sits 16th in points, 43 points out of the 10th spot.
CHASSIS INFO No.1 McDonald’s Chevrolet (NSCS):Chassis #1009. This chassis was last raced earlier this year to a 21st–place finish at Talladega Superspeedway. It was also used in this season’s Daytona 500, finishing 18th, and both Talladega races last season, where it came home second and 36th.
No.42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #902. Chassis #902 was run three times during the 2010 season, finishing 10th at the Daytona 500 and third in both Talladega races. The Target team also used this chassis in all four restrictor plate events in 2009 with a best finish of ninth in the July race at Daytona.
2011 STATS NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s Ave Start Ave Finish Pts. Pos./(Prev) Jamie McMurray 16 0 1 0 2 14.9 22.1 27/28 Juan Pablo Montoya 16 0 2 2 5 17.1 17.6 16/15
CAREER STATS NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s Ave Start Ave Finish Jamie McMurray 310 6 8 39 94 19.3 19.2 Juan Pablo Montoya 161 2 7 20 46 17.3 19.6
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: Chris Taylor West Plains, MO Chief Mechanic: Gary Putnam Vernon, CT Rear Tire Carrier: Adam Mosher Fort Mill, SC Front Tire Changer: Cory DeMarco St. Louis, MO Gas Man: Benjy Grubbs Richmond, VA Front Tire Carrier: Doug Riepe Danbury, CT Spotter: Lorin Rainer Prestonburg, KY Jack Man: Tracy Duncan Lincolnton, NC 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: Ed Watkins Maiden, NC Front Tire Carrier: Eric Bilyeu Waterford, MI Spotter: Tab Boyd Pensacola, FL Jack Man: Mark Jacobs Fort Walton Beach, FL
