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[/media-credit]Texas Motor Speedway Advance Notes
Race: Samsung Mobile 500 on Saturday, April 14
Track: Texas Motor Speedway (1.5 miles)
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Media Contacts at Texas Motor Speedway:
Jeff Dowling No. 1 Bass Pro Shops®/Tracker Boats Chevrolet
Shayna Keller No. 42 Target Chevrolet
NOTES
Follow EGR on Twitter: Continue to follow Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (EGR) on their official team Twitter page. Find in-race updates and weekly news on the No. 1 and No. 42 teams throughout the 2012 season by following “@EGRTeams”.
There’s an App for that: Chip Ganassi Racing Teams (CGRT) and SapientNitro SM recently launched one of the first mobile applications for the high-velocity world of racing. This new application brings fans updated driver and event information, and exclusive content in one centralized and expansive mobile experience, bringing to life the rich heritage and legendary success of CGRT. The unique mobile application conveys the high-octane rush of the racing experience for a team that competes at the highest levels in three series – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS), IZOD IndyCar Series and GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.
Most Popular Driver: Voting for the 2012 NSCS National Motorsports Press Association’s (NMPA) Most Popular Driver Award has started. Fans can visit www.mostpopulardriver.com once a day to vote for EGR drivers Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya until 11:59 pm (EST) September 8th 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 be reset to zero. Fans will then have 10 race weeks to cast their vote once a day to determine the 2012 NMPA Most Popular Driver from the final field of 10 drivers. Voting will conclude November 18th at 11:59 pm (EST). The winner will be announced at the NASCAR Myers Brothers Luncheon in December.
Sprint Fan Vote: Voting for the 2012 Sprint Fan Vote is under way. EGR fans have the opportunity to vote Montoya or McMurray into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which will be televised live on SPEED on May 19th. Fans can cast unlimited votes at the following locations: Mobile Handsets by texting “VOTE” to 229466 or by using the NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Application; Online at http://www.nascar.com/allstar; At-Track at the Sprint Experience. The Sprint Fan Vote closes at 5:00 pm (EDT) May 19th.
EGR at Texas: Dating back to 2001, EGR drivers have led 89 laps at Texas Motor Speedway, accumulating four top-five, 13 top-10 and 18 top-15 finishes.
Jamie McMurray and No. 1 Bass Pro Shops®/Tracker Boats Team
Martinsville Recap: The Goody’s Fast Relief 500 started with a long green-flag run that would have the No. 1 Belkin Chevrolet one lap down before the first caution, and the first opportunity to make adjustments. McMurray battled to overcome the deficit and get in position to earn the “lucky dog” and regain position on the lead lap, however ensuing green-flag runs with limited cautions resulted with losing a second lap. In the end, only 12 cars finished on the lead lap and McMurray would come home in 20th-position, two laps down from the winner.
McMurray at Texas: McMurray looks to make his 17th NSCS start at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. In his previous 16 starts at the 1.5-mile track, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet has led 70 laps, earning three top-five and six top-10 finishes. He has an average start and finish of 25.9 and 18.1, respectively. McMurray’s highest starting position of fourth came in the fall of 2008 and his highest finishing position of second came in the spring of 2005.
Making Moves: In the last 14 races held at Texas Motor Speedway, McMurray ranks first in the number of green flag passes with 1,061. That is 24 more passes than the driver ranked second.
Bass Pro Appearance: Be sure to stop by the Garland Bass Pro Shops at 5001 Bass Pro Drive, Garland, TX on Wednesday, April 11 at 6:00 pm (CT) for an autograph session with McMurray. The driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet will pick a lucky attendee to win a pair of race day tickets and a $100 Bass Pro Shops Gift Card.
Fishin’ for Prizes: The Second Annual Jamie McMurray Big Bass Classic will take place April 14-15 at Lake Norman. The event is part of the Oakley Big Bass Tour and is sponsored by Bass Pro Shops. This year’s grand prize is a 2012 Nitro Z-7 Bass Boat. Fans can learn more about the Big Bass Classic by visiting http://oakleybigbass.com/.
Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Target Team
Martinsville Recap: The Target Chevrolet started in the 32nd position and immediately began to make a move to the front. A few laps into the race, Montoya radioed in that the handling was off. Unfortunately, relief for the ill handling race car was not immediate as two long green-flag runs did not allow the No. 42 to come down pit road for adjustments. The team fell off sequence and spent the majority of the race trying to make up ground and regain track position. Contact with the wall on lap 265 also did not help matters, as Montoya visited pit road three times for repairs. The Target team held strong and continued to work for the remainder of the race and was able to bring home a hard fought 21st place finish.
Montoya at Texas: Montoya has made 10 NSCS starts at Texas Motor Speedway, leading 12 laps and accumulating two top-10 finishes. He has an average starting position of 14.6 and an average finishing position of 23.2 at the 1.5-mile track. His best starting position of third came in the fall of 2007, while his highest finishing position came in April 2009, when the No. 42 Chevrolet crossed the line in seventh.
High Quality: In his 10 starts at Texas Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet ranks eighth in the number of quality passes. Thirty-eight percent of the passes Montoya has made at the 1.5-mile oval are considered quality passes, or passes within the top-15 running order.
Closing In: After Martinsville, Montoya ranks second in the ‘closers’ category, having improved 15 positions in the last 10% of the races so far this season.
Hit the Bullseye: On the way to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, stop by Target for all of your race-day essentials. Target is located at 8000 Denton Highway, Watauga, TX 76148. Call ahead and make sure they have what you need at 817-427-8039.
CHASSIS INFO
No. 1 Bass Pro Shops®/Tracker Boats Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #1104. Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion and the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats team will bring Chassis #1104 to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. This chassis made its debut in last year’s All-Star race, finishing 17th. Since that time the chassis also raced in the spring race at Charlotte (37th), both races at Michigan (19th, 23rd) and in the fall race at Dover (15th).
No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #1119. Crew Chief Chris Heroy and the No. 42 Target team will bring Chassis #1119 to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. This chassis saw track-time last year at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway finishing 14th and 18th, respectively. This season, this chassis finished 17th at Fontana.
2012 STATS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Starts
Wins
Poles
Top 5s
Top 10s
Ave Start
Ave Finish
Pts. Pos.
Jamie McMurray
6
0
0
0
2
18.7
22.5
24
Juan Pablo Montoya
6
0
0
0
1
25.8
19.7
17
CAREER STATS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Starts
Wins
Poles
Top 5s
Top 10s
Ave Start
Ave Finish
Jamie McMurray
336
6
8
41
98
19.3
19.4
Juan Pablo Montoya
187
2
7
20
50
17.8
19.6
TEAM ROSTERS
Max Jones – Team Manager
John Probst – Technical Director
No. 1 (NSCS)
Hometown
Hometown
Crew Chief: Kevin Manion
Boylston, MA
Rear Tire Changer: Brian Eastland
New Bern, NC
Chief Mechanic: Randy Cox
Trinity, NC
Rear Tire Carrier: Doug Riepe
Danbury , CT
Front Tire Changer: Bryan Jacobsen
Honesdale, PA
Gas Man: Benjy Grubbs
Richmond, VA
Front Tire Carrier: Brett Morrell
Windham, ME
Jack Man: Mitch Lash
Salisbury, NC
No. 42 (NSCS)
Hometown
Hometown
Crew Chief: Chris Heroy
Angola, IN
Rear Tire Changer: Chris McMullen
Canton, MI
Chief Mechanic: David Bryant
Concord, NC
Rear Tire Carrier: Chip Goode
Statesville, NC
Front Tire Changer: Pedro Martinez
San Antonio, TX
Gas Man: Ed Watkins
Richmond, VA
Front Tire Carrier: Eric Bilyeu
Waterford, MI
Jack Man: Mark Jacobs
Fort Walton Beach, FL
About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Inc.
Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include four in the IZOD IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Daytona Prototype in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. Overall his teams have 14 championships and 145 victories, including three Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and four Rolex 24 At Daytonas. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn.
For more information log onto: www.earnhardtganassi.com
