Montoya, McMurray Head to Sin City
Race: Kobalt Tools 400 on Sunday, March 6
Track: Las Vegas
Motor Speedway (1.5 miles)
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
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 to post 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 follow
Earnhardt 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’s
Team
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 team posted 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: Juan Pablo 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.
CHASSIS INFO
No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #1102. Kevin
“Bono” Manion and the No. 1 McDonald’s team are bringing chassis #1102 to Las
Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. This is a brand new chassis.
No. 42 Clorox Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #1105. Brian Pattie
and the No. 42 Target team are bringing chassis #1105 to Las Vegas Motor
Speedway this weekend. This is a brand new chassis.