Earnhardt Ganassi Auto Club Speedway Advance Notes

 

Martin Truex Jr. and No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Team

California History: Truex will be making his sixth NSCS start at the Auto Club Speedway. He has led four laps at the track and has a best finish of sixth (twice).

Last Week: Truex and the Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats team started on the pole in the Daytona 500, and finished the race with a solid 11^th-place result. This was Truex’s best finish in “The Great American Race”.

West-Coast Natives: Mechanic Sammy Gonzales grew up in Mission Hills, California and mechanic Colby Bankston hails from Bakersfield.  This is Bankston’s first season with the Bass Pro team, while Gonzales has been with Truex since 2003, when he drove on a part-time basis for Chance 2 Motorsports.

Bass Pro Shopping: Outdoor enthusiasts can find Bass Pro Shops in Manteca, California, as well as the nearby city of Rancho Cucamonga. A third store is currently under construction in Sacramento, with a grand opening date to be announced later in the year.

Aric Almirola and No. 8 Guitar Hero World Tour Team

California Dreaming:  Almirola will be making his third NSCS start at the Auto Club Speedway on Sunday afternoon.  His best start of 10^th came during the 2008 season, in his second start at Fontana.

Daytona Rewind:  While Almirola didn’t get the finish he had hoped for, he and the No. 8 team fought back from an early race incident, making their way to 11^th position before a late race nudge from behind relegated the team to a 30^th-place finish.  The young racer had an impressive showing during Speedweeks as he had the seventh fastest lap in qualifying, the fastest lap in final Duel practice, and finished fifth in his first Duel attempt. 

Our Partners on the West Coast:  Headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a worldwide pure-play online and console game publisher with leading market positions across all categories of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry.

Activision Blizzard's portfolio includes best-selling video games such as Guitar Hero®, Call of Duty®, and Tony Hawk, as well as Spider-Man™, X-Men™, Shrek®, James Bond™ and TRANSFORMERS™, leading franchises such as Crash Bandicoot™ and Spyro™ and Blizzard Entertainment's® StarCraft®, Diablo®, and Warcraft® franchises including the global #1 subscription-based massively multi-player online role-playing game, World of Warcraft®. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activisionblizzard.com.

Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Target Team

California History: Montoya will be making his fifth NSCS start at the Auto Club Speedway on Sunday afternoon.  His best start of ninth came in his first race at the 2-mile oval in February 2007.  His best finish was 20th in both Fontana races in 2008.

Last week: Juan Pablo Montoya and the Target team delivered a 14th-place finish in the rain-shortened 51st running of the “Great American Race” after earning an eighth-place starting spot through a solid performance in the Duel Qualifying event

West-Coast Natives:  One member of the Target team calls California his home state.  Mechanic J.D. Frey grew up in Ferndale, Calif. (260 miles north of San Francisco) and has been involved in racing for the last 11 years. 

Media Availability: Juan Pablo Montoya will be available for media opportunities at 11:15 a.m. on Friday at Auto Club Speedway behind the No. 42 Target hauler. 

Earnhardtganassi.com Launches: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has launched a new website.  The site – EarnhardtGanassi.com – features a landing page that allows users to easily access the sites for the NASCAR team, Chip Ganassi’s IndyCar/Grand-Am team and the Dale Earnhardt Incorporated site. The team will be adding other features to the site over the next few weeks including video and team blogs.  Site link:http://www.earnhardtganassi.com 

CHASSIS INFO

No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet (NSCS):  Kevin “Bono” Manion has decided to bring Chassis #82. This chassis is brand new and has never been raced.

No. 8 Guitar Hero® World Tour Chevrolet (NSCS):  The No. 8 Guitar Hero World Tour team will bring chassis number #73 to the Auto Club Speedway.

No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #903. Crew Chief Brian Pattie and the No. 42 Target team will bring chassis #903 to Auto Club Speedway.