Talladega Superspeedway Advance Notes
Race: AMP Energy 500 on Sunday, Oct. 31
Track: Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Location: Talladega, Ala.
Earnhardt Ganassi Media Contacts at Talladega Superspeedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Jarrod England No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Tribute Chevrolet
Shayna Keller No. 42 Target Chevrolet
NOTES
Jamie McMurray and No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Tribute Team
Talladega Review: McMurray and the No. 1 team will return to Superspeedway racing this weekend at Talladega. McMurray has won two of the last four restrictor-plate races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series having won the 2009 fall event at Talladega and the 2010 Daytona 500. His victory marked his best finish at Talladega where he has led 166 laps and has five top-five and six top-10 finishes in 16 starts. Outside of his 2009 victory, McMurray had his second best finish in the first 2010 NSCS event at Talladega coming home in the second-position. His best start was in the Fall of 2003 when he started on the outside pole.
Martinsville Recap: Consistency and hard work has continued to payoff for McMurray and his team in the Chase’s first six races, this includes their 11th-place finish at the bull ring that is Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon, battling back from a pit road speeding penalty during the first round of pit stops, coming home 11th, with a car that resembled a vehicle from the movie Mad Max.
Bass Pro Shops Special Tribute to “The Intimidator”: The No. 1 Chevrolet will carry a special tribute paint scheme this weekend at Talladega. The paint scheme will be reminiscent of the black and gold Bass Pro Shops paint scheme that Dale Earnhardt ran in the 1998 All-Star race. The tribute is in honor of Dale Earnhardt being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s inaugural class. Talladega was selected as the venue to run the tribute paint scheme because it marks the 10th Anniversary of Dale’s 76th and final Cup victory. The only other time the special black and gold Bass Pro Shops paint scheme appeared on track was during the 1998 Sprint All-Star Race (then known as “The Winston”) on the No. 3 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt. The paint scheme was compliments of his longtime friend and fellow racing and fishing enthusiast, Johnny Morris, Founder/CEO of Bass Pro Shops.
Bass Pro Shops and Dale Earnhardt: The name Earnhardt and Bass Pro Shops have become synonymous in NASCAR racing circles over the last 15 years. The company, founded by Johnny Morris, joined forces with Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the mid-eighties, the relationship continues to this day as Bass Pro Shops continues their partnership with the Earnhardt name through their sponsorship of the No.1 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, driven by Jamie McMurray. McMurray, a native of Joplin, MO, has certainly brought an extra bit of pride to the Springfield, MO based company by winning the 2010 Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, and the Bank of America 500 with Bass Pro Shops as the primary sponsor.
Meet McMurray: 2010 Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, and Bank of America 500 winner, Jamie McMurray, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie Austin Dillon will be at the Bass Pro Shops located in Leeds, AL this Thursday, Oct. 28. The Bass Pro Shops drivers will be on-site signing autographs beginning at 5:30pm (CST). The Leeds, Al store is located at 5000 Bass Pro Blvd., along I-20 between Talladega Superspeedway and Birmingham, Al, approximately 30 minutes from Talladega Superspeedway. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and often, and will receive one autograph per person.
Continuing Consistency: The No. 1 Team’s has been on a hot streak over the last 14 races. The impressive record includes two victories (Indy & Charlotte), two poles (Chicago and Fontana), nine top-10 starting positions, five top-five, six top-10, and 10 top-15 finishes. The team also carries an average start of 11th and average finish of 10th after the last 14 races dating back to Chicagoland in mid-July. Since the mid-point of the season (Chicagoland) McMurray currently stacks up with the Chase contenders in the following statistics:
– Two victories (Indy & Charlotte) – (Tied for 1st)
– Two poles (Chicago & Fontana) – (Tied for 1st )
– Five top-five finishes – (Tied for 3rd)
– Six top-10 finishes – (Tied for 6th)
– 10 top-15 finishes – (Tied for 4th)
– Average start of 11th – (Tied for 3rd)
– Average Finish of 10th – (Tied for 2nd)
McMurray vs. the Chase: While not in the Chase, McMurray and the No. 1 team haven’t given up on being one of the most impressive race teams on the track. The team has been on a hot streak during the first six races of the Chase. Compared to the top-12 Chase drivers this is how McMurray and the No. 1 Team currently stack up:
– Average start of 11.6 – (Ranks 3rd)
– Average finish of 9th – (Ranks 4th)
– Ranks 4th for the most points gained in the chase with 866 points gained
Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Target Team
Talladega History: Montoya will take the green flag for his eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. He has two top-five finishes at the Superspeedway, second in 2008 and third earlier this season. Montoya has completed 1315 of 1337 laps (98.4%), including all 579 laps for the last three events. Montoya also captured the pole at Talladega for the 2009 spring event.
About Martinsville: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returned to Martinsville Speedway for the final short track race of the 2010 season. The No. 42 Target Chevrolet qualified in the fifth position and ran as high as fourth before brake problems plagued Montoya. The Target team would finish out the 500-lap event in the 19th position.
Homestead-Miami Ticket Package: Race fans remember to purchase the Montoya ticket package for the NSCS season finale Ford 400. Juan Pablo Montoya and Homestead-Miami Speedway have once again partnered to offer fans a special “Race Day with Juan” ticket package to help support the Montoya’s foundation- Formula Smiles. The ticket package is available for $142, with $42 going towards Formula Smiles Foundation and includes the following:
– Race Ticket to NSCS finale Ford 400 located on the front-stretch West in rows 11-21- JPM Section
– Private pre-race meet-and-greet with Montoya in the infield Driver’s Meeting Room
– No. 42 Target Chevrolet commemorative hat
– Pre-Race Track Pass, providing access to the track’s front-stretch to take pictures, sign the start/finish line and enjoy autograph and Q&A sessions with NASCAR personalities
To purchase “Race Day with Juan” or to upgrade to this package if tickets already have been purchased please visit HomesteadMiamiSpeedway.com/Montoya or call (866) 409-RACE.
Top-10 Rankings: Although Montoya and the No. 42 Target team are not Chase contenders, their 2010 statistics rank among the Chase contenders. So far this season Montoya has two pole awards, 22 top-10 starting positions, five top-five and 13 top-10 finishing positions. Along with the on-track success, Montoya currently ranks in the top-10 in the following performance generated categories:
– Average start of 10.6 (2nd)
– Fastest drivers early in a run (5th)
– Quality passes (5th)
– 379 Fastest laps run (6th)
– 6738 Laps in top-15 (6th)
– Fastest drivers on restarts (6th)
– Average running position (7th)
– 685.20 Miles led (7th)
– Driver rating of 92.6 (8th)
– Green flag speed (8th)
– 393 Laps led (8th)
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CHASSIS INFO
No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Tribute Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #1009. Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion has elected to bring chassis #1009 to Talladega this weekend, the same chassis that led 27 laps and finished second in the Spring Talladega event.
No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #902. The No. 42 Target team will bring chassis #902 to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. This chassis was used at the first Talladega and Daytona events this year as well as all four superspeedway events last season. Montoya captured the pole for the spring Talladega event last season and has started in the top-10 for four of the six events. He has three top-10 finishes with this chassis including third at the first 2010 Talladega event.
