RACE SETUP
Race: Bojangles Southern 500 – 367 Laps (501.322 miles) #BojanglesSo500
Track: Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile egg-shaped oval) @TooToughToTame
Drivers: @jamiemcmurray, @KyleLarsonRacin
Cars: No. 1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet SS, No. 42 Mello Yello Chevrolet SS
Television: Sunday, September 6 NBC (7:00 p.m. ET)
Social: @CGRTeams #TeamGanassi #TeamTarget #TeamMcD
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Media Contacts at Darlington Raceway
Jeff Dowling No.1 McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet SS – jdowling@ganassi.com – 704-906-8182 cell
Davis Shaefer No.42 Mello Yello Chevrolet SS – dshaefer@ganassi.com – 202-421-5505 cell
I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW THAT
Old School: Darlington Raceway hosted the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history and the first on asphalt on Sept. 4, 1950. – won by Johnny Mantz. There were 75 cars that started that first 500 mile race, opposed to the 43 cars that regularly start modern-day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races. In 1950 the pole winning speed was 82.034 mph; the current track qualifying sits at 184.145 mph. The average race winning speed in 1950 was just 75.250 mph, compared to the track race record of 141.383 mph. This weekend, Darlington’s history will be on full display, as numerous teams are sporting throwback paint schemes to honor the track’s legacy.
#TEAMGANASSI
Follow CGR on Twitter: Be sure to follow CGR on the official team Twitter page. Find in-race updates and weekly news on the No.1 and No.42 teams throughout the 2015 season by following @CGRnascar. You can also connect in the social conversation throughout the season with team hashtags – #TeamTarget #Cessna1 #TeamGanassi
TWEET OF THE WEEK
@jamiemcmurray – The highlight of my night @BMSupdates was racing @JeffGordonWeb in that old paint scheme. I grew up watching him in that car.
@KyleLarsonRacin – Wow heck yeah @scottdixon9!!! Congrats @CGRTeams @Target
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR DARLINGTON RACEWAY
Jamie McMurray and No. 1 McDonald’s/Cessna Team
Bristol Recap: Thunder Valley in East Tennessee was the site for stop number 24 on the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) schedule at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). The IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol is typically one of the most anticipated and exciting races on the schedule for intense racing action under the lights. Jamie McMurray drove the McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet to an 11th-place finish.
McMurray at Darlington: McMurray has 14 career starts at Darlington Raceway, where he has accumulated five top-10 and three top-five finishes. Driver of the No.1 Chevrolet SS has one career pole (May 8, 2010) and has completed 4,834 of 5,004 (96.6%) laps of competition, leading 163 laps in those 14 races. McMurray has only one DNF (did not finish) and has finished on the lead lap in ten of 13 races.
Kyle Larson and No. 42 Mello Yello Team
Bristol Recap: A strong weekend for the Target team at Bristol Motor Speedway was brought to an early end on as two separate tire issues combined to knock Larson out of the race. As has been the case with past NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) events at Bristol, Larson had a fast car throughout practice and quickly moved up from his 12th place starting position early in the Saturday’s race. However, after the solid start, Larson would experience two blown tires, the second of which would force him to the garage on Lap 356, resulting in a 41st place finish.
Larson at Darlington: Larson has one previous NSCS start at Darlington, where he earned an eighth place finish in last season’s Southern 500 after qualifying 17th for the race. Larson will also be driving in the NASCAR XFINITY Series event this weekend, his ninth such start of the season. He has two previous starts in the XFINITY Series at Darlington, finishing in sixth both times.
They Call Me Mello Yello: Larson and Team Target will be in throwback mode at Darlington, as they roll out the No. 42 Mello Yello Chevy SS. The paint scheme was made famous in the classic racing film Days of Thunder, and was also raced by Kyle Petty for several seasons in the NSCS when he drove for current CGRFS co-owner Felix Sabates. Mello Yello, which serves as the current title sponsor of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), will be back on a NASCAR track for the first time since Petty drove the No. 42 for Sabates. Completing the throwback theme, current CGRFS employee Jim Sutton, who was a crewman on Petty’s No. 42 Mello Yello car, will be at the track with the Team Target pit crew.
A Shopping Bullseye: If you have made it to the race only to find out you’ve forgotten to pack a few necessities, there’s no need to worry. For all your last minute needs, and forgotten items, Target has all of the essentials and more. Target is located at 2791 David H McLeod Blvd., Florence, SC 29501 and can be reached at (843) 667-6731. Call ahead and make sure they have what you need.
ONE TEAM
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 cars in the IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Prototype in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Overall his teams have 18 championships and over 160 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and six Rolex 24 At Daytonas and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Pa.
