Atlanta Motor Speedway Advance Notes

Race: Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday, March 7

Track:  Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54 miles)

Location: Hampton, Ga.

NOTES

Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Target Team

Atlanta History:  Juan Pablo Montoya has competed in six NSCS and one NNS event at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Montoya has a best start of fourth from this event last year and best finish of third in his fall visit to the 1.54-mile quad-oval in 2009.  In the NNS garage, Montoya’s one start resulted in an eighth-place finish.

Closer Look:  In the last four years at AMS, Montoya leads drivers in best number of average quality passes with 38.3, total number of quality passes 230.  Quality passes is defined as passing a car running in the top-15 while under the green flag.  In Montoya’s best race at AMS (last fall) he lead for 31 laps, passed for position under the green 88 times, spent 318 laps of the 325 laps raced in the top-15 (97.8%) and ran an average of eighth before finishing in third.

Last Weekend: Juan Pablo Montoya and the No.42 Target Chevrolet started 10th and were running in the top-10 when bad luck struck the team on lap 93 resulting in a 37th-place finish, 20 laps down.

Target Race Carts:  Las Vegas race weekend saw the debut of the new oversized Target Race Cart, patterned after a TARGET shopping cart.  Montoya showcased the race cart on SPEED’s Trackside at Las Vegas displaying it is drivable up to 35 mph and is 10-feet tall.  Accompanied with each race cart are trained Target street teams driving and distributing samples and coupon books for Target associated brands.  Look for the new motorsports product sampling program to be used at select NASCAR events, the next being at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and later in the year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in August.

Kids Korner:  Juan Pablo Montoya with his foundation Formula Smiles and Colombia is Passion, a Columbian country brand, launched a program on March 1st for Colombian children called "Design Juan Pablo Montoya's helmet with Colombia is Passion."  The contest is for children between the ages of 10 and 17 years old  to enter a helmet design with Colombian biodiversity as the topic.  Montoya will be part of the selection committee deciding each age group winner and who will get the opportunity to accompany Montoya to the Daytona event in July where the designs will be showcased.  For more information please visit www.formulasonrisas.com.

Get Geared Up!:  New for 2010. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing will have a merchandise trailer located on souvenir row for the 2010 season. Get your Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray gear trackside or visit www.earnhardtganassi.com to place an order online.

CHASSIS INFO

No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #819.  Crew Chief Brian Pattie and the No. 42 Target  team will bring chassis #819 to Atlanta Motor Speedway. This is a veteran chassis that ran six times in the 2009 season finishing in the top-five three times at Pocono (August), Atlanta (September), and California (October).  This is also the chassis used in the Brickyard where Montoya dominated, leading 116 laps before finishing 11th.  The other two races ran were Michigan (August) and Texas (November) where it finished 19th and 37th.

TEAM ROSTER

Tony Glover – Team Manager

Steve Hmiel – Director of Competition

Crew Chief:  Brian Pattie Zephyrhills, FL

Rear Tire Changer:  Chris McMullen Troutman, NC

Chief Mechanic:  Heath Silver Asheville, NC

Rear Tire Carrier:  Chip Goode Statesville, NC

Front Tire Changer:  Trevor Lysne Fergus Falls, MN

Gas Man:  Mike Bodick Norwalk, CT

Front Tire Carrier:  Eric Bilyeu Waterford, MI

Catch Can:  Heath Silver Asheville, NC

Jack Man:  TJ Ford Charlotte, NC

Spotter:  Tab Boyd Pensacola, FL

For more information log onto:

www.earnhardtganassi.com