Charlotte Motor Speedway Advance Notes

Race: COCA-COLA 600 on Sunday, May 30

Track:  Charlotte Motor Speedway (1.5-mile Quad-Oval)

Location: Concord, N.C.

NOTES

Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Target Team

MEDIA ALERT:  Juan Pablo Montoya will be available at the No. 42 Target hauler for a brief media Q&A session on Saturday, May 29th at 11:00 a.m. (ET)

Reflecting on the ‘Monster Mile’: Juan Pablo Montoya and Team Target struggled to hit their stride in their last point’s race at Dover International Speedway. Handling caused concern from the start of the track activities on Friday and come Sunday things went from bad to worse. An incident on pit road and then a broken track bar mount with less than 150 laps to go, forced Montoya to the garage. Despite a valiant effort by the crew to the fix the car, Team Target wasn’t able to recover and had to settle for a 35th-place finish.

All-Star Recap: Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 team was fastest in the sole practice held Friday afternoon and looked to have the pole for the Sprint Showdown event before rain moved into the area cancelling qualifying with just four cars remaining.  With qualifying cancelled the field was set by the qualifying draw placing Montoya in the 14th position.  Montoya was fast from the start breaking into the top-10 within the first five laps.  The No. 42 Target Chevrolet looked to be one of the top contenders to race into the Sprint All-Star Race before an on-track altercation on lap 16 ended the teams night early, forcing a 27th place finish.

Charlotte History:  Montoya will be making his seventh Sprint Cup start at Charlotte Motor Speedway in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600. His career best was in this race last year, starting eighth and finishing ninth.

Target Race Carts Return to the Track: The new Target At-Track Mobile Series will make their second appearance at a NASCAR race this weekend during the Coca-Cola 600. The Target Race Carts demonstrate the unique nature of the Target Racing program and also showcase its valued sponsor partners. The focal point of the program includes customized, completely operational and oversized Target Race Carts patterned after Target shopping carts. Trained Target street teams will drive and accompany these race cart vehicles at Charlotte Motor Speedway Thursday through Sunday. They will distribute samples and coupon books with an estimated value of $60 for brands including: Glad, Energizer, Breathe Right, Gillette, Air Wick, Nicorette, Armor All, Kleenex and TUMS.

Target Race Cart Fun Facts:

- One of the Target Race Cart baskets can hold 32 gallon jugs of milk, 192 loaves of bread and 256 cartons of eggs...and a pack of gum.

- They can also hold:

- 16,666 10-packs of Energizer Batteries.

-Over 3.8 million Glad ForceFlex Trash Bags.

-And over 792,529 samples of Gillette Body Wash.

Happy Anniversary:  This weekend marks the two-year anniversary for Juan Pablo Montoya and Crew Chief Brian Pattie.  The pairing first came together for the 2008 Coca-Cola 600. Of the 61 races together, the duo has two pole award, 12 top-five, 25 top-10 and seven top-15 finishes.

Good Luck Target:  This Sunday Target will take on 1,100 miles of auto racing.  Target will take the first 500 miles with teammates Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon in the Indianapolis 500 and then continue 600 more with Juan Pablo Montoya at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600. Dario Franchitti will start on the front row in third and Scott Dixon will start sixth at Indianapolis while Juan Pablo Montoya will make his fourth start in the Coca-Cola 600.  All three Target drivers are past winners of the Indy 500 – Dixon (2008), Franchitti (2007) and Montoya (2000), making Chip Ganassi the only owner to have three Indy 500 winners actively racing and one of two owners to have cars in both races.

In the Points:  The No. 42 team is 19th in the overall NSCS driver point standings, 112 points away from the top 12– the cutoff to the Chase.

CHASSIS INFO

No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS):  Chassis #1003. Crew Chief Brian Pattie elected to bring a brand new chassis #1003 to Charlotte Motor Speedway.

TEAM ROSTERS

Tony Glover – Team Manager

Steve Hmiel – Director of Competition

No. 42 (NSCS)

Hometown

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

All-Star/Showdown Race Notes

Race: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Showdown / All-Star on Saturday, May 22

Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway (1.5-mile Quad-Oval)

Location: Concord, N.C.

1. Last Week:   Jamie McMurray and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya suffered a similar fate last weekend at Dover International Speedway. Both drivers fell victim to broken track bar mounts and were sent to the garage for repairs. McMurray was able to return to the race and finish 32nd while Montoya would call it an early day and be credited with 35th. McMurray currently sits 17th in the point standings, 88 out of the Chase cutoff and Montoya is 19th, 112 points out of the Chase cutoff.

3. Montoya All-Star History:  Juan Pablo Montoya will participate in the Sprint Showdown to race his way into the All-Star Race for the third time in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career.  His first career Showdown start in 2007 was cut short after a lap-one accident relegated him to a 29th-place finish.  The 2008 season Montoya earned his first visit in the All-Star Race after his 2007 Infineon victory.  Montoya took the checkered flag in the 14th position.  Last year Montoya started ninth and finished 12th.

4. Pit Crew Challenge: Both of the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates pit crews will be participating in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pit Crew Challenge on Wednesday evening, May 19 (7pm ET) at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. This will be the fifth appearance for the No. 42 crew in the five-year-old event. Last year, the No.1 team brought home six of the seven individual champion awards.

6. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Fan Day:  Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will host a driver autograph session on Thursday, May 27 to give fans the opportunity to have an item signed by 2009 member of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Juan Pablo Montoya and 2010 Daytona 500 Champion, Jamie McMurray. The drivers will appear at the team’s Concord, N.C. facility, located just minutes from Charlotte Motor Speedway, from 10-11am ET. Fans can call 704-662-9642 Ext. 1148 to reserve their wristbands between the hours of 9 am and 2 pm ET. Each person/caller will be limited to reserving two wrist bands. Once reserved, fans must pick-up their wristbands on the morning of the autograph session (May 27th) between 8 – 9:30am ET in the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Gift Shop. Fans will be allowed one personal item, per person, for autograph.  No photos with the drivers will be allowed.

7. Rev the Vote:  Voting continues to run for the 2010 Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Juan Pablo Montoya needs your vote! To vote for Montoya text “vote” to 7777 on your Sprint phone, visit NASCAR.com or visit a voting booth in the Sprint Experience display area this week. Also, an incentive to Sprint customers, every vote submitted via Sprint or Nextel mobile counts as double in the driver standings. Voting began on Wednesday, March 24 and will run through next Saturday, May 22, ending one hour prior to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

CHASSIS INFO

No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS):  Chassis #906.  Crew Chief Brian Pattie and the Target team have elected to bring chassis No. 906 to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. This chassis was used in the 2010 season’s second event at Auto Club Speedway where Montoya qualified on the outside pole but had an engine let go forcing a 37th-place finish.

TEAM ROSTERS

Tony Glover – Team Manager

Steve Hmiel – Director of Competition

Crew Chief:  Brian Pattie

Rear Tire Changer:  Chris McMullen

Chief Mechanic:  Heath Silver

Rear Tire Carrier:  Chip Goode

Front Tire Changer:  Trevor Lysne

Gas Man:  Mike Bodick

Front Tire Carrier:  Eric Bilyeu

Catch Can:  Heath Silver

Jack Man:  TJ Ford

Spotter:  Tab Boyd

For more information log onto:

www.earnhardtganassi.com

Results from Dover International Speedway

1.    Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota

35.  Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet

The “Monster Mile” Lashes Out at Montoya; Results in a 35th-Place Finish

Dover, Del. (May 17, 2010) – Juan Pablo Montoya and Team Target struggled to hit their stride at Dover International Speedway over the weekend. Handling caused concern from the start of the track activities on Friday and come Sunday things went from bad to worse. An incident on pit road and then a loose track bar mount with less than 150 laps to go, forced Montoya to the garage. Despite a valiant effort by the crew to the fix the car, Team Target wasn’t able to recover and had to settle for a 35th-place finish.

Montoya started the Autism Speaks 400 presented by HERSHEY®’S Milk & Milkshakes from the 28th position. Within a few laps of green flag action, Montoya radioed in, “It feels like the right front is going to go.” The No. 42 Target Chevrolet held in there until the first caution flag waved on lap 52. Relief from the tire concerns would be short lived as Montoya had a run in on pit road after leaving his pit stall causing damage to both fenders and the rear bumper. The Target Chevrolet was beat up and as a result the handling would prove to be even more of a challenge when racing resumed.

On lap 255, things went from bad to worse as Montoya pulled the No. 42 into the garage for a broken track bar mount. Nearly two laps later, teammate Jamie McMurray would suffer the exact same fate. The crew worked to repair the damage and sent Montoya back out on the track. The damage proved to be terminal and on lap 348 the Target Chevrolet was driven back to the garage to stay, cutting the day short by 52 laps. Montoya would be credited with a 35th-place finish.

“For us it was a really tough day,” Montoya remarked. “We struggled this weekend for some reason; it is one of my best tracks. Everyone on this Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing team has worked hard and this Chevy car has been amazing up until this point. We have been really good every week. It is crazy that this happened.”

The All-Star Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is next up on the schedule. Teammate Jamie McMurray is secured in the field while Montoya must race his way in or win the All-Star fan vote to participate in the non-points race. Drivers have an opportunity to compete for a $1 million prize. The Showdown race and All-Star race will air live on SPEED this Saturday, May 22nd starting at 7:30 pm (ET).

For more information log onto:

www.earnhardtganassi.com

Dover International Speedway Advance Notes

Race: Autism Speaks 400, presented by HERSHEY®’S Milk & Milkshakes on Sunday, May 16

Track: Dover International Speedway (1.0-mile Oval)

Location: Dover, Del.

MEDIA ALERT:  Juan Pablo Montoya will be available at the No. 42 Target hauler for a brief media Q&A session on Saturday, May 15th at 11:00 a.m. (ET)

Monster Mile History:  Juan Pablo Montoya will be making his sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup start at Dover on Sunday.  His best finish at the one-mile oval came in the fall of last year when he started on the front row and took the checkered flag in fourth place.  He has an average starting position of 15th and an average finishing position of 21st at the “Monster Mile.”

Autism Speaks:  For the fourth straight year, Dover International Speedway and Autism Speaks have partnered to create awareness for a very worthy cause through the Spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.  The NSCS race on Sunday will carry the Autism Speaks name as part of the race sponsorship.  Teams are again encouraged to sport the Autism Speaks logo on their cars throughout the race weekend; the No. 42 Target Chevrolet will display the Autism Speaks puzzle piece logo on the B-post at Dover.

Last Weekend: Team Target has posted consecutive top-10 finishes over the course of the last three weeks. Darlington was the latest addition to the strong performances run on a track Montoya has never finished better than 20th. The fifth- place finish at a track labeled “Too Tough to Tame” now gives Team Target six top-10 finishes out of 11 races and four top-five’s.

Meet the Team:  Come out to the Chevrolet display stage located outside of Dover International Speedway where the No. 42 Target Pit Crew will be signing autographs this Sunday, May 16 from 10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

In the Points:  The No. 42 team advanced one position to 17th in the overall NSCS driver point standings after the fifth-place finish at Darlington. Montoya is only 54 points away from the top 12 – the cutoff for the Chase.

2010 In Numbers:  After 11 starts in 2010, Juan Pablo Montoya has four top-five and six top-10 finishes.  Last season at this time, Montoya only had three top-10 finishes.  Montoya is currently eighth in driver ratings, the highest driver outside of the top-12 in points.

Target and the Three R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle has long been known but did you know that Target was one of the first large retailers to commit to this philosophy?  Over the years they have integrated this approach into many areas of their company including stores planning and design, construction and merchandising.  Their waste reduction commitment has allowed them to reuse, recycle or rethink 70 percent of materials previously destined for landfills. Target encourages consumers to reuse by promoting the use of reusable shopping bags by giving guests a five-cent discount for each reusable bad used at checkout.  Corrugated cardboard is the largest part of their recycle strategy with 10 other areas of focus.

CHASSIS INFO

No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS):  Chassis #903. Team Target used chassis #903 this season in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway where Montoya qualified sixth and finished 26th after being involved in a 13-car incident.  This chassis also ran twice last year by the No. 42 team (Michigan- June, Chicago- July) where it finished sixth and tenth.

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