Martin Truex Jr. and No. 1 Guitar HeroŽ Smash Hits Team
Indianapolis History: Sunday will mark Martin Truex Jr.'s fifth
Sprint Cup Series start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In four prior
events Truex has an average starting position of 24.5 and an average
finish of 24th. His best finish at the famed 2.5-mile oval came in 2007
when Truex piloted his No.1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet to a 12th-place
finish after starting 33rd.
Guitar HeroŽ, a Smash Hit!: The #1 best-selling video game, Guitar HeroŽ,
returns to the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as primary
sponsor of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates' No. 1
Chevrolet driven by Martin Truex Jr.
In the Points: After finishing in 16th-place at Chicagoland Speedway,
Martin Truex Jr. remains 24th in both the owner and driver standings.
Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Target Team
Winning Colors: Juan Pablo Montoya will make his return to Indianapolis
Motor Speedway (IMS) in Target colors for the first time since he won the
Indy 500 for Target in 2000. To commemorate their reunion at IMS,
Montoya will run the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in a
"retro" paint scheme and uniform that echoes back to the same
scheme used in 2000 when he won the Indy 500.
Brickyard 400 History: Montoya drove to a runner-up finish in his first
stock car start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 2007 Brickyard
400. He started on the outside pole and ran in the top 10 for the entire
160-lap event before bringing home the second-place finish. Last year,
Montoya started in 13th position but his chances were cut short after a
right-rear tire exploded on lap 28. The team was able to repair the car
and post a 39th-place finish.
A familiar Place: In 2007 Juan Pablo Montoya made history by becoming
the first driver to compete in all three major events at Indianapolis
Motor Speedway (the Indianapolis 500, the United States Grand Prix and
the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.) Montoya has six starts in the Grand
Prix with a top finish of fourth, one start and win in the Indy 500 and
two Brickyard 400 starts with a best finish of second in 2007. If he
wins the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday, Montoya will become the
first driver in history to win both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400.
Indy Winner: Montoya took the checkered flag in his first and only
attempt at the Indy 500 in 2000 driving for Team Owner Chip
Ganassi's open wheel team. His margin of victory over runner-up
finisher Buddy Lazier was 7.184 seconds. He also became the first rookie
since Graham Hill in 1966 to win the 500-mile race.
Formula for Success: Chip Ganassi, Target and Juan Pablo Montoya have
all found the formula for success at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chip
has three wins at IMS (Indy 500 --1989, 2000 and 2008), Target has
two wins (Indy 500 --2000 and 2008), and Montoya has one win (Indy
500 --2000).
Last Race: Juan Pablo Montoya and the Target team made a late-race surge
to post a 10th-place finish in the LifeLock.com 400 Sprint Cup event at
Chicagoland Speedway. The finish catapulted Montoya to ninth in the NSCS
Championship standings, marking a NASCAR career high for Montoya.
In the Points: Montoya's ninth top-10 finish of 2009 moved him to
ninth in the 2009 NSCS Championship driver point standings. The team is
563 points behind leader Tony Stewart. There are seven races remaining
before the top-12 drivers in points begin the Chase for the Sprint Cup
Championship
CHASSIS INFO
No. 1 Guitar HeroŽ Smash Hits Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #040. Martin
Truex Jr. will pilot chassis #040 for the first time this weekend at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The chassis has been the backup for the No.
1 team this season at California, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Bristol and Texas.
No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #819. The Target team will
bring Chassis #819 to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. This
will be the first race of the 2009 season for chassis #819. Last year
the chassis was used five times with a best finish of 17th at Homestead.
-credit: egr
