Catchfence

2009 NSCS Martin Truex-jr - (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Charlotte History: Truex has seven NSCS starts at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. His best finish of seventh came during his very first start at the race track in 2005, when he started 30th. He has had much more success in the NNS at the track affectionately known as the “Beast of the Southeast.” Truex has six NNS starts, with one top five, and three top 10s. His best finish in the NNS came in 2006 when he finished fifth.

Last Weekend: Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops team brought home a 6th place finish in Saturday night’s Sprint Showdown. Truex had taken the green flag three times in both the Showdown and the All-Star Race, prior to Saturday night’s qualifying race. In 2005 he finished 10th in the Showdown but earned his first All-Star Race start by winning the fan vote. Truex won the Showdown in 2007 and went on to his best All-Star Race finish of 10th. 2008 marked the first year Truex did not have to race his way into the All-Star race after he earned a start with his first NSCS win at Dover.

In the Points: The sixth place finish at Darlington moved Truex and the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Team up two places to 19th in the NSCS Championship standings, 127 points out of 12th – the cutoff for the Chase. The team has moved up four spots in the NSCS points standings since finishing 22nd at Richmond.

National Wild Turkey Federation: The National Wild Turkey Federation’s (NWTF) “Flying Turkey” logo will again appear on the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet driven by Martin Truex Jr. for the Coca-Cola 600. The NWTF car made its debut last week for the Sprint All-Star Weekend festivities. The Bass Pro Shops partnership with NWTF is part of the Conservation Fund’s “Racing for America’s Wildlife” program. The program is designed to engage the NASCAR community in conserving America’s hunting and fishing heritage through habitat protection, restoration, education, and outreach. The NWTF has over 500,000 members, with chapters across the United States, Canada, and 10 other countries around the world. The Federation has worked with their volunteers, partners and wildlife agencies to restore wild turkey populations in the U.S. and Canada.

Meet Truex: Martin Truex Jr. will host an autograph session at the Bass Pro Shops in Concord, N.C. from 3:00-4:00 p.m. Autographs are guaranteed for the first 300 fans that receive a wristband. Fans can pick-up their wristbands at Bass Pro Shops in Concord, N.C. starting at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 22nd. The store is located at 8181 Concord Mills Blvd., Concord, NC 28027.

Chevy Fast Fact: GM currently has more models with EPA highway ratings of 30 mpg or better than any other carmaker, 20 in total.

2009 NSCS Juan Pablo Montoya - (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Lowe’s History: Montoya will be making his fifth Sprint Cup start at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600. His average starting position in the point’s races at LMS is 30th and average finish is 32nd. Last May Montoya finished 30th in his first weekend with Crew Chief Brian Pattie.

Happy Anniversary: This weekend marks the one-year anniversary for Juan Pablo Montoya and Crew Chief Brian Pattie. The pairing first came together for the Coca-Cola 600 last May. Of the 36 races together, the duo has one pole award, one top five, five top 10 and 10 top-15 finishes.

Looking for Three: Montoya is looking for his first stock car victory over Memorial Day weekend to add to his collection of holiday victories. Montoya has already claimed the top spot in two of the three top races in the world run at the end of May, the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix. In 2000, the Colombian became the first rookie to win the Indy 500 since 1966 when Graham Hill went on to win the Borg-Warner trophy driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Montoya led three times for 167 out of 200 laps, a rookie record. He then made the switch to Formula One and drove to victory lane in 2003 in the Monaco Grand Prix, one of the most coveted wins in racing.

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 Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600. Dario Franchitti will start on the front row and Scott Dixon will start fifth at Indianapolis while Juan Pablo Montoya will make his third 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 three owners to have cars in both races.

Hauler Chat: Juan Pablo Montoya will have media availability on Saturday, May 23rd at 2:00 p.m. behind the 42 hauler.

Meet Montoya: Juan Pablo Montoya will be making an appearance at the Afton Ridge Target store in Concord from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 22nd. The Autograph line will open at 3:30 p.m. at the store. The first 200 fans will be allowed one autograph per person. No photographs will be available at this event. The store is located at 6150 Bayfield Parkway, Concord, NC 28027.

Last Points Race: Juan Pablo Montoya started 25th at Darlington Raceway. Despite receiving right front damage after an incident on lap 184, the Target team kept Montoya on the lead lap to finish in 20th-position.

In the Points: The No. 42 team is 14th in the overall NSCS driver point standings, 16 points away from the top 12 and 346 points behind leader Jeff Gordon.

Chevy Fast Fact: GM has more hybrids on the market than any other automaker. In 2008 GM sold more than 14,000 hybrid vehicles.

CHASSIS INFO

No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #806 Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion has elected to bring Chassis number #806 to Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend.

No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #904. The Target team last used this chassis for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway when Montoya drove to a 27th-place finish.

- Earnhardt Ganassi Racing With Felix Sabates, Press Release