Catchfence

Target Chip Ganassi Racing (TCGR)

Race: Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday, August 22 (5:00 PM ET, VERSUS)

Track: Infineon Raceway (2.303-mile Road Course)

Location: Sonoma, California

NOTES / NEWS

Three is the Magic Number: After Chip Ganassi became the first car owner in history to capture what is regarded as the ‘Triple Crown’ of Motorsports earlier this year, two weeks ago he also became the first car owner in history to capture three wins in a single weekend across three major touring series. Dario Franchitti’s recent win at Mid-Ohio, Juan Pablo Montoya’s victory at Watkins Glen, and Scott Pruett & Memo Rojas’ win at Watkins Glen all contributed to Ganassi’s weekend trifecta.

Team Target at Sonoma: Team Target has claimed two wins (Dixon: 2007, Franchitti, 2009) three poles (Ryan Briscoe, 2005; Dixon, 2006; Franchitti, 2009), four top-five and six top-10 finishes, leading 156 laps along the way.

No Stranger to Victory Lane: Target Chip Ganassi Racing comes into Sonoma as the defending champions of the race. Franchitti started from the pole and led all 75 laps en route to the victory last year. Dixon also won the event in 2007.

40th Anniversary: The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma marks the 40th anniversary of the first-ever open-wheel race ever held in Sonoma in 1970. Dan Gurney won the inaugural USAC IndyCar 150 which featured some of racing’s most iconic drivers, including Mario Andretti and Mark Donahue.

Lynn Swann: Two Pittsburgh sports icons had a chance to sit down and catch up two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Seven-time Indy car champion car owner Chip Ganassi visited with four-time Super Bowl champion and Pittsburgh Steelers great Lynn Swann. The honorary Grand Marshall of the race joined Ganassi pre-race in the transporter and at the team’s pit stand during the race, and got a chance to once again see Franchitti score a victory (Swann’s first race was at the Indianapolis 500 earlier this season).

California Dreaming: Since the team’s first appearance in the state of California in 1990, Target Chip Ganassi Racing boasts 10 wins (Long Beach: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2009; Laguna Seca: 1996, 1997; Fontana: 1998, Sonoma: 2007, 2009) 32 top-five and 56 top-10 finishes, completing 82% (8,438 of 10,169) of the total laps.

Leading the Way: Target Chip Ganassi Racing has led 702 laps in the state of California, totaling approximately 1,443 miles. This is equal to running 625 laps at Infineon Raceway.

Target House: During the off week, Dixon, Franchitti, and Target NASCAR teammate Juan Pablo Montoya stopped by Target House to visit with the children and their families. Since 1999 more than 1300 children and families have called Target House home. Target House provides nearly 100 free, fully-equipped apartments for families and patients receiving long-term treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, but it’s so much more than a place to stay. Target House is a home away from home for families facing the challenge of their lives.

It’s also a place where Target team members, corporate partners and celebrities join to help build awareness of the good things happening at Target House and St. Jude. Team members regularly volunteer at Target House, and luminaries such as Shaun White, Tiger Woods, Scott Hamilton and the Jonas Brothers have made appearances at Target House and St. Jude over the years.

Mike Hull on Sonoma Test Last Week: “Sonoma gave Dario and Scott a great opportunity to work on their respective race set-ups, share information and prepare for the upcoming Infineon IndyCar Race. There were 12 entries running, so it was very much like race conditions with the ‘rubber down’ and weather very similar to what we’ll see. A bonus was that Infineon opened the day to spectators and they had a great turn out.

California has a passionate fan base and we appreciate that they took a vacation day to interact and watch our Target guys perform. It’s a great venue that demonstrates the skill level required to get it done on Sunday.”

Dario Franchitti and the No. 10 Target Team

Media Alert: Two-time Indianapolis 500 Winner Dario Franchitti will be at Kern’s Fine Jewelry to celebrate the launch of the TW Steel Dario Franchitti Edition watch on Thursday, August 19 at 7:3 pm. Kern’s Fine Jewelry is located at 214 Lorton Avenue Burlingame, CA 94010.

Dario at Sonoma: In four starts at Sonoma, Franchitti has one victory, two poles, three top-five and four top-10 finishes, leading 137 laps along the way.

Where it all started: 12 years ago this week (August 16, 1998) Franchitti captured his first career Indy car win. He led 23 laps en route to victory at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin during the CART Era. Franchitti now has 25 career wins in Indy car racing, with 15 coming in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Streaking: Since his 18th-place finish at Iowa June 20th, Franchitti has not finished off of the podium (one win, a second, and two third-place finishes). He is also hoping to add to his qualifying steak. In the last eight races this season, he has not qualified outside of the top-five.

Honoring a Legend: On the off weekend, Franchitti joined American Racing Legend Dan Gurney on Saturday, August 7 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Gurney was saluted as part of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and Franchitti honored Gurney by taking laps in a Birdcage Maserati that Gurney once raced.

Reserved for Pole Winners: Franchitti is the only IZOD IndyCar Series driver to boast two poles at Infineon Raceway (2007, 2009). He also holds the qualifying record at the Infineon at 1:16.7987 sec. (107.955 MPH) set in 2009.

Dominant Performance: Franchitti’s wire-to-wire win in 2009 was the first time a driver led every lap to a win in the IZOD IndyCar Series since Richmond (2003).

Points: After his win at Mid-Ohio, Franchitti remains second in the championship with 420 points – just 41 points behind leader Will Power.

Mid-Ohio Recap: Franchitti lined-up second on the grid and ran in the top-three throughout the race, leading a total of 29 laps. The key to the 85-lap race was when the No.10 Target team got him out off pit lane ahead of leader Will Power on lap 25. Franchitti took it from there, maintaining the point over Power to score his second win of the season (Indianapolis).

Scott Dixon and the No. 9 Target Team

History at Sonoma: In five starts at Infineon Raceway, Dixon has one victory (2007), two top-five and three top-10 finishes, leading 55 laps along the way.

Leading Laps: Dixon sits second all-time (55) in laps led at Sonoma, second only to Target Teammate Dario Franchitti with 137.

Logging Laps: Dixon is one of two drivers (Tony Kanaan) to complete every lap run at Sonoma (395) in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Points: After finishing fifth at Mid-Ohio, Dixon remains third in the championship with 379 points – 82 points out of the top spot.

Mid-Ohio Recap: Dixon started from fifth and raced into fourth in the opening laps. The team’s first stop, on Lap 25 dropped the No. 9 car from fourth to ninth. He eventually drove back into the top five and finished fifth.

2010 SPECIAL NOTES OF INTEREST

· – Target Chip Ganassi Racing has won 14 of the last 29 IZOD IndyCar Series races (48%).

· – Ganassi made history earlier this year, when driver Jamie McMurray won the Brickyard 400, giving the team the ‘American Triple Crown’ of Motorsports, which included McMurray’s victory in the Daytona 500 and Franchitti’s victory in the Indianapolis 500.

· – The team has won seven of 10 Rolex GRAND-AM Series events and currently leads in the point standings.

· – TCGR sits second and third in the IndyCar Series with five races remaining (four ovals).

· – For the first time, longtime partner Target won two races in the same day and picked up their first NASCAR victory (Franchitti winning at Mid-Ohio and Montoya at The Glen).

· – The 14 wins by Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Inc. thus far in 2010, ties the organization record for most wins in a season (with a total of 21 races remaining across all series).

- Target Chip Ganassi Racing Press Release