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Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing Texas Advance Notes

Race: Firestone Twin 275s Saturday, June 11 (8:00 PM ET, VERSUS)

Track: Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

NOTES/NEWS

Follow CGR on Twitter: Follow @CGRTeams for official updates from Chip Ganassi Racing’s IZOD IndyCar Series drivers Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball.

Team Manager Mitch Davis on Texas: “We’re going to Texas with a lot of momentum. Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing and Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing had great runs at the Indianapolis 500. Graham and Charlie are both excited for the new two-race format at Texas Motor Speedway. They can run flat out and there’s a lot of opportunity for passing; cars will run three-wide at this track, so I think the fans are going to get a real show.”

Graham Rahal and the No. 38 Service Central Team

Follow Graham on Twitter: Follow @GrahamRahal for updates as the driver of the No. 38 Service Central Honda completes his first season with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Drifting Lessons: Rahal will participate in drifting lessons along with NCWTS driver Ricky Carmichael from the Formula drift drivers on Thursday, June 9 from 2:15 – 3:15 pm CDT at Texas Motor Speedway.

Tire Safety Awareness: Rahal will be at NTB- National Tire and Battery in Roanoke, Texas (1213 N.Hwy 377) on Saturday, June 11 from 2:00 -3:00 pm CDT to talk about tire safety and sign autographs.

NTB: NTB will support the No. 38 Service Central car for the Firestone Twin 275s. NTB is an industry-leading tire retailer that specializes in tire and battery replacement as well as offering many enhanced mechanical services. For more information, please visit www.ntb.com.

TMS History: The Firestone Twin 275s at Texas Motor Speeway will mark Rahal’s third start on the 1.5-mile oval with a best finish of 11th in 2008.

Rahal on Texas: “Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing is riding some momentum as we head to Texas. We just scored back-to-back podiums and now we’re going to a place that suits our team well. I think the new two-race format this year at Texas Motor Speedway will be exciting and a great show for the fans.”

Back-to-Back Podiums: The Service Central team heads to Texas with two consecutive podium finishes: second-place finish in Sao Paulo and third-place at the Indianapolis 500.

Scoring Points: After a third-place finish at the Indianapolis 500, Rahal gained three positions in the IZOD IndyCar Series points standings and currently sits sixth.

Indianapolis 500 Recap: Rahal started the 500-mile race from 29th and would cross the finish line in third with the greatest position advancement in the 2011 Indianapolis 500 by gaining 26 spots from his starting place.

Rahal on the Indianapolis 500: “A top-three run feels good, that’s for sure. This is what the Indianapolis 500 is all about. We needed to ride the momentum from our second-place finish in Brazil, and we did. We’ll just keep going on from here. I’m so proud of the Service Central team, because starting where we started and to end up in the top-three, we passed 26 cars; that’s fantastic.”

The Sports Guy: Graham will be a regular on SiriusXM’s College Football Playbook with Jack Arute and Mike Leach starting Wednesday, June 15.

Rahal, the Blogger: Keep up with Rahal as he provides his perspective on the Service Central team, his competitors and post-race recaps in season-long blogs with SPEEDTV.com and AutoWeek.com.

2011 STATS

Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s Pts. Pos./(Prev)
Graham Rahal 5 0 0 2 2 6/9

CAREER STATS

Starts Wins Poles Top 5s Top 10s
Graham Rahal 64 1 2 14 33

TEAM ROSTERS

Mitch Davis – Team Manager

No. 38 (IndyCar)
Crew Chief (Air Jack): Matt Swan Race Strategist: Tim Keene
Engineer: Martin Pare Rear End (L/F): Dan Rushing
Assistant Engineer: Zack Eakin Rear End (L/R): Pat Nelson
Tires/Transport Driver: Mike Briggs R/R: Eric Prentice
Spotter: Lee Orebaugh Front End (R/F): George Sladky
Gear Box: Mike LaFontain Front End/Fueler: Trey Harkins

About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams

Chip Ganassi created his own one-car IndyCar team in 1990 and established a partnership with sponsor, Target. Today, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams includes two entries in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, four in the IZOD IndyCar Series and one Daytona Prototype in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Cars Series. Overall his teams have 12 championships and 138 victories, including three Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and four Rolex 24 At Daytonas. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn.

For more information log onto chipganassiracing.com

- Chip Ganassi Racing, Press Release