DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 26, 2006) – The testing is complete for Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge). Now comes his much-anticipated debut.

Montoya, a former Indianapolis 500 champion, and Formula 1 star, signed a multi-year deal with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in July.

He has participated in several tests in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series cars – including at Memphis Motorsports Park – and has competed in two ARCA RE/MAX events this month. He sat on the outside pole at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 6, finishing third. At Iowa Speedway on Oct. 15 he started third and led 12 laps before contact with another competitor relegated him to a 24th-place finish.

The 30-year old native of Colombia is anxious for his NASCAR debut.

“I am so happy to be entering the fastest-growing racing league in the world,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in my ability as a race car driver and in Chip and Felix as owners.

“I know the transition will not be easy, but I can’t wait to get behind the wheel.”

Montoya isn’t the only driver aiming for his series debut at Memphis. He’ll be joined by Timothy Peters (No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet); Tim Schendel (No. 56 Power Equipment Co-Texpar Inc. Chevrolet) – who won the Elite Division competition last weekend at the Toyota All-Star Showdown after capturing the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Midwest Series title this year; Willie Allen (No. 14 FitzBradshaw Dodge) the track champion at Nashville’s Music City Motorplex this season; Joey Miller (No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Dodge); Chuck Barnes Jr. (No. 07 Chevrolet), Brett Rowe (No. 05 31 W Insulation Chevrolet), Canadian D.J. Kennington (No. 72 McDonald Motorsports Chevrolet); Dexter Bean (No. 63 Ford) and Richard Landreth (No. 89 Romeo Guest Construction Ford).

One driver who has competed full-time in both series this year will miss his first race of the season. Kyle Busch will be replaced by Justin Labonte for practice, qualifying and the race in the No. 5 Lowe’s Chevrolet at Memphis.

Kevin Harvick, the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series champion, will return to the No. 21 U.S. Coast Guard Chevrolet for this event. Two-time series champion Randy LaJoie subs for Harvick during practice and qualifying.

In addition, Reed Sorenson (No. 41 Discount Tire Co. Dodge) will be assisted by Kevin Hamlin; Clint Bowyer (No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet) has Brandon Miller ready to stand in; Kertus Davis will set up the No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet for Denny Hamlin; Mark Green will do the same for J.J. Yeley (No. 18 Vigoro/Home Depot Chevrolet); Peter Shepherd is in for Carl Edwards (No. 60 FreeCreditReport.com Ford) and Hermie Sadler will substitute for Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Vitamin Water Dodge).

Kenny Wallace will be in a reverse role; he’ll be in Memphis all weekend while Kevin Lepage attempts to qualify his No. 78 Chevrolet at Atlanta. If Lepage makes the race, Wallace is scheduled to drive Sunday.

Chevrolet’s 20 wins are tied for sixth all-time; matching the marks it set in 1994 and ’97; it can tie for fourth with a win at Memphis. Pontiac had a series-record 21 wins in the inaugural 1982 NASCAR Busch Series season, a record that stood until Chevy registered 23 wins in 1998.

Chevrolet is on a four-race winning streak heading to Memphis and has won the last two races there – five out of the seven events overall.

Ford and Dodge are engaged in a spirited battle for second in the Bill France Performance Cup standings. Ford is in second place with six wins and 182 points while Dodge has five wins and 171 points.

• Randy LaJoie, who will sub for Harvick until race time, also won at Memphis in 2001.
• Harvick and Bowyer have two top-five finishes at Memphis, best among drivers entered.
• Jason Keller has five top-10 finishes at Memphis, best among all drivers.
• A new Busch Pole winner can emerge from Memphis as none of the previous four pole winners are entered in the event. Jeff Green and Martin Truex Jr. lead that category with two each.
• Four former Memphis winners also are NASCAR Busch Series champions – Harvick, Truex, Jeff Green and LaJoie.

Bowyer had the best Driver Rating last year at 140.9, while Sauter was third (122.9). Sauter bested Bowyer in Average Running Position in 2005, standing second with a 3.528 average while Bowyer was fourth at 4.752, but it was in the speed categories that Bowyer was able to take the win and arrive this weekend as a favorite to defend his victory.

Bowyer was first in the Fastest Lap category (69) while Sauter was second (26). Sauter was Fastest on Straightaways among all drivers last year with an average speed of 119.856 mph, but Bowyer prevailed as the Fastest Driver by Turn Number, placing first among all drivers through each turn.

Bowyer also was consistent as the Fastest Driver Early and Late in Runs, leading all drivers at 116.117 and 113.240, respectively. Sauter was fourth to Bowyer in both categories one year ago.

Sauter was second in Green Flag Speed last year (114.067), but it was Bowyer who was first, averaging 114.331 to round out his dominant speed performance.

Other Toyota All-Star Showdown graduates who have advanced to the NASCAR Busch Series include Burney Lamar and Auggie Vidovich (No. 4 GEICO Dodge). … Paul Menard (No. 11 Menard’s Chevrolet) will aim for his 100th series start at Memphis. … Dollar General, sponsor of the No. 77 Chevrolet driven this week by Lamar, has invited the Kevin Harvick Inc. road and race day crews to join a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi River aboard the Queen Memphis III on Thursday evening. … Shane Huffman and several members of the No. 88 U.S. NAVY Chevrolet team spent two days aboard a U.S. Navy submarine during the open week. The JR Motorsports team members toured the sub and visited with sailors to see firsthand what life is like in the U.S. Navy. … Steve Wallace (No. 64 Jackson Roscoe Foundation Dodge) and Stephen Leicht (No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford) made their NASCAR Busch Series debuts at Memphis last year. Leicht qualified eighth and finished 13th while Wallace started 11th and had a 15th-place result. … Cale Gale will make his first start in the No. 33 Outdoor Channel Chevrolet for KHI at Memphis. Gale, with three previous series starts this season, is expected to announce further plans with the team at a later date. … Chris Wimmer (No. 0 RACEGIRL Chevrolet) will drive the Davis Motorsports entry while regular driver Kertus Davis practices and qualifies for Denny Hamlin.

The 2000 Memphis event saw five drivers including Tim Sauter, Jamie McMurray and Scott Wimmer along with first-timers Sammy Ragan and Billy Parker each take their first series green flag. Parker had the best qualifying effort of the five with an eighth-place starting position.

Wimmer went on to earn an 18th-place finish for the best result among the quintet.

As a group, those five drivers are responsible for 12 NASCAR Busch Series victories in 379 starts.

Series champion Kevin Harvick won last year’s race, his second at Texas, while Kurt Busch captured the spring race this year. Ryan Newman earned the Busch Pole last November.

Mark Martin is the all-time leader in series wins at Texas with three – he won three of the first four races at the 1.5-mile track. Jeff Green, the 2000 series champion, leads all drivers with two poles.