Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Ford 300 - Dario Franchitti Notes

Dario Franchitti
NBS Advance for Homestead-Miami Speedway

Race: NBS 300 on Saturday, November 17, 2007
Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Location: Homestead, Fla.

Dario Franchitti and the No. 42 Target Dodge Team Facts:

Up to Now: This weekend’s NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) race will mark Dario Franchitti’s fourth NBS start and sixth career stock car start. His latest NBS run at Phoenix International Raceway last Saturday began with another impressive top-10 starting position (eighth place), and then a 29th-place finish after Franchitti got caught up in a four-car incident that red flagged the event three laps shy of the checkered flag. Franchitti’s stock racing resume also includes NBS starts at Texas Motor Speedway (started 18th, finished 25th) and the Memphis Motorsports Park (started third, finished 32nd). The Memphis run was a notable performance by the 34-year-old racer as he ran in the top 15 over 75 percent of the race, until brake pedal failure resulted in unavoidable contact with another car and relegated the potential top-10 day. Franchitti is averaging a top-10 start in NBS competition. He also competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway and the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway this past October.

Off the Road with Brian Pattie: The No. 42 Target Team crew chief Brian Pattie plans to utilize his off-season by spending time with his wife and four children. Pattie will enjoy the holidays at home in Huntersville, N.C., and follow it up with a family ski trip to Snowshoe Mountain, W.Va. However, he adds, “The off-season is always spent preparing for the next season.”

Full of Floridians: Four members of the No. 42 Target team will be racing a little closer to home this weekend in the Sunshine State. Crew chief Brian Pattie and Adam Cooke, the team shock specialist, hail from Zephyrhills, Fla. The two grew up together in the Florida town. Bruce Jones, a team mechanic, is also from Florida. He calls Lakeland his hometown and still has many family and friends who reside in the area. Target team jack man Marc Jacobs is originally from Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.

Chassis: Franchitti will race chassis #755 this weekend at Homestead. The new car’s one and only start was this past July a Chicagoland Speedway, where Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 team crossed the finish line in 21st place (started 17th).

Standings Update: Going into this weekend’s NBS season finale, the No. 42 team currently stands 23rd in the overall NBS owner ranks. They are 70 points outside of the top 20.