Race 2 Win: Nationwide Series Race Notes

Nationwide Series

Corona Mexico 200 - Scott Pruett Notes

Scott Pruett Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Advance Notes
Race: Corona Mexico 200 on Sunday, April 20 (NNS) (LIVE, ESPN, 2 PM ET)
Track: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (2.518-mile road course)
Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Scott Pruett and the No. 40 Fastenal Dodge Team (NNS)

NOTES

Two for Two: Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas’ win at Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) marked the Indianapolis-based team’s 91st victory for Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Inc. (1990-2008). The duo’s victory preceded IndyCar teammate Scott Dixon’s trip to victory circle later in the evening at HMS which marked the team’s 92nd win. The double-dip was the first time in the Indianapolis-based team’s 18-year history they have won two races on the same day. With the Target Chip Ganassi Racing (TCGR) IndyCar team racing in Motegi, Japan, nearly 12 hours before the Rolex series race on Saturday, the team will have a unique opportunity to win two races on the same day in two different continents.

Sixteen and counting…: Pruett continued to solidify his place in the Grand-Am record books as the winningest driver with 16 career Rolex victories. He also broke the record for most winning Chip Ganassi Racing, Inc. driver with his HMS win, beating Alex Zanardi’s 15 career wins under the TCGR banner.

Double-Duty: For the second consecutive year in Mexico City, Pruett will maintain the helm of the No.01 TELMEX Daytona Prototype and No. 40 Fastenal Dodge Charger for CGRFS. In Pruett’s double-duty weekend last season, he returned home with two top-five finishes (fourth Rolex, fifth NNS). Pruett’s track history in three race starts (two Rolex, one NNS) includes two pole positions, three top-five finishes and one win.

A Friend, Indeed: Rojas will be attending the Nationwide race on Sunday to cheer on Pruett and looks forward to supporting his teammate in any way he can. In fact, his duties include giving Pruett rides to and from the airport this weekend.

Racing through the Alphabet: Pruett and wife Judy are putting the final touches on their fourth children’s book titled Racing through the Alphabet which is scheduled to be finished and ready to sell next Tuesday (April 22). The quartet of books includes 12 Little Race Cars, 12 More Little Race Cars and Rookie Racer and will be sold at select Target stores in the United States. Pruett exclaims, “this book is truly awesome. It’s educational… It’s fun…..Judy and I are excited to finally have it on the bookshelves!”

Pruett’s NNS Stats: Pruett has a total of nine career starts in NNS competition, which include two pole positions (one that was earned last March at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the NNS race and the other driving for Kevin Lepage at Watkins Glen (NY) International in July 2001), one top-five and three top-10 finishes. Last March was his first official NNS start for his long-time team owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates, and first stock car run at the Mexico City 2.518-mile road course in a stock car in which he earned the pole position and a top-five finish. This weekend’s run will mark his second stock car start at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Pruett has made a total of 11 stock car starts on road courses for CGRFS in both NNS and Sprint Cup Series, scoring one pole, four top-five finishes and six top-10 finishes.

Check out the Parrott Perspective: Pruett’s NNS Crew Chief Brad Parrott is keeping fans up to date on what is going on in the world of the Fastenal Racing Team through an on-line log he is keeping throughout the 2008 NNS season. Check out the Parrott Perspective at www.fastenalracing.com.

Crew Camera Cardamone: This Sunday in Mexico City, Tony Cardamone, a native of Charleston, W.Va. and the jack man for the No. 40 Fastenal Dodge, will be featured during the Nationwide race with the coveted ESPN crew camera. The camera will give viewers a pit crewman’s up-close view of Pruett’s pit stops. Cardamone and the crew’s perspective will be in reverse this weekend as Pruett and the team perform their stops backwards due to the unique road course design.

NNS Standings Update: In the NNS owner standings, the No. 40 Fastenal Dodge Team has scored back-to-back 11th-place finishes in the team’s last two efforts—at Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway. The strong finishes have advanced the CGRFS NNS team a total of three positions in the NNS owner standings—into 18th place. The team is just 71 points outside the top 10 and 292 out of first.

QUOTES

Topic: Both of you have had different experiences with Mexico City – Memo you will be racing for the second time in the Daytona Prototype; and Scott you have raced on the track in both DP’s and NASCAR Nationwide cars. What are your feelings going into the weekend, and how is this year different than last year (or years past, Scott)?

Scott Pruett: “I don’t think my feelings have changed much from prior years. I’m really looking forward to getting back into the No.40 Fastenal Nationwide car. There’s no doubt it will be a busy weekend between being on-track with both cars and then spending time with each group of engineers and crew to make the fastest car in each series. Relatively speaking, we’ve been successful at the track with the 2006 Rolex win and top-5 finish with Memo last year as well as having a highly competitive NNS car last year. This weekend should be fun and certainly keep me on my toes.”

CHASSIS INFO

No. 40 Fastenal Dodge (NNS): Chassis #559. This is the same car Crew Chief Brad Parrott and Juan Pablo Montoya raced to victory lane at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in March 2007, which marked Montoya’s career-first NASCAR victory (started third).