Race 2 Win: Nationwide Series Race Notes

Nationwide Series

Corona Mexico 200 - Patrick Carpentier Notes

No. 9 Auto Value Dodge Charger
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Preview

Patrick Carpentier will make his fourth career start in the Nationwide Series this weekend at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.

This race marks Carpentier’s second road course race in the series. His first road course start came with much success at Montreal last season. Carpentier sat on the pole and finished second in the event.

TV and Radio Times: Qualifying is set for Saturday at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and MRN Radio. Race time on Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN2 and MRN Radio.

DRIVER PATRICK CARPENTIER QUOTES:

FAN ATTENTION “I’m really looking forward to heading down to Mexico. That track is a lot of fun. The atmosphere, the people make it great and the fans are always excited to see us race there. I look forward to it because everyone is so nice and they make it a really enjoyable experience. Plus the hotel that we stay at is one of my favorites.”

ROAD COURSE RACING “I have always been a fan of road course racing. From all my years in CART and IRL and Champ Car I’ve done a lot of laps on road courses and experience helps in that type of racing. I’m just hoping my experience pays off and we can get the Auto Value Dodge to victory lane.”

“I haven’t raced at Mexico in about four years. But I remember the track quite well. Rear grip is going to be very important in getting off the corners and down the straights, especially off the last corner to the start/finish line. You can gain or lose a lot of time there, depending on how well of a run you can carry off it.”

RUNNING IN NATIONWIDE SERIES “I ran Vegas in the Nationwide Series early this year, and let me tell you there is a lot of talent over there. Besides the Cup drivers that race, there are a lot of younger, very talented drivers. This weekend will be much of the same, if not harder. I know Ferdandez, Pruett and Montoya are running at Mexico. Those are some really strong drivers so I’m looking forward to racing against them. Hopefully, at the end of the day we’ll get a finish the Auto Value Dodge team deserves.”

NOTES

Chassis

Carpentier will drive chassis No. 19 at Mexico City. It finished third at Mexico in 2007 and ran all three road course races last season. Backup is No. 10.

Mexico City

Carpentier has two prior starts at Mexico City in both the CART Series [2003] and Champ Car [2004].

He finished ninth in the CART race and sixth in CCWS race.

This will be Carpentier’s second career road course race in the Nationwide Series.

2008 Season

The No. 9 Auto Value Dodge Charger is ranked 15th, 52 points outside of the top-10.

Patrick Carpentier earned the Auto Value team their first to-10 of the season after finishing eighth at Las Vegas. Carpentier didn’t have any practice laps in the car before taking the green flag.

The Auto Value team nearly grabbed their first victory of the season at Bristol. Kahne ran out of laps to make the winning pass in the rain-shortened race, but earned the team their first top-five of the year.

Kahne has finished in the top-10 in two of his three starts in the Nationwide Series this year.

History

Gillett Evernham Motorsports had two victories in the Nationwide Series last year. They came at Charlotte and Bristol with Kahne behind the wheel.

Since joining forces with Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2005, Kahne has won at least two races each season in the Nationwide Series.

Gillett Evernham Motorsports

Ray Evernham served as Jeff Gordon’s crew chief from 1992-’99 winning 47 races and three Cup championships.

Evernham founded Evernham Motorsports in 2000 and began first full season of competition in 2001 serving as the cornerstone of Dodge’s return to NASCAR.

George Gillett Jr. became co-owner with Evernham in October 2007. Gillett also owns the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL and the Liverpool soccer team in the English Premier League.

Gillett Evernham Motorsports campaigns Kasey Kahne in the No. 9, Patrick Carpentier in the No. 10, and Elliott Sadler in the No. 19 in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition.

The organization also fields the No. 9 in NASCAR Nationwide Series races with its Sprint Cup drivers plus rookie Chase Miller.