Chip Ganassi Racing w/Felix Sabates Advance
NEXTEL Open – Lowe’s Motor Speedway Advance – 5/20/06
David Stremme, No. 40 Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon Dodge

No. 40 Team Fast Facts:
Chassis: Crew Chief Steve Lane and the No. 40 Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon crew are taking chassis #308 for the NEXTEL Open and hopefully the All-Star Challenge this weekend. This is the first time the team will run this chassis this season.

In Memory: This weekend David Stremme will be participating in a charity poker tournament at the TrackCouture Launch Party in downtown Charlotte. Stremme will be playing in memory of team member Bill Ellis who passed away last month. A trust is currently being set up for his wife and three children.

Feels Like the First Time: Stremme will be making his first appearance in the NEXTEL Open this weekend. Stremme competed in last season’s October event—finishing 36th. He has multiple starts at the track in Busch Series competition with Stremme capturing a career high eighth-place finish (May ’04 & ’05).

Testing at Charlotte: The No. 40 team tested at Charlotte two weeks ago in preparation for the race weekends ahead at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, focusing much attention on the circuit’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600. After two days of testing Stremme was atop of the speed chart with a speed of 186.929 mph.

Rookie Ranks: Stremme falls in line sixth in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings with a total of 77 points and 42 points out of the lead.

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points standings: Stremme gained one spot in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship points standings, he is now 36th. He is 335 points out of the top 20 and 531 points out of the 10th spot.

Stremme on the NEXTEL Open…
“This year will be the first time I compete in the NEXTEL Open so I am looking forward to going out there and having some fun. I know it is a non-points race but that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to run as hard as we would on any other weekend. The No. 40 team came and tested here two weeks ago and we had a really decent test. We made a lot of runs and by the end of testing we were sitting on top of the speed charts. That definitely helps my confidence going into these next few weeks. The entire team has been working hard to get where we need to be and I think that we are doing a good job getting the cars dialed in and improving every week.”