Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in an alliance with FitzBradshaw Racing announced today that David Stremme will make his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series debut in the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10th, 2005, with the United States Navy serving as primary sponsor on the #39 Dodge Charger. The United States Navy will also serve as the primary sponsor for Stremme in the NEXTEL Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway on September 10th. This announcement comes on the heels of the announcement that Stremme will compete for the 2006 Rookie of the Year honors in the NEXTEL Cup Series behind the wheel of the #40 Coors Light and #40 Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon Dodges. The upcoming NEXTEL Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway will mark the first foray into NEXTEL Cup Racing for the United States Navy [actually they were on the #18 car in the 1991 Daytona 500 and on the #4 car in the 2000 Coca Cola 600 – images on my 2000 Paint Schemes Page]. Stremme is currently eighth in the NASCAR Busch Series point standings, driving the #14 Navy “Accelerate Your Life” Dodge. He has posted four top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 2005, to date.(Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates)(7-1-2005)
UPDATE: David Stremme will be making his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup debut this weekend in the #39 Navy “Accelerate Your Life” Dodge. Stremme and the #39 team tested at Chicagoland June 20th and 21st in preparation for his NEXTEL Cup debut. Lee McCall will serve as Stremme’s crew chief this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. McCall joined Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates at the beginning of the 2001 season to lead the #40 team. McCall amassed five wins as a crew chief at Chip Ganassi Racing, four with Sterling Marlin and one with Jamie McMurray. This is the first of four races where Stremme will be running both the NASCAR Busch Series and the NEXTEL Cup races. He will also be piloting a NEXTEL Cup car for Chip Ganassi Racing, in addition to his Busch Series obligations, at Richmond, Charlotte and Homestead this season.(Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates)(7-6-2005)
