Chip Ganassi will be on hand for a special announcement at Watkins Glen International regarding sponsor activities and plans for the 2006 season on Friday, August 12, 2005 at the Watkins Glen International Victory Lane.(Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates)
Hopefully this will help clear up some of the Silly Season rumors, such as does Casey Mears stay in the #41 Target Dodge? move to a 4th team, #39? go back to Busch so Reed Sorenson can move up to the #41? does Jamie McMurray get out of his contract? if so, then who goes in the #42 Texaco Dodge? Mears? Sorenson? someone else? So far the only thing we know for sure is David Stremme in the #40 Lonestar/Coor Light Dodge in 2006…supposedly #41 crew chief, Jimmy Elledge will be his crew chief.(8-10-2005)
UPDATE: been told that Ganassi will expand to a full four car team in 2006, with Casey Mears moving to the Home 123 Dodge, possibly #39, with Ganassi Busch Series driver, Reed Sorenson going to the #41 Target Dodge and also running the #41 Discount Tires Dodge on the Busch Series. The fate of the #42 Texaco Havoline team is unknown, but at present Jamie McMurray is expect to drive the car unless he can get out of his contract for 2006 and move to the #6 Roush Racing Ford, the team he signed to drive for in 2007.(8-11-2005)
UPDATE 2: Home123 Corporation, a subsidiary of New Century Financial Corporation , together with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS), today announced plans to expand their partnership to sponsor a fourth NEXTEL Cup Series entry in 2006 with current CGRFS driver Casey Mears taking the helm. Mears and his Home123 Team will take to the track in 2006 in an all-out pursuit to win races and build awareness of one of America’s premier providers of home mortgage loans.
Home123 Corporation, the official mortgage company of NASCAR, joined forces with CGRFS prior to the 2005 season as a major associate on both the #42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge driven by Jamie McMurray in the NEXTEL Cup Series and the #41 Discount Tire Dodge piloted by Reed Sorenson in the Busch Series. In addition to Home123’s NASCAR involvement, New Century Mortgage Corporation, also a subsidiary of New Century Financial Corporation, is the primary sponsor on Chip Ganassi Racing’s #02 Rolex GrandAm Series team with drivers Cort Wagner and Stefan Johansson. Casey Mears has been driving for CGRFS since joining the NEXTEL Cup Series ranks in 2003. To date he has amassed two pole positions, two top-five finishes and 13 top-10 finishes in 93 starts. Prior to moving up to NASCAR’s elite division, Mears cut his racing teeth competing in the NASCAR Busch Series, CART, IRL, Indy Lights Series and USAC Triple Crown, along with many other forms of motorsports. To find out more about Home123 or New Century, please visit www.Home123.com
AND UPDATE 2 1/2: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) announced today its complete 2006 driver line up for its NASCAR NEXTEL Cup programs. The multi-car team will expand its Concord-based racing stable to four NEXTEL Cup Series teams in 2006 with drivers Casey Mears, Reed Sorenson, Jamie McMurray and David Stremme piloting the Dodge Chargers.
“I’m extremely excited about our 2006 driver line-up,” said team owner Chip Ganassi. “We began working toward this goal in 2002 when Felix and I signed David, and it continued with the addition of Reed, Jamie and Casey in 2003. This is a testament to Lorin Ranier and our driver development program as well as our unparalleled sponsor services team and the investments we’ve made over the past few years to achieve our goal of a four-car operation. It is my belief that these four drivers will help us accomplish our mission of winning races and adding value to our sponsor partners.”
4th Team: Mears will continue his driving duties with CGRFS in 2006, but will pilot the Home123 Dodge Charger for a full season with backing from one of America’s largest providers of home mortgage loans, New Century Mortgage subsidiary Home123. Mears is set to begin his fourth year with CGRFS next season after serving as driver of the No. 41 Target Dodge since 2003.
#41: Having already notched victories at Nashville and Gateway, and establishing himself a championship contender in his first full season of NASCAR Busch Series racing for CGRFS in the #41 Discount Tire Dodge, Sorenson’s reward will come in the form of a full-time NEXTEL Cup Series ride in 2006 behind the wheel of the #41 Target Dodge. The 19-year-old rookie will remain the driver of the Discount Tire Busch machine next season, and will benefit significantly from running a full slate of Busch and Cup Series races in 2006.
#40 ream: As previously announced, Stremme will be piloting the #40 Coors Light and #40 Lonestar Steakhouse & Saloon Dodges for 2006 in the NEXTEL Cup Series for CGRFS. Stremme, the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year, will be making a run at the NEXTEL Cup Rookie of the Year honors alongside Sorenson. And if last weekend’s Busch Series performances at Indianapolis Raceway Park were any indication of things to come, the two will have plenty for the competition as they stand third (Sorenson) and eighth (Stremme) in the championship standings.
#42 team: As the team’s leading contender for 2005’s edition of “The Chase for the NEXTEL Cup,” McMurray (11th) will again pilot the #42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge in his fourth year of tenure at CGRFS. The former NEXTEL Cup Series race winner will return to the familiar black and red Dodge Charger with the Texaco/Havoline sponsorship he’s enjoyed every season at CGRFS since joining the squad in 2003.(Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates PR)(8-12-2005)
