compiled from some pre-Phoenix press releases, some chassis selections and history:
#00-David Reutimann The #00 Aaron’s Dream Machine for this week is chassis #651. This is a brand new Aaron’s Dream Machine.
#07-Casey Mears will race Chassis #258. This is the same car Mears raced to 21st and 18th-place finishes at Martinsville in April and October, respectively. This is the same Chevy that Mears drove at PIR earlier this year, where he finished 20th.
#1 Martin Truex Jr. The #1 Rain-X team will bring chassis #908 to Phoenix this weekend. This chassis was last used for the fall 2009 Sprint Cup Series event at Martinsville (10/09), helping Truex to qualify third.
#2-Kurt Busch #2 The car of choice for this weekend out of the “blue deuce” stable is the “PRS-576” Miller Lite Dodge. Its impressive track record includes the second at Phoenix last November and the third there in April, along with a sixth at New Hampshire last September, a third there in June and sixth there in September and a 12th at Richmond on May 2. In the six races that the team has used this car, they have posted a 5.3 average finish and they led laps in five of those races.
#5-Mark Martin: crew chief Alan Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis #5-538 for Sunday’s race at Phoenix. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to victory at PIR in April and at New Hampshire in September.
#6-David Ragan will be unloading chassis RK-613 as the primary, was last ran Dover and finished 24th. The Backup: RK-573 Last ran Martinsville fall 2008 finished 13th. The Estrella Center (SLIC – 8531) in the Desert Mountain District was selected for Phoenix race. The center is recognized for its outstanding improvement across all major business elements on the district’s Balanced Scorecard.
#11-Denny Hamlin: and JGR team will unload JGR 256 this weekend at Phoenix, a brand new car from the JGR stable. Secondary JGR 246 raced two weeks ago at California and is the car Hamlin drove to a win at Richmond in September. FedEx Ground Atlantic Region will ride along and will be have “ATLC” on the wing caps of the #11 to recognize the team for being selected as a top performing region in various customer service metrics.
#12-Brad Keselowski ands the Penske Racing Dodge team will use chassis PRS-622 during Sunday’s 500-mile event. PRS-622 last raced in October at Auto Club Speedway where it crossed the finish line in the 16th position with David Stremme driving.
#14-Tony Stewart This car debuted at Phoenix in April. After only being tested in the wind tunnel, Chassis #14-535 hit the racetrack in impressive fashion, as Stewart used it to qualify sixth and lead once for 19 laps before finishing second, which at the time was the best finish for Stewart-Haas Racing. Chassis #14-535 returned to another flat track via New Hampshire in June, but its time on the racetrack was short after it crashed in practice. It was repaired with new front and rear clips for its return trip to New Hampshire in September. There, Chassis No. 14-535 led four times for 52 laps before a loose axle cap forced an unscheduled pit stop, which resulted in a 14th-place finish. The November trek to Phoenix will mark the car’s third career start.
#18-Kyle Busch: Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500k will be the first-ever start for JGR #261.
#26-Jamie McMurray and the Irwin Marathon team will be unloading chassis RK-637 at Phoenix, last raced at New Hampshire, Sept. finishing 18th
#29-Kevin Harvick will pilot chassis #285 from the Richard Childress Racing Sprint Cup Series stable. This Chevy was previously raced in September at Richmond where it finished ninth and New Hampshire where it finished 32nd. It was also raced last month at Martinsville where it finished 10th.
#31-Jeff Burton will pilot Chassis #280 from the RCR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for 2009, this Caterpillar Chevy was put through its first paces at Chicago in July where the 16-year veteran was credited with a 37th-place finish after being collected in a late-race multi-car incident. Most recently, this #31 racer finished 23rd when the series visited Kansas last month.
#33-Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis #255 from RCR’s Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for 2009, this Chevy debuted at Atlanta in March, where Bowyer recorded a sixth-place finish, a 36th-place finish at Charlotte in May, and a 10th-place finish at New Hampshire. Most recently, Bowyer raced this car to a 19th-place finish at Martinsville in October.
#42-Juan Pablo Montoya are bringing chassis #909 to Phoenix this weekend. This is a brand new chassis.
#48-Jimmie Johnson and the Lowe’s Chevy will run chassis number 540 in Sunday’s race in Phoenix. He last drove it to a runner-up finish at Martinsville in October. Backup chassis number 520 has won four of its five starts (Richmond, Fall 08, Martinsville Fall, 08, Phoenix, Fall 08 and Martinsville, Spring 09).
#71-Bobby Labonte and the TRG Motorsports Chevy will roll out chassis number 243, was last seen on-track in Kansas where it qualified in 26th position with Labonte behind the wheel, and finished 43rd after being involved in a wreck.
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. HMS engineers and crew chief Lance McGrew will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis #88-541. Earnhardt last raced this chassis at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. He spent most of the race inside the top 10 and was running fourth when he was involved in an accident with 17 laps remaining. He finished 35th.
#99-Carl Edwards and Aflac Racing team will be unloading chassis RK-647. Edwards raced this Ford Fusion three times in 2009, at Richmond in May and both New Hampshire races.
(Team/Driver PRs)
