Thursday, June 20, 2013

Driver Chassis Selections: 2013 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

It should be interesting watching the Gen-6 car in action this weekend
#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis: PRS-837. Last Raced - Martinsville (finished sixth). Backup Chassis: PRS-834. Last Raced: Backup at several races (not raced)

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-802 for the Sonoma race. This is a new chassis, but Kahne tested it at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C., earlier this month.

#9-Marcos Ambrose: The No. 9 team prepared chassis No. 761 for Sonoma. The team tested this chassis at Sonoma in May.

#10-Danica Patrick: Chassis No. 10-759 is a new car that has not been used previously.

#13-Casey Mears: Chassis 660 gets the nod for primary duties at Sonoma. The road-course chassis joined the Germain Racing ranks in 2012 and is making its second appearance at Sonoma for the team.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-731: This car debuted in impressive fashion last June at Sonoma as Stewart took Chassis No. 14-731 from its 24th-place starting spot and rallied it to a strong second-place finish. Its second and final start of 2012 came at Watkins Glen in August. It qualified ninth and Stewart wheeled it up to second, but on lap 71, he spun off the final corner of the 2.45-mile, 11-turn road course and backed into the Armco barrier lining the inside of pit road, sustaining heavy damage. Several trips to the pits allowed the crew the opportunity to repair the car enough to finish the race, and that's just what Stewart did, rallying from 29th on lap 74 to finish 19th when the checkered flag dropped after lap 90. With 2013 Chevrolet SS bodywork covering it, Chassis No. 14-731 returns to site of its debut race when it competes in this weekend's Toyota/SaveMart 350k.

#16-Greg Biffle: RK-764 - Last ran Watkins Glen finished 6th. Chassis RK-764 is the same car that Biffle drove a seventh-place finish a year ago at Sonoma.

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Primary Chassis: RK-816 - last raced at Watkins Glen by the No. 99 - finished 14th. Backup Chassis: RK- 758 back-up chassis for road course races in 2012.

#19-Alex Kennedy: chassis No. 318, which was last raced by Jason Leffler at Pocono Raceway.

#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis: PRS-835. Last Raced - Backup at several races (not raced). Backup Chassis: PRS-836. Last Raced: Backup at several races (not raced)

#27-Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 358 at Sonoma Raceway. This No. 27 Chevrolet SS was previously raced by Menard at Sonoma in 2011 and 2012.

#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot chassis No. 395 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Save Mart 350. Most recently, the California native raced this Chevrolet to a 15th-place result at Watkins Glen International in August 2012.

#31-Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 357 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. This No. 31 Chevrolet, built during the 2011 season specifically for road course racing, was driven by Burton last season at Sonoma and Watkins Glen International where he piloted the machine to 11th and 30th-place finishes, respectively. RCR teammate Kevin Harvick also drove this chassis in 2011 at Sonoma where he finished ninth.

#39-Ryan Newman: Chassis No. 39-545: This chassis first saw action for the No. 39 team at both road-course races in 2009. At Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway that season, Newman qualified seventh and was marching toward a top-10 finish before getting spun in the latter stages of the event. He finished 17th. At Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Newman qualified sixth. However, Newman's No. 39 Chevrolet was plagued with alternator issues, which caused the car to run at only about 75 percent throughout most of the race, leading to a 21st-place finish. The car also ran both road-course events in 2010. At Sonoma, it qualified 13th and finished 16th after picking up 10 laps in the final 15 laps of the event. At Watkins Glen, the team used pit strategy during the race to earn a 12th-place finish. Its most recent track activity came when the No. 39 team tested June 13 at Virginia International Raceway in Alton.

#43-Aric Almirola:: The No. 43 team has prepared chassis No. 760 for Sonoma.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: This weekend, crew chief Steve Letarte and the #88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-747. Earnhardt most recently raced this chassis at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in August last year.

#99-Carl Edwards: RK - 853 new chassis. Backup: RK - 771 last ran at Watkins Glen

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