Friday, October 10, 2014

Charlotte Driver Chassis Selections: 2014 Bank of America 500

Kurt Busch using new chassis that tested at Charlotte last month
#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis: PRS-915. Last Raced: Michigan 2 (finished 8th). Backup Chassis: PRS-910. Last Raced: Backup at Dover.

#3-Austin Dillon: will pilot Chassis No. 481 in the Charlotte 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This is the same Chevrolet SS that Dillon raced to a 16th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway in September, a 22nd-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in August and a 10th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.

#4-Kevin Harvick: The No. 4 Budweiser team will utilize chassis No. 884 in Saturday's race. Harvick last raced this car at Atlanta Motor Speedway in August. In that event, he scored the pole award and led a total of 195 laps before a late-race wreck relegated the team to a 19th-place finish. The team also utilized the car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (eighth-place finish) and during a test session at CMS last week.

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-911 for Saturday's race at Charlotte. The new chassis has yet to be raced.

#6-Trevor Bayne: Crew chief Bob Osborne brings chassis RK-849 to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. This chassis raced earlier this season at Texas Motor Speedway, the May event in Charlotte and in the both events at Chicagoland, earning finishes of 23rd, eighth, second and fifth, respectively.

#10-Danica Patrick: Chassis No. 10-794 was tested in the wind tunnel May 1, 2013, before being used by Patrick in the Coca-Cola 600 later that month at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Patrick started 24th and finished 29th after being involved in a multicar accident on lap 320 of 400. After repairs, she managed to finish the race but completed only 385 laps. The next time Patrick drove this car was in June at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, where she started 29th and finished 23rd. The last time she raced it was in September 2013 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where she started 21st and finished 21st. It was used as a backup car in the fall 2013 races at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Charlotte and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. It also was used in 2014 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, but Patrick wrecked the car early in the first practice and went to a backup. Since then, it has been a backup at Texas, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn and Kentucky. It was tested in the 2015 NASCAR rules test Aug. 18 at Michigan, and then in a Goodyear tire test Sept. 9 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was then a backup in Kansas in October.
#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-827: This car debuted in July during the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Stewart used it to qualify sixth, but in the race, the car suffered from a persistently loose handling condition and it finished 17th. It was a reversal of fortune for the car, for in its lone test prior to Indianapolis, it excelled, as Kevin Harvick drove it to the fastest speed of anyone participating in the Dec. 9, 2013 test session at Charlotte (N.C.)Motor Speedway. Chassis No. 14-827 returned to action four weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, where it had a quiet weekend, qualifying 22nd and finishing 18th. Now the car comes back to Charlotte where it will make its third career start Saturday night in the Bank of America 500.

#15-Clint Bowyer: Chassis No. 816 serves as the primary chassis for Bowyer at Charlotte. This chassis raced in Atlanta where a part failure relegated him to a 38th-place finish. Chassis No. 800 serves as the back-up chassis and raced at Kentucky in July (23rd), Dover in June (4th) and Bristol in August (17th).

#16-Greg Biffle: Chassis RK-922 was brand new in Indy where Biffle finished 13th, and then went on to Atlanta to earn a 10th-place finish. The team also tested this chassis at Texas a few weeks ago. Backup Chassis: RK-908 Last ran Chicago - finished 23rd.

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Chassis RK-914 is the same chassis that the #17 team ran at Atlanta finishing 20th despite blowing a right rear tire in the last 100 laps. Backup Chassis: RK-877- last raced in Loudon - finished ninth.

#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis: PRS-916. Last Raced: Michigan 2 (finished 3rd). Backup Chassis: PRS-901. Last Raced: Backup at Kansas.

#24-Jeff Gordon: #24 crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-907 for this Saturday night's race. This chassis has been raced once with Gordon piloting it to a runner-up finish at Chicagoland Speedway in September.

#27-Paul Menard: will utilize chassis No. 480 during the Charlotte 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This is the same No. 27 Chevrolet SS that Menard raced to a 34th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, a fourth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in August and a 21st-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway in September.

#31-Ryan Newman: will drive chassis No. 479 in Saturday's 501-mile event. This chassis was utilized earlier this season at Chicagoland Speedway (Start: 2nd / Finish: 15th), Michigan International Speedway (Start: 12th / Finish: 11th) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Start: 4th / Finish: 11th).

#41-Kurt Busch: will pilot Chassis No. 908 in Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Built new for 2014, Chassis No. 908 was utilized for a test session at Charlotte last month. Chassis No. 908 will see its first laps of competition this weekend.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: Crew chief Chad Knaus has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 48-910 for this weekend's event in Charlotte. This was last raced at Dover last month, where Johnson finished third. The backup car is Chassis No. 48-799, which last saw on-track action at Kansas Speedway, where Johnson finished ninth.

#55-Brian Vickers: Primary: 814-Clint Bowyer finished 16th at Indy in this chassis. Backup: 797-seventh at California, sixth at Charlotte, 26th at Kentucky & 21st at Bristol.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: This weekend at Charlotte, crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 crew will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-882. Earnhardt most recently raced this chassis to a 9th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

#99-Carl Edwards: Primary chassis RK-910 was last run in 2014 at Chicago, starting in the 3rd spot and finishing 20th. Backup chassis RK-897 was Backup for second Kansas race.

- compiled by Jayski.com

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