TEAM TARGET HEADS TO TEXAS

Race:  Firestone Twin 275s, Saturday June 11 (8:00 PM ET, VERSUS)
Track:  Texas Motor Speedway (1.5 mile oval)
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

NOTES/NEWS

Follow TCGR on Twitter: Follow @TCGRTeams for official updates from Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Managing Director Mike Hull on Texas: “Two Indy car sprint races within one hour of each other, promoted by Eddie Gossage at Texas in one night, Indy Car fans should ensure that they are in their seats or dialed into Versus!  What helps to set Indy car racing apart is the wheel-to-wheel action on the king of the one and one half mile ovals which is the Texas Motor Speedway. We’re back to oval racing with Scott and Dario with a totally different aero and mechanical set-up from Indianapolis. This is racing at over two hundred miles per hour with big downforce. It should be one full fuel stop, and one splash of fuel for each heat race, so strategy & race-craft combined with teamwork between the No.9 & No.10 Target crews will be fun to watch.”

The Twins: For the first time in track history, Texas Motor Speedway will be hosting two races from one series on the same day. The race formerly known as the Firestone 550K for the IZOD IndyCar Series has become the IZOD Twin 275s. The two races are on the same day, each worth half of a full race’s points and half of the bonus prizes for the event. Pit stall selections will be made based on where the teams qualified for the Indianapolis 500 and those stalls will be used for both races. Each team will also be given an additional engine to use if necessary between race one and two due to the short amount of time between races. Race one will consist of the normal qualifying procedures while race two will have the field selected at random via a blind draw.

Oval History: The IZOD IndyCar Series will be returning to ovals for the second time in the 2011 season. TCGR has recorded 42 of their 81 wins (52%) on ovals with drivers Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Bruno Junqueira, Jeff Ward, Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti.

Dario Franchitti and the No. 10 Huggies Team

Follow Dario on Twitter: Follow @dariofranchitti for all the happenings and inside information on the driver of the No. 10 Indy car for Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

HUGGIES: This weekend’s Firestone Twin 275s will mark the first appearance of the Huggies brand on Dario Franchitti’s No. 10 car.

Indianapolis 500 Recap:  Franchitti started the 100th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 from ninth and wasted little time moving to the front. He led five times for a total of 51 laps before a late-race pit stop for fuel moved the No.10 Target team back to a 12th place finish.

Last Year at Texas: Franchitti started from second and ran up front through much of the race - leading 86 of the 228-lap event before finishing fifth.

The Heart of Texas: Franchitti will be making his eighth start at Texas Motor Speedway. In his seven previous starts, Franchitti has earned four top-fives, five top-10s, two poles, and has led 126 laps with a best finish of second coming in 2004.

Climbing the Ranks:  Franchitti currently sits ninth on the All-Time Career Poles list tying Paul Tracy with.  He earned his first pole in 1997 in Toronto.  Franchitti scored his last pole at the 2010 Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 at the season finale in Homestead, finishing eighth.

Boston.com Blog: Stay up-to-date with Franchitti by following his blog on Boston.com.  He gives fans a rare glimpse into the lifestyle of the reigning series champion.  The blog runs each Tuesday following an IZOD IndyCar Series event.

Scott Dixon and the No. 9 Target Team

Follow Scott on Twitter: Follow @scottdixon9 for all the happenings and inside information on the driver of the No. 9 Indy car for Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Indianapolis 500 Recap:  Dixon started the 100th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 from second position and immediately took the lead. Leading a total of 73 laps, Dixon never left the top-five and was running down the leaders before the No.9 slowed to conserve fuel. Dixon finished fifth.

Seeking Victory:  With a victory in 2011, Dixon will extend his streak of consecutive seasons with a win to seven. Dixon currently has 26 wins across 14 different tracks.

TMS History: In 10 career starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Dixon has tallied five top-fives and seven top-10s, including a victory in 2008. Last year, Dixon started the Firestone 550K from fourth and ran inside the top-five throughout the evening, finishing fourth. 

Series Regular:  Former TCGR driver Jimmy Vasser holds the all-time record of 211 consecutive starts. Dixon with 110 (trailing Tony Kanaan who has 136) is the only other active driver with a streak of more than 100 consecutive starts.  His streak began in 2004 at Michigan International Speedway and has continued in to the 2011 season.