MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Sunday, August 20, 2006 on TNT

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series - GFS Marketplace 400

What: GFS Marketplace 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Race
(23rd event on the 36-race 2006 NNCS schedule)

When: Sunday, August 20, 2:30 p.m. (EDT)

Where: Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan.

Television: Live on TNT, 2 p.m.

Radio: Live on MRN. Area affiliates include: WTKA 1050-AM (Ann Arbor); WWWW 102.9-FM (Ann Arbor); WITL 100.7-FM (Lansing); WKHM 970-AM (Jackson); WABJ 1490-AM (Adrian); WCSR 1340-AM, 92.1-FM (Hillsdale).

Official pre- and post-race tailgate shows – WTKA 1050-AM (Ann Arbor), WKHM 105.3-FM (Jackson) and WITL 100.7-FM (Lansing). WJR 760-AM (Detroit) will carry live traffic reports prior to the Sunday, August 20 GFS Marketplace 400.

Qualifying: Friday, August 18, 3:10 p.m.

2005 Pole Winner: Joe Nemechek, U.S. Army Chevrolet, 191.530 mph, 37.592 seconds.

2005 Race Winner: Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 141.551 mph, 2 hours, 49 minutes, 33 seconds.

2005 Race Recap: With the rapidly escalating cost of gas, Jeremy Mayfield’s crew decided to conserve fuel in the 2005 GFS Marketplace 400 at MIS. Instead of pumping gas, they ended up pumping their arms in jubilation. Mayfield’s crew chief, Richard “Slugger” Labbe, rolled the dice and kept his driver on the track while all of the top contenders pitted to grab a little gas and a couple of tires over the last few laps. The move gave Mayfield his only win of 2005. Mayfield started the race seventh in the NEXTEL Cup point standings and moved up to sixth with his fifth career win.

About GFS Marketplace: Gordon Food Service is a 107-year-old family-owned and managed company. The company’s distribution network services more than 30,000 customers with more than 14,000 products. The company also operates a chain of retail GFS Marketplace stores. The GFS Marketplace stores, established in 1979, service the emergency needs of GFS truck delivery customers and are also the primary supplier to many smaller operators who prefer to pick up their products including: restaurants, churches, day care providers, service clubs, caterers, adult foster care facilities, convenience stores and concessionaires. Party planners and fundraising groups also find a wide variety of restaurant quality products that will make their event a success. The stores are open to the public and do not charge a membership fee. With 94 retail stores strategically located throughout Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, GFS Marketplace is dedicated to providing superior customer service and restaurant quality foodservice products.

Tickets: Tickets are still available for the GFS Marketplace 400 by calling the Michigan International Speedway ticket office (1-800-354-1010 or 517-592-6672) or by going online at www.MISpeedway.com.

… Michigan International Speedway has hosted a NASCAR race in August every year since 1969, except for one. In 1973, a nationwide gas shortage resulted in the scheduling of just one race, in June. The GFS Marketplace 400 will mark a milestone for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series at MIS, as it will be the 75th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at MIS.

… MIS knows variety. There have been 13 different winners in the last 15 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races at MIS. The winners include: 2006-Kasey Kahne; 2005-Jeremy Mayfield, Greg Biffle; 2004-Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman; 2003-Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch; 2002-Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth; 2001-Sterling Marlin, Jeff Gordon; 2000-Rusty Wallace, Tony Stewart; 1999-Bobby Labonte (August).

… The pole position has been the most productive starting position at MIS in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series competition, yielding 15 race winners in 74 total races. Kasey Kahne is the most recent polesitter-turned-winner, as he won the 3M Performance 400 in June. The fourth position has been nearly as productive, with twelve drivers claiming victory from the outside of the second row in MIS history.

… The MIS record for Cup race speed was set in June 1999 by Dale Jarrett, when he flew through the 400-mile event at 173.997 mph. The MIS Cup qualifying record is held by Ryan Newman, who turned in a 194.232 mph lap in June 2005.

… A driver has swept both races at MIS in the same year on seven different occasions: Bobby Allison in 1971, David Pearson in 1972 and 1976, Cale Yarborough in 1983, Bill Elliott in 1985 and 1986 and Bobby Labonte in 1995. Can Kasey Kahne repeat his June success and become the eighth?

… After qualifying first for June’s 3M Performance 400, Kasey Kahne will aim for the Michigan pole sweep this weekend. Bobby Labonte captured both poles at MIS in 2003, becoming the first driver to sweep the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series poles at MIS since Bill Elliott in 1988. Previously, David Pearson swept both NEXTEL Cup poles in 1974, 1977, and 1978, while Bill Elliott took two in 1984, 1985 and 1988. Bobby’s brother, Terry Labonte, delivered the double in 1983.

… The winner of the August event at MIS has gone on to win the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship five times since the track’s first NASCAR race in 1969. The list includes David Pearson (1969), Richard Petty (1975, 1979), Rusty Wallace (1989), and most recently Jeff Gordon (1998).

… No rookie has ever won a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at MIS.

… In August 1981, there were nine caution flags during the race, which set an MIS record. Since then, the record has been tied in four of MIS’s last seven races. The yellow flag came out nine times in June 2003, June 2004, August 2004, and most recently in the rain-shortened 3M Performance 400 just two months ago.

… Ford and Dodge have combined to win the last 10 NEXTEL Cup races at MIS. Since Jeff Gordon’s June Cup victory for Chevrolet in 2001, Ford and Dodge have each been represented with the checkered flag five times.

COOL CUP FACTS: Just five NASCAR Cup races have been held on August 20 at MIS, and if history is any indication, look for Bobby Labonte in Victory Lane on Sunday afternoon. David Pearson won the first two in 1972 and 1978, and Rusty Wallace took August 20 victories in 1989 and 2000. Where does Labonte fit in? As an August 20 winner in 1995, he appears primed to become the third two-time “On August 20” winner in MIS history.

Both Sunday races at MIS in 2006 have featured a pole winner taking the checkered flag for his fourth victory of the season. Kasey Kahne’s June victory followed wins at Atlanta, Texas, and Charlotte, and Helio Castroneves’s July IRL IndyCar Series victory came after wins at St. Petersburg, Motegi, and Texas.

Of the drivers who have started in each of the last five Cup races at MIS without a win, Jeff Burton has the highest average finish at 14.6. Jimmie Johnson follows closely behind at 15.8 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 16.

Happy Birthday, drivers! Carl Edwards celebrates his 27th on August 15th and Kenny Wallace turns 43 on the 23rd.

Of the 36 August races in MIS history, 28 have been won by a driver who finished in the top 10 in the June race of that year. The average June finish for an August winner is 8.97.

What: Carfax 250 NASCAR Busch Series Race
(25th event on the 35-race 2006 NBS schedule)

When: Saturday, August 19, 3:00 p.m. (EDT)

Where: Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan.

Television: Live on TNT, 2:45 p.m.

Qualifying: Saturday, August 19, 11:40 a.m.

2005 Pole Winner: No pole winner (Starting field set from Busch Series point standings - inclement weather)

2005 Race Winner: Ryan Newman, alltel Dodge, 138.082 mph, 1 hour, 49 minutes, 30 seconds.

2005 Race Recap: Ryan Newman captured the NASCAR Busch Series Domino’s Pizza 250 at Michigan International Speedway in 2005. On his way to victory lane, Newman set the track record for greatest improvement from a starting position after beginning the race 38th. Newman passed Greg Biffle on a restart with six laps remaining and then stretched ahead to register his second straight Busch Series victory. Rain cancelled the morning qualifying session for the second straight year. The starting grid was dictated by owner points, and since Newman didn’t run a full Busch Series schedule, he was forced to start 38th in the 43-car field.

About Carfax: Founded in 1986, Carfax pioneered the concept of the Vehicle History Report. Carfax Vehicle History Reports, the most comprehensive collection of used vehicle information ever assembled, can confirm a clean title history or help purchasers identify previous salvage history, odometer fraud, flood damage and more. Carfax, Inc., based in Fairfax, Virginia, is a wholly owned subsidiary of R. L. Polk & Co.

Tickets: Tickets are still available for the Carfax 250 by calling the Michigan International Speedway ticket office (1-800-354-1010 or 517-592-6672) or by going online at www.MISpeedway.com. All seats are just $50 and children 12 and under are admitted free.

What: Hantz Group 200 ARCA RE/MAX Series Race
(15th event on the 23-race 2006 schedule)

When: Friday, August 18, 5:15 p.m. (EDT)

Where: Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan.

Television: Live on SPEED Channel, 5:00 p.m.
Qualifying: Thursday, August 17, 3:00 p.m.

2005 Pole Winner: Kyle Krisiloff, ditech.com Chevrolet, 185.620 mph, 38.789 seconds.

2005 Race Winner: Steve Wallace, Kodak Dodge, 109.640 mph, 1 hour, 56 minutes, 1 second.

2005 Race Recap: Two days before his father raced for the final time at Michigan International Speedway, and one day after his 18th birthday, Steve Wallace won the ARCA/REMAX Series Hantz Group 200 at MIS. Steve, the son of 1989 NASCAR Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace, became the youngest professional race winner in MIS history. The most dramatic moment for Wallace came with one lap remaining when a crash brought out the yellow flag while Wallace was enjoying a comfortable lead over Mike Guerity. The race was then thrust into a two-lap, green-white-checkered flag finish. Wallace suffered a bad restart and Guerity got a fender inside of Wallace but couldn’t make the pass. Wallace then pulled away to beat Guerity by 0.401 of a second, or about six car lengths.

About Hantz Group: The Hantz Group is a Michigan-based full-service financial holding company established in January 1998. The company is involved with financial planning, tax services and business/retirement planning.

Tickets: Tickets are still available for the Hantz Group 200 by calling the Michigan International Speedway ticket office (1-800-354-1010 or 517-592-6672) or by going online at www.MISpeedway.com.

Source: Michigan International Speedway

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