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Pruett's Double Duty: On Tuesday (June 17) CGRFS confirmed that Pruett will return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) competition in the No.41 Target Dodge at Sunday's Toyota/Savemart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Pruett is no stranger ...

Published: Jun 18, 2008, 10:55 PM

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Pruett's Double Duty: On Tuesday (June 17) CGRFS confirmed that Pruett will return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) competition in the No.41 Target Dodge at Sunday's Toyota/Savemart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Pruett is no stranger to NSCS as he has 39 career starts under his belt. He has had six starts at Infineon Raceway, with a best showing of third place in 2004. Additionally, the northern California native has a total of nine starts in NASCAR Nationwide (NNS) competition, which include two pole positions, one top-five and three top-10 finishes. Pruett has made a total of 11 stock car starts on road courses for CGRFS in both NNS and Sprint Cup Series, scoring one pole, four top-five finishes and six top-10 finishes.

All in 48 Hours: Pruett's unconventional race weekend will begin with NSCS qualifying on Friday afternoon. After qualifying he will board a private plane to arrive in Mansfield, Ohio late Friday night in time to catch a good night's sleep. Pruett will spend time in his No.01 TELMEX Daytona Prototype during Saturday morning's practice sessions before racing at Mid-Ohio later in the day. CGRFS teammate Rojas will spend Friday tuning and qualifying the car. Pruett will board another private plane immediately after the Rolex race to return to Sonoma in time for Sunday's NSCS action.

Magnificent Miles: Pruett will travel a total of 5,000 miles between tracks and will race 600 miles throughout the intense two-days of racing.

Out in the Community: On Saturday (June 14) Pruett spent the day engaging with fans in Sacramento, California at the fourth annual NASCAR Day on the steps of the Capitol. Pruett and fellow competitor Boris Said were the special guests of the event which allowed fans to meet with drivers, get autographs and enjoy activities for children. In addition Pruett received rave reviews for his new children's book Racing through the Alphabet and sold over 100 copies at the event. Of the fan event Pruett exclaimed, "the event was great and the turnout was so impressive and the atmosphere was very relaxed and enjoyable. It was a great way to spend a Saturday."

Celebration Luncheon: On Wednesday (June 18) Chip Ganassi Racing, Inc's (CGR) Indianapolis-based Rolex and IndyCar Series teams celebrated their two most recent double-win weekends with a victory lunch: Virginia International Raceway (April 27) and Watkins Glen International (June 7). CGR's IndyCar drivers Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon scored wins on the same days at Kansas Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, respectively. Rojas joined in the celebration with the team before departing for Mid-Ohio.

Memo in Indy: After Watkins Glen's six-hour event on June 7, Rojas returned with the team to Indianapolis which was a change of pace as he typically returns to his hometown of Mexico City between races. Rojas spent the past two weeks working out with CGR's personal trainer and working with the team to develop a new air vent for his helmet which will enhance driver comfort in the car during the summer's races.

Consistent Two-Years: The No.01 TELMEX team has scored top-10 finishing positions and completed every lap of each race for nearly two years (since June 29, 2006 at Daytona International Speedway).

Milestones in the Making: CGR has scored 97 career wins since its inception in 1990. The team's 2008 season has started in winning fashion by scoring eight victories in its first 13 races (Rolex and IndyCar). Six of the eight wins have occurred on the same day by both CGR Indianapolis-based series. With Pruett and Rojas' four wins in the first six races of the 2008 season, Pruett continues to extend his record Rolex series career victories (18).

Still Sitting P1: Pruett and Rojas will enter Saturday's event at Mid-Ohio with a 36-point advantage over the No.91 car as the TELMEX team continues to hold the championship points lead into Round #7. The TELMEX duo has entered each race this season as the points leader and has led 412 laps of 1,248 total laps run this season.

***

What did you do for father's day this year, and Memo, how has your father impacted your racing career?

Scott Pruett: "I spent Father's Day morning in the vineyard with my little boy (Cameron) working and in the afternoon we spent time as a family at the house by the pool having a BBQ and spending a relaxing day in each other's company."

Memo Rojas: "I called my dad on Sunday and got him a present which was a flat screen HD TV since the television shows in Mexico City recently came out with HD. I remember my first race with my dad and I used his helmet for the race and it was funny because I was 10 years old with this huge helmet on my head -- I can remember the helmet being able to move around my head. I also remember finishing in the top-three at this go-kart track in Mexico City but I was somewhat mad at my dad because one of the wheels wasn't tight enough and I didn't finish as well as I should have. Now I look back and couldn't have been luckier to have a father who was able to be a good mechanic on my kart. By far the most emotional experience I had with him was this year's Rolex 24 win because he also raced in the event many years ago and it was a huge accomplishment to both my father and me."

CHASSIS INFO

No.01 TELMEX: Five previous race starts. Three wins, Homestead-Miami, VIR and Watkins Glen Six-Hour (2008). One pole position, Mexico City (2008)

-credit: cgr

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