Talladega: David Stremme preview

David Stremme, No. 40 Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon Dodge

No. 40 TEAM FACTS:

* Chassis: Crew Chief Lane and the No. 40 Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon crew are taking chassis No. 211 for the Aaron's 499 this weekend. This is the first time the chassis will see competition this season.

* Restrictor Plate Racing: This will be Stremme's second restrictor-plate race of the season. His first race at Daytona in February, he finished 28th after a transmission issue late in the race. He has six restrictor-plate racing starts in the Busch Series. His average starting position is 23rd and his average finish is 22nd.

* Looking Toward Talladega: This will be Stremme's first start in a NEXTEL Cup car at Talladega Superspeedway. He has two NASCAR Busch Series starts at the 2.66-mile tri-oval. His highest starting position in a Busch car is 18th and his highest finish is third, which he earned last season.

* Rookie Ranks: Stremme is currently sixth in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings. Stremme, with 55 points, is 30 points behind leader Clint Bowyer.

* NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points standings: Stremme gained a spot in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship points standings, he is 36th. He is 394 points behind teammate Casey Mears, who holds the 10th spot and 242 points out of the top 20.

David Stremme Quotes:

After going to American Idol last Wednesday, who do you think is going to win?

"I got to meet Randy Jackson, Taylor Hicks and Chris Daughtry. I think both of those guys (Taylor and Chris) are going to come to a race. We're going to get them out to the track hopefully here soon. I follow it about every week, I am a pretty big fan. I think Chris Daughtry will win. It'll come down to him and Katharine McPhee. My spotter actually belongs to the Taylor Hicks fan club. He's all about it. All of those guys are really good, but there's going to be only one winner."

Comment on racing at Talladega this weekend...

"I want to get in the top 35 this weekend if we can. We have gained some ground the past two weeks with solid finishes and I am hoping to gain more this weekend. Talladega is a place where you need to be ready to go when you unload. It is hard to change things that help the car. I love restrictor-plate racing though so I am looking forward to the weekend. I know the cars are good at the superspeedway's. We got up to 12th in the Daytona 500 earlier this season before we had transmission problems. They have changed the bumpers for the race this year and I don't think you'll see the hard bump drafting that you have seen in the past. I definitely like Daytona a little bit more but it will be a good time in Talladega this weekend in the Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon Dodge."

-cgr-