SORENSON FAST ON SHORTENED FINAL DAY OF NASCAR TESTING AT INDY

INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, July 12, 2006 -- Rookie Reed Sorenson was fastest
among 42 drivers participating in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series testing July 12 at
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Sorenson's lap of 181.892 mph in the No. 41 Target Dodge was also the fastest
overall in the two days of testing that took place this week at the legendary
2.5-mile oval, as teams prepared for the 13th annual Allstate 400 at the
Brickyard on Sunday, Aug. 6. Teams also tested Monday, July 10 as the
scheduled testing Tuesday, July 12 was rained out.

"We've gone up and down here," Sorenson said. "We've got a
pretty good car;
we've got two cars that we're trying to get fast. (We) tried a couple things
that we've never done before just to see if they work. So far some have
worked and some haven't."

Despite the fast lap, Sorenson said the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix
Sabates team still needs more work to ensure success in the 160-lap Allstate
400 at the Brickyard.

"It's not really a big deal, it's all about making sure it drives good after
one lap," he said. "We've got to have a car that will run good on
long runs,
and right now we don't really have that. So, we're not real happy with what
we've got now. We're trying to get better."

Kurt Busch was second fastest at 181.025 in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge,
creating a unique 1-2 for the testing. Sorenson drives for Chip Ganassi
Racing with Felix Sabates, and Busch drives for Penske Racing South. Team
owner Chip Ganassi won the Indianapolis 500 in 2000 with new NASCAR recruit
Juan Pablo Montoya behind the wheel while Roger Penske has a record 14
Indianapolis 500 wins, including the 2005 race with driver Sam Hornish Jr.

Scott Wimmer was third at 180.563 in the No. 4 AERO Exhaust Chevrolet, Ken
Schrader was fourth at 180.115 in the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford and Elliott
Sadler, last year's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard pole winner, took fifth at
180.040 in the No. 38 M&M's Ford.

The top 21 speeds July 12 were faster than the top lap of practice July 10, a
177.518 by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet. But
Earnhardt's fastest lap was recorded in vastly different weather conditions.
Monday was sunny, humid and hot, with a high temperature of 85. Testing
Wednesday took place under clouds and temperatures in the upper 70s,
providing more ideal conditions for generating speed.

The track record for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series cars is 186.293 mph, set by
Casey Mears during qualifying in 2004.

Early-morning rain showers Wednesday delayed the start of testing more than
three hours, until 11:12 a.m. (ET). The 42 drivers wasted little time getting
to work, turning a combined 2,791 laps in 65 cars for the day.

Several top teams that took Monday off and planned to test July 11-12,
including Penske Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, were forced to alter their
testing plans. Busch said it was a challenge to get everything done in only
half the time allotted to them.

"We really thrashed through some of our items we wanted to have done in more
detail and eliminated some of the other things just so we could get it done
in one day," Busch said. "We had a lot on our plate with two cars with the
time we had today, but it was generous of the Speedway to open up early and
to let us go later. We think we've got a good base of notes to allow the
engineers to go and look at different things and quiz me about and hopefully
come back with a better Miller Lite Dodge."

Before the start of the day's testing, four-time Allstate 400 at the
Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon summed up the importance of turning as many laps
as possible at Indianapolis Motor Speedway before Allstate 400 at the
Brickyard weekend:

"It's a very important test," he said. "The Brickyard is a
big, big event;
every team wants to be here and have as much track time as we possibly can,
not to mention Goodyear has a little bit different tire. With as much as has
changed with the setups of the cars from last year to this year and then the
tire being different, we all are very anxious to get out there on the track,
not to mention we don't have many more days left in the schedule to come back
here."

Allstate 400 at the Brickyard activities get underway at Indianapolis Motor
Speedway on Friday, Aug. 4 with two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series practices and
Chevy Day at the Brickyard, a family-friendly event sponsored by Chevrolet
featuring appearances by Chevrolet-sponsored NASCAR drivers, interactive
games, racing simulators, NASCAR race cars and live music.

Gates open to the public at 8 a.m. and the NEXTEL Cup practices are scheduled
for 1:30-2:30 p.m. and 3:30-4:30 p.m. (ET). The schedule for Chevy Day at the
Brickyard activities will be announced shortly.

Public gates open on Saturday, Aug. 5 at 7 a.m., and Allstate 400 at the
Brickyard qualifying is scheduled for 10:10 a.m., followed by practice
sessions from 1:30-2:30 p.m. and 3:30-4:30 p.m.

On Race Day, Sunday, Aug. 6, gates open to the public at 7 a.m., and the 13th
running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (ET).

***

NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES TESTING QUOTES:

REED SORENSON (No. 41 Target Dodge): "We've gone up and down here. We've got
a pretty good car; we've got two cars that we're trying to get fast. Tried a
couple things that we've never done before just to see if they work. So far
some have worked and some haven't. This track is one of the most historic
tracks, if not the most historic track, so I'm real happy to get the chance
to run here, and right now we're trying to get this car tuned in so we can
run a good race." (What's it mean to be on top of the speed charts today?):
"It's not really a big deal; it's all about making sure it drives good after
one lap. We've got to have a car that will run good on long runs, and right
now we don't really have that. So, we're not real happy with what we've got
now. We're trying to get better."

JIMMIE JOHNSON (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet): (About how important these few
hours of testing were for the team): "The hours were very important. It's the
same for each team. So much has changed since last year until this year that
all the teams, including ours, were desperate to get on the track. We didn't
have the test we wanted, but got some very important information, very useful
information that helps us go home and make adjustments." (Looking forward to
coming back?): "We've got a little work ahead of us, so we're not too fired
up yet."

TONY STEWART (No. 20 The Home Depot Chevrolet): (About the different weather
for the testing days): "It never hurts to have different days for testing
because it just gives you that much more opportunity to gather data, so you
know whether it helps or not when we come back, you never know. I hope the
weather isn't like this when we come back. It gives you another set of data
to go from and learn from." (About the different tire compound): "It isn't
just a different compound, but the construction is a little different, too.
It seems to be a lot tighter tire. I mean everyone is having a rough time
getting their car to roll through the corners. I don't know. We'll wait and
see how we shake out with everybody else. It's hard on a day like today
because you're trying different things. You're not trying to be the fastest
guy. You're just trying things to see what works and what doesn't work and
whatever you do to your car and how it affects your race car."

JEFF GORDON (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet): (About how important it was to get
some track time): "It was very important. You know, obviously we wanted to
get a full two days in to get as much information as we could. But, we'll
take what we can get. I think we got enough laps done to learn what this tire
is going to do and get some good data for the race team and their telemetry.
And now we can go back and look at it all and hopefully we can come back with
a good package." (About working out of the F1 garages): "I like
it. I wish we
could do it during the race. If not this year, maybe next year we could do
that." (About his confidence coming into the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard):
"Well, we've always been good here, but we want to be good enough to win and
get ourselves in a good position and qualifying always helps that. So, we're
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