Results from Martinsville

1.  Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota

13.  Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Wrigley's Big Red Dodge

22.  Dario Franchitti, No. 40 Kennametal Dodge 

36.  Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Dodge

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (March 30, 2008)-Dario Franchitti and the No. 40 Kennametal team came into Martinsville Speedway anxious to make Sunday's show and to get a clean run out of Franchitti's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) debut at the .526-mile track.  The Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) driver and team did just that, as they qualified on time Friday and then finished the 500-lap short track race with all four fenders on their car and a NSCS career-best for Franchitti, crossing the finish line in 22nd place. 

Lining up in the 43rd-starting position, a combination of Crew Chief Steve Lane's pit strategy and Franchitti's on-track maneuvering advanced the No. 40 Kennametal Dodge as high as eighth by lap 50 of the 500-lap competition.  From there, Franchitti battled a tight-handling condition that seemed to worsen on the short runs and continued to stick around the majority of the day. 

It was during the long green-flag runs and on pit road where Franchitti and the team capitalized the most.  The No. 40 Kennametal Dodge gained more forward bite on the longer runs, which helped Franchitti keep his car wedged in the field.  Then, on pit road, he and the team did an exceptional job getting the No. 40 CGRFS Dodge in and out of the box.  Franchitti made his pit stops appear effortless at times on a track that is notorious for not being the easiest place to make a pit stop.  The over-the-wall crew put forth almost a flawless performance as they continued to make minor adjustments on the CGRFS Dodge throughout the run.  

Franchitti moved up another position in the NSCS driver standings to 37th, but remains 38th in owner points where he is now only 22 points outside the top 35. 

Next up for Franchitti and the No.40 NSCS team is the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 6.  The race is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on FOX (TV) and PRN (Radio).

DARIO FRANCHITTI:  “I think all the fenders are on it.  They just aren't the shape they were at the start of the race.  We finished 22nd and it was a great job today by everybody on the Kennametal team.  The boys did a good job with the car and called a great race, great pit stops.  I just tried to stay out of trouble and got as quick as I could and that was it … I hit a couple of guys today and I didn't mean to and likewise a couple of guys hit  me and you could tell it wasn't on purpose but it's just one of those deals.  I'm really happy.”