Keselowski Primed to Win First NASCAR Championship for Penske Racing

Keselowski can win title with finish of 15th or better Sunday (Getty)

Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
Ford 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sunday, November 18, 2012
TV: ESPN at 2:00 PM ET Radio: MRN/SiriusChannel 90

No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger News and Notes

• This Week’s Charger… The No. 2 Miller LiteDodge Charger team will race chassis PRS-830 during Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series(NSCS) season-finale Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS). Keselowski last raced this chassis to an 11th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway last month.

• No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in 2012… After nine races in the 2012 Chase for the Championship, including victories at Chicagoland and Dover, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge team lead the NSCS driver and owner point standings by 20 points over Jimmie Johnson and the No. 4 car team with just this weekend’s race remaining in the championship Chase. Keselowski is coming off a sixth-place finish in the AdvoCare 500 last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.

• A New Record… By finishing sixth at Phoenix on Sunday, Keselowski recorded his 23rd top-10 finish of 2012. This extended his record for top-10 finishes in a season by a driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge. Rusty Wallace previously scored 21 top 10s in the “Blue Deuce” during the 1993 and 1998 seasons.

• Championship Clinching Scenarios… Keselowski will clinch the 2012 NSCS championship with a 15th-place or better finish this weekend at HMS. If he leads one lap to get a bonus point, he can finish 16th and still win the title. By leading the most laps and earning that second bonus point, Keselowski can cross the finish linein the 17th position and still secure Penske Racing’s first Cup Series championship. It’s interesting to note that Keselowski has finished outside the top 15 in only six races this season.

• Stretch Run… In his last 19 races, Keselowski has only two finishes outside the top 10. This impressive run includes three wins and nine top-five finishes. This consistent stretch has him positioned to capture his first NSCS championship this weekend.

• In It 2 Win It… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend at Homestead is “In It 2 Win It.” With one race remaining, Keselowski is in prime position to win the first Cup Series title for Penske Racing and the Miller Lite brand.

• The Rest is History… In 32 combined Cup Series starts at HMS, Penske Racing drivers have recorded three top-five finishes and seven top-10 results. Team Penske drivers have captured one win, 14 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes at Homestead and they have led 629 laps in open-wheel competition.

Brad Keselowski on what it would mean to bring Roger Penske his first Cup Series crown:
“When I first came to Penske Racing, I viewed it as an organization with so much potential. I had a vision for what I knew this place could become, and I shared that with Mr. Penske in our first meeting together. And as he began to give (crew chief) Paul (Wolfe) and I the things that we needed, we began to show results on the racetrack which, in turn, led to a lot of trust among myself, Mr. Penske, Paul and everyone else at Penske Racing. So having a legitimate shot to win the championship this weekend is something that I take great pride in because I know we got there together. Everything about this team is first-class, from our owner to our facility to our sponsor, Miller Lite. We have everything we need to be a championship contender for years to come and it’s exciting to be a part of that.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on the team’s mentality heading into this weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway:
“I came to Penske Racing three years ago because Brad Keselowski is the kind of driver that any crew chief would want to work with. He works as hard – and prepares as hard – as any driver I’ve been around. You want a driver that is going to give you everything he has and that’s what Brad does every week. I pride myself on having the same approach to my job, so I knew we could be successful together. Now we are one race away from doing something that no team has been able to do and that is give Roger Penske the Cup championship he deserves. We are planning on doing the same things at Homestead this weekend that got us to this point. Being cautious and ‘laying up’ is a good way to get into trouble. We are an aggressive team, and while we have the big picture in mind, we are going to do what we do.”

- Penske Racing