Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Keselowski Confident as Chase Leader Heading into Charlotte

Brad Keselowski finished fifth in the Coca-Cola 600 in May (Getty)
Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
Bank of America 500
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Saturday, October 13, 2012
TV: ABC at 7:00 PM ET Radio: PRN/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 Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS). Keselowski last raced this chassis to a ninth-place finish in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.

• No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in 2012… After four 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 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) driver and owner point standings by 14 points over Jimmie Johnson. The team is coming off a seventh-place finish in the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

• Quality Pass Leader… Keselowski continues to lead the Cup Series in Quality Passes with 1,907. He also ranks inside the top 10 in Fastest Speed In Traffic (Third), Laps Led (Fifth), Laps In The Top 15 (Sixth) and Fastest Laps Run (Sixth).

• Multiple Nationwide Series Winner at CMS… While he has yet to score an NSCS victory at CMS, Keselowski is a multiple winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) at the venue, which includes the most recent race in May. In addition, Keselowski won the third segment of the 2012 NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte after leading all of the 20 laps in that segment.

• Former CMS Pole Winner… Keselowski picked up his most-recent NSCS pole award in qualifying for last year’s Coca-Cola 600 at CMS. The 28-year-old driver has two career NSCS pole awards.

• Honorary Pit Crew Member… Josh Bralley, a freshman at UNC-Charlotte and late model racer at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway, will be an honorary pit crew member for the No. 2 Miller Lite team on Saturday night. Bralley, bested Keselowski head-to-head in the new NASCAR The Game: Inside Line last Tuesday on the big screen at CMS.

• Lite Up Your Night… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend at Charlotte will read “Lite Up Your Night.” Night racing is the perfect opportunity to join friends for an “It’s Miller Time” moment.

• The Rest is History… Penske Racing made its first start in the annual 500-mile fall race at CMS on October 8, 1972 with Dave Marcis behind the wheel of the famous Penske Racing No. 2 car. In 95 combined starts, Penske Racing drivers have recorded one win, eight poles, 15 top-five and 32 top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval.

Brad Keselowski on racing this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway
“Having a 14-point lead heading into Charlotte is pretty big, for sure. Once we are done at Charlotte we’ll be halfway through the Chase, and while there is still a lot of racing left to go, it’s better than having to dig out of a hole. Charlotte is a place where the results don’t necessarily show how much this Miller Lite Dodge team has improved there. We were finally able to break through with a top-five finish back in May. We should be even better this time around. Our record this year on the intermediate tracks is very solid. With 1.5-mile tracks making up the majority of the rest of the Chase schedule, I’m pretty happy that we were able to come out of Talladega with a nice lead because I think we are set up for a good second half to the Chase.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on this weekend’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway
“We aren’t taking a brand new car to Charlotte this weekend, but it’s a car that has shown a lot of speed and potential. We’ve learned a lot about Charlotte over the two years that Brad and I have been working together on the Miller Lite Dodge. I feel like this is our best chance yet to get a Cup win there. We’ve got a long row to hoe before the end of the year and we’re going to have to beat some of the guys at the top of the standings this weekend. Just because we have a 14-point lead doesn’t mean we can back off. That’s why you saw Mr. Penske, Tim Cindric and I at the NASCAR hauler after the race at Talladega. Last year the championship was tied, based on points. We are going to fight for all we can get because it could come down to a point or two.”

- Penske Racing

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