DODGE AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
• Dodge has 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• Dodge has started from the pole 12 times at CMS. The most recent came at the fall event in 2007 (Ryan Newman).
• Dodge swept both races at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2006 (Kasey Kahne).
THE DODGE BOYS
• Dodge has 207 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories.
• Dodge’s most recent win came at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. Kurt Busch led 252 of 400 laps en route to victory in the Coca-Cola 600. It was his second win of the 2010 season.
• Dodge has claimed two Sprint Cup victories in 2010.
• Dodge teams have posted 47 wins since the manufacturer’s return to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 after being out of the sport since 1977.
• First Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win at Charlotte Motor Speedway: LeeRoy Yarborough, National 500, 10/16/66, 130.576 mph average speed.
DODGE IN THE CHASE: CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY • 2004: Ryan Newman and Jeremy Mayfield represented Dodge in the Chase. Newman earned the pole and finished 14th at CMS and Mayfield finished 30th.
• 2005: Three Dodge drivers including Newman, Mayfield and Rusty Wallace made the elite 10. Newman qualified on the outside pole at CMS and finished seventh. Mayfield finished 11th and Wallace 24th.
• 2006: Kasey Kahne was the only Dodge driver to make the Chase. He started second and led 334 laps en route to his win.
• 2007: Kurt Busch was the lone Dodge representative in the Chase. Busch qualified eighth, led 13 laps and finished 26th.
2008: There were no Dodges in the 2008 Chase field.
• 2009: Kurt Busch, the lone Dodge entry in the Chase, qualified 15th and finished 10th in fifth event of the Chase.
DID YOU KNOW?
Dodge’s Kurt Busch won his first Charlotte race in May, the Coca-Cola 600. He also won the Sprint All-Star Race. Busch seeks to become the first driver to sweep the All-Star Race, Coca-Cola 600 and Bank of America 500 in the same season.
ENGINEERING TALK
“With six races left in the Chase it’s worth noting that three of them are on high banked one and a half mile tracks like this week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Saturday’s race will be an important test for the teams to make sure they’ve got an intermediate track setup strategy that will maximize their chances at all three of these tracks. If you can run well at Charlotte you should be confident going into Texas and season ending Miami. Kurt Busch, crew chief Steve Addington, and the No. 2 Penske Dodge team will hopefully be able to start where they left off after sweeping both the All Star and Coca Cola 600 races here in the spring.”
Howard Comstock, Dodge Motorsports Engineering
DODGE MOTORSPORTS QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“It’s certainly flattering to hear all the names of the racing legends who swept the May races and now be among that group. It’s quite amazing. To hear the names and to be able to try to do the Charlotte sweep, I would have assumed that Jimmie Johnson had two or three sweeps at the Charlotte track over the years, Dale Sr., of course, Waltrip, Petty. It’s really a neat fraternity of guys to be part of.”
Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
DODGE DRIVER QUOTES
“To win the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 was incredible. To be the first person in NASCAR history to win all three in the same season would be historic. There have been seven drivers to win both the All-Star and the 600, but of the seven, nobody has won the fall race. There’s a little bit of pressure. I know that my guys are pumped up for it. We’re the only one in 2010 eligible for it and we’re gonna get after it. To win three races at one track that everybody calls home would definitely give me some bragging right.”
Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge
“Charlotte Motor Speedway has a lot of grip. The track doesn’t change much from day to night; it just gets a little tighter. It’s a place that suited me from the beginning. The first time I went there I didn’t really like it, but now I feel like I know what the car needs and I always look forward to racing there. Charlotte races different than a lot of other places because the track surface is not abrasive and the tires last. The way Charlotte is paved, it handles a lot different than the other 1.5-mile tracks.”
Sam Hornish Jr. No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge
“Racing in the Southeast, in general, is special because that is where a large crop of our fan base is from. That makes it entertaining in itself. You want to race in markets where people get excited about the sport. Charlotte is the hub of our sport. We all live here. It’s just an enjoyable weekend. Racing at night just enhances that. Charlotte is very fast under the lights. It has a lot of grip and I think we’ll put on a very good show for all of those enthusiastic fans that will show up.”
Brad Keselowski, No 12 Penske Dodge
“The Mobil 1 Dodge team is excited to get back to Charlotte Motor Speedway and run under the lights in front of the hometown crowd. Charlotte is such a fast track and the cooler temperatures should make for plenty of grip on Saturday night. The tire that Goodyear brings to Charlotte does not lose a lot of grip during each fuel run, so the drivers can push the car pretty hard without paying a penalty at the end of the run.”
Travis Geisler, crew chief, No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge
“This No. 12 Penske Dodge team is really looking forward to racing under the lights at CMS this weekend. Penske Racing, as a whole, had a strong run there in May. We feel like we have developed our Charlotte package even more and should have an even better race on Saturday. We know that our cars can win at CMS and everyone here is expecting great things this weekend. We’ve made some great strides, aerodynamically, and our cars are as good as they have ever been for this package.”
Jay Guy, crew chief, No. 12 Penske Dodge
