BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge Challenger R/T
Career Starts: 149
Wins: 12
Top Fives: 64
Top 10s: 89
Poles: 8
Career Highlights:
. Keselowski’s last NASCAR Nationwide Series win came at Gateway last fall (13 races).
. He is the defending NASCAR Nationwide champion.
. Earned Penske Racing its first NASCAR champion last season.
. In 2010, set career-bests in wins (6), top five’s (26), top 10s (29) and poles (5).
. Set a NASCAR record 102 consecutive Nationwide Series races without a DNF (Did Not Finish) that ended at this year’s season-opening race at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
. First Nationwide victory came at Nashville Superspeedway (2008).
KESELOWSKI AT DOVER SPEEDWAY
. Keselowski is making his eighth career Nationwide Series start at Dover International Speedway.
. Highest starting position: Third – 2010
. Highest finishing position: Win – 2009
. Average starting position: 13.0
. Average finishing position: 8.6
. Laps Led: 12
DID YOU KNOW
. Dodge has one NASCAR Nationwide Series win at Dover International Speedway (Ryan Newman – 2005). Keselowski’s win came before he joined the Dodge ranks.
. Brad Keselowski has recorded seven top 10 finishes in the last eight Nationwide races. He has raced to six consecutive top-10 finishes at Dover since his first race there in 2007.
THE NUMBERS
. Dodge’s Brad Keselowski is seeking his first Nationwide win of the season this weekend at the “Monster Mile”.
. In his 2010 Nationwide championship season, Brad Keselowski’s average finishing position was 5.2 that included 26 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes.
. At Dover, Brad Keselowski has one win along with three top-five and six top-10 finishes in eight-career starts.
. Brad Keselowski is seeking his first Nationwide pole of the season; he has eight in his career.
STATS OF THE WEEK
. In 10 Nationwide races this season, Brad Keselowski has posted five top-five and seven top-10 finishes and led 59 laps. His average starting position is 9.1 and average finishing position is 12.7.
DODGE IN THE NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
. Dodge won its first Nationwide championship last year when Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski claimed the driver’s title.
. Dodge is fielding two entries in the Nationwide Series this year from the Penske Racing stable. Sam Hornish Jr. will join teammate Keselowski for a limited race schedule in 2011.
. Dodge has 34 wins in the Nationwide Series, seven of which came in 2010.
FROM THE CREW CHIEF: Todd Gordon, crew chief, No. 22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge Challenger R/T “You don’t get much of a break when you go from Darlington to Dover. Dover is another very tough race track and it’s similar to Darlington in that you have to race the track first and the other competitors second. Track position is important, so you have to place more of an emphasis on qualifying. The track will change a lot throughout the race so the biggest concern is making sure you keep up with that through your adjustments. This is one of Brad’s favorite tracks and we would like to tame the ‘Monster Mile’ this weekend.”
DODGE QUOTES: “I don’t think Dover gets the recognition that it deserves. It’s a nasty race track and I mean that in a good way. Very few tracks are as physically demanding as Dover. It’s hard on both the drivers and the equipment. At no point during the race can you just log laps because, if you aren’t racing another driver, you are making sure that you keep your car out of the wall. For that reason, Dover is one of my favorite tracks. I was able to win there last year and we are running well enough that we can win this week too.” Brad Keselowski – No. 22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge
