Dodge Motorsports NNS Race Advance
Alliance Truck Parts 250 Michigan International Speedway
Saturday, June 18, 2011
BRAD KESELOWSKI
– No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T
Career Starts: 153
Wins: 12
Top Fives: 65
Top 10s: 91
Poles: 8
Career Highlights:
· Posted wins in last two starts at Michigan and has not finished farther back than 13th in four races on the two-mile track.
· The defending NASCAR Nationwide Series champion.
· Earned Penske Racing its first NASCAR champion last season.
· Set career-best results in 2010 for wins (6), top fives (26), top 10s (29) and poles (5).
· First Nationwide victory came at Nashville Superspeedway (2008).
SAM HORNISH
– No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger R/T
Career Starts: 25
Wins: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top 10s: 1
Poles: 0
Career Highlights:
· Fifth Nationwide start of the season (Daytona, Texas, Talladega and Richmond).
· Making his second career Nationwide start at Michigan; finished 25th in 2007.
· Made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut with Penske Racing at Phoenix Int’l Raceway in the fall of 2006.
DID YOU KNOW
· Brad Keselowski started from the pole at MIS last year and led 89 laps en route to victory. His best finish this season came at Texas where he finished second. He has nine top-10 finishes in 14 starts in 2011 including six top fives. His last win came at Gateway last season (17 races ago).
· Sam Hornish Jr. has made five Nationwide starts this season. He started second and finished seventh at Richmond, both season bests. He followed with a 12th at Charlotte.
· There were only two cautions in last year’s 250-mile race at MIS. Two of the 19 Nationwide races at the track have been run without a caution.
SAM SAYS “Living in nearby Defiance, Ohio, I consider Michigan my home track so it’s nice to be able to come home for a few days and have family and friends come out to the race as well. Another reason to be excited is that Alliance Truck Parts is sponsoring the race this weekend so I feel even more privileged to be sporting their black and yellow colors. It’s always great to get back together with the No. 12 crew as well. I feel like each week together, we keep improving so I can’t wait to see how the weekend turns out.” Sam Hornish Jr., driver, No. 12 Alliance Auto Parts Dodge Challenger R/T
DODGE QUOTES “It felt really good to dominate the way we did at Michigan last year with the new Discount Tire Dodge Challenger. As a driver, you dream about having cars that drive like that one did. That win helped validate the win from 2009 because I heard a lot about that race being given to me. All you can do is put yourself in position for wins and that’s what I felt I did in that race. Last year, there was no doubt who had the best car. We definitely need a win in 2011 and I can’t think of a better track to pick one up than Michigan. We should have a pretty strong notes package from last year that should help us roll right off the truck with speed. It would be pretty sweet to get three in a row at my home track.” Brad Keselowski, No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge
“I think our intermediate track program is starting to come around to the point where I feel like we should be competing for wins. We’re just missing that little bit to put us over the top. Michigan should provide us with a good track to make that leap. We had an off-weekend while the Cup cars were in Pocono, but I don’t think very many of us took a vacation. We were all focused on getting as prepared as we can for this weekend because of the importance that is placed on running well at Michigan, especially after the dominating win by this team there last year. Michigan, for the Nationwide Series cars, is all about momentum and keeping the car wound up the entire lap. It’s a big, wide race track that is very forgiving, which is the reason that it is a favorite of the drivers and teams.” Todd Gordon, Crew Chief – No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge
“The No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts crew has been looking forward to Michigan for a few weeks now. We overcame some obstacles at Charlotte (Motor Speedway) but we are ready to move on and continue to improve. We have a brand new chassis this week, No. 220, that we have been working on in the shop these last few weeks so we’re ready to see how successful it can be. I also couldn’t be happier to represent Alliance Truck Parts for the Alliance Truck Parts 250, hopefully we can give them an extra reason to celebrate by bring home a win.” Chad Walter, Crew Chief — No. 12 Alliance Auto Parts Dodge Challenger R/T
