CHASE FOR THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP
Chase Race No. 4 – Kansas Speedway – Sunday, Oct. 9
o Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
o Earned his first NSCS win of the season at Kansas earlier this season.
o Started 25th and led the final nine laps en route to victory.
o Will be making his fourth Cup series start at Kansas Speedway.
o Has been running at the finish in all three previous starts.
o Kansas avg. start: 18.0 Kansas avg. finish: 12.3
o Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T
o Scored a ninth-place finish in the June race at Kansas.
o Won his first pole of 2011 earlier this season at Kansas.
o Led four times for 152 laps, the most ever by a driver in a race at Kansas.
o Best career Kansas finish: Sixth in 2004.
o Collected three top 10 finishes in 11 previous races at Kansas.
o Has led the most laps twice (2007, 2011) at Kansas for a total of 233 laps.
o Kansas avg. start: 18.6 Kansas avg. finish: 18.1
Results: Chase Race No. 3 – Dover International Speedway – Sunday Oct. 2
Summary: Kurt Busch earned his second Cup Series win of the season after beating Jimmie Johnson to the checkered flag by 0.908 seconds. Busch qualified on the outside pole, led 90 laps en route to his 24th NSCS win of his career – his first at the Monster Mile. The win vaulted Busch five positions in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He’s currently tied with Tony Stewart for third in points, nine behind co-leaders Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards. Mid-race mechanical issues with a power steering belt relegated Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski to a 20th-place finish. Keselowski dropped three positions to sixth-place in the standings, but is only 14 behind the leaders.
o Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T
o Qualified: 2nd Finished: Race Winner
o Points Position: 3rd Gain/Loss: +5 Behind Leader: -9
o Led five times for 90 laps
o Only Sprint Cup driver to remain inside the top 10 in driver standings all season
o Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
o Qualified: 15th Finished: 20th
o Points Position: 6th Gain/Loss: -3 Behind Leader: -14
o Average finish of 5.77 in his last nine Sprint Cup races – best among all Chase drivers. He has a 9.00 average finish in three previous Chase races.
o Has completed every lap of last 10 Sprint Cup races
o Has led at least one lap in each of the first three Chase races
Results: Chase Race No. 2 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Sunday, Sept. 25
Summary: Brad Keselowski led Team Dodge with a runner-up finish – his eighth top five of the season. Keselowski started ninth, but struggled to run inside the top-20 the first half of the 300-lap event. Crew chief Paul Wolfe used race strategy, choosing not to pit on lap 174 under caution, to gain track position. Fuel mileage keyed Keselowski to a second-place finish, a career best at Loudon, moving him to third in the Chase point standings. Teammate Kurt Busch qualified fifth, but lost track position early and was never able to recover as the race had only three cautions. Busch finished 22nd and dropped to ninth in the Chase standings.
o Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
o Qualified: 16th Finished: 2nd
o Points Position: 3rd Gain/Loss: +3 Behind Leader: -11
o Highest points position in Sprint Cup career.
o Average finish of 4.55 in his last nine Sprint Cup races (best among all Chase drivers)
o Eighth top-10 finish in his last nine Sprint Cup starts
o Has completed every lap of last nine Sprint Cup races
o Has led laps in first two Chase races
o Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T
o Qualified: 5th Finished: 22nd
o Points Position: 9th Gain/Loss: -5 Behind Leader: -28
o Worse finish since Michigan (34th) in August
o Led once for four laps
o Only Sprint Cup driver to remain inside the top 10 in driver standings all season
Results: Chase Race No. 1 – Chicagoland Speedway – Monday, Sept. 19
Summary: Brad Keselowski earned a fifth-place finish in his first career Chase race. After qualifying sixth, Keselowski was a top-12 car most of the race. He managed to stretch his fuel window for the race’s final 53 laps, something several other lead-lap cars were unable to do (four ran out of fuel). Kurt Busch qualified third, led the most laps (63) en route to his 15th top 10 of the season. He finished sixth. Keselowski started the Chase 11th in the standings, 12 points behind the leader. Busch started the Chase nine points behind the leader in seventh.
o Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T
o Qualified: 3rd Finished: 6th
o Points position: 4th Gain/Loss: +3 Behind Leader: -11
o Led 64 of 267 laps – most by any driver
o Seventh top-five and 15th top-10 of the season.
o Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
o Qualified: 6th Finished: 5th
o Points Position: 6th Gain/Loss: +5 Behind Leader: -14
o Seventh consecutive top-12 finish.
o Career-best Chicagoland Speedway finish.
o Seventh top-five and 11th top-10 of the season.
o Since Indianapolis (August), has scored more points than any other NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, 289 to Jeff Gordon’s 262
DODGE AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY
· Dodge has two wins in 11 previous races at Kansas: Ryan Newman (2003) and Brad Keselowski (2011).
· Dodge has three poles at Kansas: Jason Leffler (2001), Kasey Kahne (2006) and Kurt Busch (2011).
· CLEAN SWEEP: By winning both the pole and race this past June, Dodge swept the weekend at Kansas for the first time since the track opened in 2001.
