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[/media-credit]SRT Motorsports – Dodge NNS Race Advance
Pioneer Hi-Bred 250
Iowa Speedway
Sunday, May 20, 2012
SAM HORNISH JR.
– No. 12 Detroit Genuine Parts Dodge Challenger
Crew Chief: Chad Walter
Career Stats: Starts: 42 Wins: 1 Top Fives: 4 Top 10s: 10 Poles: 0 Laps Led: 124
2012 Season Stats: Starts: 9 Wins: 0 Top Fives: 2 Top 10s: 4 Poles: 0 Laps Led: 9
• Scored best finish (fourth-place) of the 2012 season last week at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
• Fourth in Nationwide standings, 59 points behind leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Only previous NNS start at Iowa came in 2011 subbing for teammate Brad Keselowski – started third, led 39 laps and finished 24th.
• Has completed all but one lap in nine races this season (1,692 of 1,693 possible laps, 99.94 percent) third best among series regulars.
PARKER KLIGERMAN – No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Career Stats: Starts: 15 Wins: 0 Top Fives: 0 Top 10s: 3 Poles: 1 Laps Led: 7
2012 Season Stats: Starts: 0 Wins: 0 Top Fives: 0 Top 10s: 0 Poles: 0 Laps Led: 0
• Will make his first NNS start of the 2012 season.
• Won 2009 ARCA race at Iowa driving a Dodge owned by Mark Gibson – led 142 of 200 laps.
• First NNS pole came in his first career series start at Kansas (2009).
DODGE QUOTES: “We had a good car last year at Iowa and led a bunch of laps, but unfortunately ran over a piece or debris and cut down a tire. It doesn’t have very long straightaways at all, so you’re constantly turning. I like it a lot.” — Sam Hornish, Jr.
“Iowa is very much the short track that thinks it’s a superspeedway. You might come there with a little bit of a short track mentality, but it has the speed and feel of a superspeedway. Those two things combined make it very unique.” — Parker Kligerman
IOWA SPEEDWAY NUMBERS
• Dodge has two top five and four top 10 finishes in four previous NNS races at the .875-mile speedway, both by Brad Keselowski (fourth in 2010 and third in 2011 spring).
• The first Dodge driver to score a top 10 at Iowa was Michael McDowell (ninth-place) in 2009.
DODGE IN THE NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
• A Dodge driver has finished 10th or better in three of the previous four NNS races at Iowa Speedway.
• Dodge is fielding two full-time entries in the series this year. Sam Hornish Jr. is competing for the series championship while Brad Keselowski and Parker Kligerman are sharing the driving duties in the second Penske Racing entry.
• Dodge claimed its first NASCAR championship in 2010 when Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski captured the driver’s title.
• Dodge has 41 wins in the series including seven in each of the last two seasons. The first Nationwide Series win came in 2002. In 2005, Dodge had 11 wins in the series. A Dodge has started from the pole 48 times.
FROM THE CREW CHIEF “Iowa Speedway is not a mile-and-a-half track, but we tend to treat it that way because the aerodynamics are so important. You carry a lot of speed, but you seem to be turning for a long time so it’s an interesting combination, kind of like a squashed oval to me. I feel like getting the power down and turning is the key element on both corner exits.” — Chad Walter, Crew Chief, No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger
