SRT Motorsports – Dodge Sprint Cup Series Race Advance
Lenox Industrial Tools 301
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 15, 2012
www.media.chrysler.com, www.twitter.com/teamdodge
DODGE AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
· Dodge has three wins at New Hampshire (Ward Burton, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch).
· Dodge’s Brad Keselowski claimed his first career pole at the fall event last year.
· Dodge drivers have captured the pole for five of the last 14 races at ‘The Magic Mile’ when qualifying was completed.
DODGE NEWS AND NOTES
· Dodge’s Brad Keselowski finished second in last year’s fall event at NHMS. With the finish in the first race of the Chase, he moved up to third in the point standings, just three behind the leader. This year, Keselowski is ninth in the season standings, the highest he has been this season.
· Sam Hornish Jr. will replace A.J. Allmendinger in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge again this weekend. He has made two Sprint Cup starts this season, finishing 19th at Kansas and 33rd last weekend at Daytona. He has 111 career starts in the Cup series including six at Loudon where he has recorded two top-10 finishes. He was eighth in the July event in 2009.
· The No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge led 66 laps in last year’s July event at the 1.058-mile track en route to a 10th-place finish.
THE DODGE BOYS
· Dodge drivers have recorded 215 wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
· Dodge teams have posted 55 victories since the manufacturer’s return to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 after being out of the sport since 1977.
· Dodge has posted wins each season since its return in 2001 including seven wins twice (2002 and 2006).
DODGE HISTORICAL DATA
· First Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win: Lee Petty, 2/1/53, West Palm Beach, Fla., 100 miles, .5-mile track.
· Last Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win: Brad Keselowski, 06/30/2012, Quaker State 400, Kentucky Speedway, 145.607 mph avg. speed.
FROM SRT ENGINEERING “After the 200 mph pack racing that we saw at Daytona last week, engineers now have to prepare for a completely different kind of race at New Hampshire this week. It’s all about track position and fuel economy in New Hampshire. That makes qualifying one of the most important sessions of the weekend. Passing, while not completely impossible, is as hard here as it is anywhere in the series. If you can start up front, you have the the most important part of a winning strategy already in your pocket.” Howard Comstock, SRT Engineering, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
DODGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK “The three wins are nice, and it means that we are pretty safe in regards to making the Chase, but we are focused on staying in the top 10 so that we can use the bonus points. That’s the way I look at the points right now. To me, we are leading the points because we are in the top 10 with the most wins. I want to be the guy with the most wins and inside the top 10 and I want to make sure that we stay there. Hopefully we can climb up a few more spots to be safe. But wins and being in the top 10, that’s all that matters.” Brad Keselowski, driver, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
DID YOU KNOW?
· The Dodge Charger street car is the only rear-wheel-drive model in Sprint Cup Series competition that is available with a V-8 engine.
· SRT Motorsports includes all of Chrysler Group’s NASCAR racing efforts for Dodge and RAM.
· Follow Dodge Motorsports on Twitter @teamdodge.
FAST FACTS
· Positions five through 10 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings are separated by only 20 points through the first 18 races this season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4 – Number of drivers that have competed in all 34 Sprint Cup races at ‘The Magic Mile’ – Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek.
4 – Number of drivers outside the top 10 in the Chase but in the top 20 (11th to 20th) in the standings with one win this season and contenders for the two wild card berths.
13 – Brad Keselowski, currently ninth in the Sprint Cup point standings, is just 13 points out of sixth.
18 – Number of the 34 Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire that have been won from a top-10 starting position.
21 – After 18 races last year, Brad Keselowski was 21st in the season standings, 63 points out of 10th.
2012 SPRINT CUP SERIES SEASON BESTS
· A. J. Allmendinger Start: 1st (Kansas) Finish: 2nd (Martinsville)
· Brad Keselowski Start: 5th (Bristol) Finish: 1st (Bristol, Talladega and Kentucky)
· Sam Hornish Start: 8th (Daytona) Finish: 19th (Kansas)
DODGE QUOTES: “It’s always a lot of fun when we go up to Loudon to race. The fans really love what we do and they show it by filling the stands. It’s one of those tracks we can go to and almost guarantee that it will be sold out. The racing that we put on at New Hampshire sometimes gets a bad rap, but I think it has produced some of the most exciting finishes over the last few years. It’s a one-mile track, but it races like a short track. There is a lot of beating and banging and bumping and running – all of the things that the fans love.” Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
“I am very grateful for the opportunity to drive the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge, yet at the same time I wish it wasn’t under these circumstances.
“Sometimes it happens like this, though, and we will attempt to find the good in this situation and make the most of the opportunity. I like this type of track as it requires that the driver make compromises – the car may be great at one end of the track and then not so good at the other – so you have to do your best and make it work.” Sam Hornish Jr., No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T
FROM THE CREW CHIEFS: “Loudon is a unique racetrack. It has aspects of both Richmond and Phoenix all rolled into one. We work really hard to get the car to turn in the center (of the corners) and maintain forward drive for late into a run. It’s a very flat layout, which presents a lot of different challenges. With no banking to catch the car, it can be very hard on brakes because the straightaways are long and you can build up a lot of speed before you get to the corner. It is so hard to pass, you really need the complete package to win there – good brakes, handling and pit stops.” Paul Wolfe, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
“It’s unfortunate for everyone involved that the situation has unfolded like it has, but we’re committed to getting out there and doing the best job we possibly can. The 22 and the 2 Cup teams have worked extremely well together this season and we will definitely be leaning on each other closely this weekend at Loudon.
“Sam and Brad have enjoyed a great relationship working together over in the Nationwide Series this season and that should help our teams working together this weekend. Sam and I spent a good deal of time working together last season when I was crew chief for Brad’s Nationwide team. He spent some time out on the road with us and did some practices for us.” Todd Gordon, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T
