SRT Motorsports – Dodge Sprint Cup Series Race Advance
Crown Royal Presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at The Brickyard
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 29, 2012
www.media.chrysler.com, www.twitter.com/teamdodge
DODGE AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
• Bill Elliott won the 2002 Brickyard 400 driving the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge. He led 93 laps en route to victory. In doing so, Elliott became the oldest winner at IMS – 46 years, 9 months and 27 days.
• Dodge has earned three poles at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Casey Mears (2004), Elliott Sadler (2005) and Reed Sorenson (2007).
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.
DODGE NEWS AND NOTES
• Dodge’s Brad Keselowski’s earned a career-best finish of ninth in last year’s race at the Brickyard, his second career start at the 2.5-mile track.
• Sam Hornish Jr. will make his fourth Sprint Cup start of the season and third consecutive in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger, replacing Penske Racing teammate A.J. Allmendinger. Hornish finished 10th (Kansas), 8th (Daytona) and 24th (New Hampshire).
DODGE QUOTES: “You can’t go to the Brickyard without thinking about what the track means not only to NASCAR, but to auto racing in general. Being from the Midwestern section of the country myself, I always looked to the spectacle of the Indianapolis 500 and wondered what it would be like to compete there. Now we have the Brickyard 400 for stock cars and it has become one of the most prestigious races in the country as well. Everyone on the Miller Lite Dodge Charger team is excited about the new car we are bringing this weekend. A lot of work went into building it and I think it’s going to give us our best shot yet to get Mr. (Roger) Penske a Brickyard 400 trophy.” Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
“I think I learned a lot from the three NASCAR races I ran before at Indy. You have to be sure to position yourself to get to the finish of the race. We had good cars there before and tried to get to the front too quickly. Patience will definitely be at the top of my mind there this weekend for sure.” Sam Hornish Jr., No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charge
FROM THE CREW CHIEF: “Sam certainly has turned a ton of laps during his career at Indy, but the big majority of his experience there has been in the open-wheel cars. The more laps he can get there this weekend, the better off we will be. The fact that he was able to drink the milk there is proof that Sam obviously knows his way around the place. With both series utilizing the same Goodyear Tires, I am confident that we’ll be able to be better prepared for Sunday’s race. Getting the additional track time there this weekend will offer tremendous benefits.” Todd Gordon, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger
DODGE SEASON REWIND
• Dodge has three Sprint Cup Series wins this season. Penske Racing driver Brad Keselowski earned trips to victory lane at Bristol, Talladega and Kentucky. Keselowski is one of only two drivers (Tony Stewart) with three wins this season.
• Dodge claimed it’s only pole of 2012 when A.J. Allmendinger led the field to green at Kansas Speedway.
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.
• The turns at the 2.5-mile track are banked only nine degrees; there’s zero banking on the straights.
FROM SRT ENGINEERING “The Brickyard presents a number of engineering problems to be solved but none more important than how to get maximum aerodynamic downforce in the car. You might think that with Indy having two of the longest straightaways in NASCAR, horsepower would be number one on everybody’s mind. The fact is for every mph faster you can get through the corners, you’ll get two more mph by the end of the straightaway. More grip in the corners mean more speed in the straights. More downforce on the car means more grip in the corners.” — Howard Comstock, SRT Engineering
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2 – Number of Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that have been won from the pole – the last in 2008.
8 – Number of drivers in the top 10 in the Sprint Cup standings that have won at least one race this season.
15 – Points that separates fifth (Denny Hamlin) and 10th (Brad Keselowski) in the Sprint Cup point standings.
18 – Number of Sprint Cup races at the Brickyard since the first event in 1994.
28 – Number of drivers that will participate in the one-day tire test at Michigan on July 30. Dodge driver Brad Keselowski
46 – Point cushion for Dodge’s Brad Keselowski (currently 10th in the Sprint Cup standings) and Carl Edwards in 11th.
DODGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK “It’s not a mandate or anything like that, but we all know the importance of running well at Indianapolis. Mr. (Roger) Penske has enjoyed a great history there in the IndyCar Series, but we’re still looking for the first win there for the organization in NASCAR. I really feel that this weekend is a good opportunity for us to do that. A lot of time and energy was put into building this new car and everything we’ve seen so far indicates that it is a fast piece. So we’re going up there focused and ready to win a race. Corner exit is very important at Indianapolis because you have to make sure you get down the long straightaways. Each turn is tight – basically 90 degrees – so you need to make sure that your car is turning well enough that the driver can get back to the power as early as possible. Mechanical grip and aerodynamic grip all play a part in making that happen.” — Paul Wolfe, crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
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 Jr. Start: 8th (Daytona) Finish: 19th (Kansas)
