SRT Motorsports – Dodge NSCS Race Advance
Pennsylvania 400
Pocono Raceway
Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012
DODGE AT POCONO RACEWAY
· Dodge has seven wins at Pocono Raceway: Richard Petty (1974, 1976), Bill Elliott (2002), Ryan Newman (2003), Kurt Busch (2007) Kasey Kahne (2008) and Brad Keselowski (2011).
· Kurt Busch dominated the 2007 fall race at en route to victory, leading 175 of 200 laps in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge.
· Dodge has started from the pole three times at Pocono since its return to Sprint Cup racing in 2001: Bill Elliott (2002), Ryan Newman (2003) and Kasey Kahne (2008).DODGE
NEWS AND NOTES
· Brad Keselowski started 31st and finished 18th in the No. 2 Dodge Charger at Pocono in June.
· Sam Hornish will make his eighth Sprint Cup start at Pocono. He scored a career-best finish of fourth in the No. 77 Dodge Charger at the August race in 2009.
POCONO NUGGETS
· Dodge’s Brad Keselowski is the defending Pennsylvania 400 winner. He started 13th and led 19 laps en route to victory.
· This season marks the first time in the history of Sprint Cup competition at Pocono that races are scheduled for 400 miles instead of 500 at the 2.5-mile track.
FROM SRT ENGINEERING “The first visit to Pocono this year was on a freshly-paved surface. Although the grip levels and speeds were high, drivers had to stick to the bottom lane in the race or risk crashing. For engineers, it’s a phenomenon we’ve seen at other resurfaced facilities over the years. The challenge this week – how do we get the cars to stick in that important outside lane, where all the passing takes place? Shocks, sway bars, and springs will all be flying during practice this weekend in an effort to find the exact suspension combination the drivers will need to grip that outside lane and create the opportunity to pass during the race.” Howard Comstock, SRT Engineering
FAST FACTS
· Dodge’s Brad Keselowski has recorded four consecutive top-10 finishes in the Sprint Cup Series. He won at Kentucky, finished eighth at Daytona, fifth at New Hampshire and ninth at Indianapolis.
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.
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.
· Follow Dodge Motorsports on Twitter @teamdodge.
· Dodge’s Brad Keselowski win at Pocono Raceway last August came after he had fractured his left ankle earlier in the week in a testing accident at Road Atlanta.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
· 1 – Dodge claimed it’s only pole of 2012 when A.J. Allmendinger led the field to green at Kansas Speedway.
· 2 – Both Penske Dodge’s earned podium finishes last August at the Pocono 400. Brad Keselowski (race winner) was joined by former teammate Kurt Busch who finished third.
· 36 – Number of Sprint Cup Series drivers that eclipsed the Pocono track qualifying record in June on the new pavement. The previous mark (172.533 mph) was held by former Dodge driver Kasey Kahne (2004). The new mark is 179.598 mph.
DODGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Pocono is definitely faster since the repave. It’s also significantly smoother. In the past we had to worry about mechanical grip to deal with all the bumps in the track. Now it’s more about the aerodynamic balance of the car because of the speeds we are running. One aspect that is still concerning to all of us – especially with the increased speeds – are the brakes. Turn 1 is a heavy braking zone after coming down that long frontstretch. And track position is still important. Obviously it’s hard to pass because the groove is narrower, but the race being 100 miles shorter also gives you less time to develop a strategy to get track position if you don’t qualify well. Qualifying is definitely important and it’s something we need to continue to work on with the Miller Lite Dodge. If we can improve on our qualifying just a bit, I’m confident in our ability to get back to Victory Lane at Pocono.” Paul Wolfe, crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
FROM THE CREW CHIEF: “Being able to run the entire race at New Hampshire and again last Sunday at Indy, we continue to learn each other better and improve in our communications. Sam has had some really strong races at Pocono and we’re hoping to add to those this weekend. He has led several of the races in the later stages with just a few laps remaining. All of his Pocono races have been in 500-mile events. We started running the 400-mile distance there this season. It may just turn out to be the right scenario to turn some heads there on Sunday afternoon.” Todd Gordon, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger
DODGE QUOTES: “I think everyone on the Miller Lite Dodge is anxious to get back to Pocono after our first race there this year. We had a good car, but different circumstances kept popping up that prevented us from getting a top-10 or top-five finish. It’s definitely a different racetrack after the repave, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s very fast and very smooth, but the new asphalt took away the outside groove in Turn 3. That was always an ideal place to pass. Even though it’s not the same racetrack as last year, we are still going back as the defending winner of this event. That always provides a level of confidence for any team.” Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
“I love Pocono. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. Pocono is another flat track that I seem to race well on every time that I’ve competed in a Cup Series car. Tracks like Phoenix and Pocono just seem to fit my driving style. Our Penske Dodges have run well at Pocono, including Brad’s (Keselowski) win in this race last year. We’re coming off a solid run on a flat track like Indy which gives us a lot of confidence that we’ll have a strong run in the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge on Sunday. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger
