Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012
Dodge PR – AdvoCare 500 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Post-Race Quotes
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Finished Third YOU HAD A VALIANT EFFORT BUT CAME UP SHORT TONIGHT. “Yeah we did have a great day. Didn’t qualify very well and after practicing didn’t think we were going be well but once again the 2 crew stepped up and gave me a great racecar and drove ‘er up towards about fifth and that was kind of where we leveled off and that restart was able to get up third. But just a solid night here at Atlanta and proud of the effort. Got some good consistency and some great cars and it feels good to be locked into the Chase, too.”
WITH SO MANY MILE-AND-A-HALF TRACKS IN THE CHASE, IS THIS ENCOURAGING? “Every week has been encouraging, not just this one. I’m feeling pumped about this Chase coming up.”
Paul Wolfe (Crew Chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) HOW DOES IT FEEL TO MAKE THE CHASE? “It feels great. It would have been nice to get into victory lane right now. We felt like we had a car that could compete for the win all race but just came up short. We weren’t as good as the 11 (Denny Hamlin) or the 56 (Martin Truex Jr.) tonight, the class of the field. It was a solid top-five for the Miller Lite Dodge team. Coming from 21st to start the race and earn a top-three out of it is a credit to Brad and all the guys tonight.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO RUN WELL ON A 1.5-MILE TRACK LIKE YOU DID TONIGHT? “Really important. I think that it’s big. We’ve been strong on the mile-and-a-half tracks this year. We need to get a little bit more speed. We know that some other teams are working on stuff and we need to keep getting our stuff better. We have fast Miller Lite Dodges. Running well here tonight is a positive step for sure.”
Travis Geisler (Director of Competition, Penske Racing) CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING THE CHASE: Thanks. It was a great effort tonight on both teams. We had two great race cars tonight and two great teams. Both Dodges ran great all night and I feel bad for Sam (Hornish Jr.) because he looked like he had a shot at a top-five. Sam got screwed up with getting caught in that mishap but rebounded great and was able to bring home a top 12. We’re working on it. We’re one week away from when the final exam starts at Chicagoland. The test tonight went pretty smooth and we’re happy to make the Chase again with the 2 team.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOUR ORGANIZATION TO MAKE THE CHASE AGAIN? “It means a lot. It’s what your season is measured by and what you get graded on at the end of the year. That 2-car team has done an excellent job all year and to get into the Chase without having to rely on the wild card is really cool. They’ve earned it and now we get to use all the bonus points that we’ve earned this season. We learned last year that every point counts in winning the championship and we’ll take every one that we can. We’re excited as an organization and for all of our sponsors. Just proud of everyone that helps out to allow us to be in this position.”
Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 11th A HARD FOUGHT 12TH-PLACE FINISH TONIGHT: “Yeah, too bad that we got caught up in that wreck. We had a good car from the start of the race and had to fight through some adversity late in the race. We had good pit strategy and rebounded from the tough deal with the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and 39(Ryan Newman). We had a car that we could run about anywhere on the track and that was huge for the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge car.”
WAS THE KEY TONIGHT NOT BURNING OFF THE REAR TIRES EARLY IN A RUN? “Yeah the big thing was that you had to take car of your right rear at the beginning of the run and our car was so good that we were able to do that. I just tried to be smart about it and run my pace. We actually had a better car after we got caught up with the 48 and 39 but just ran out of time to make up anymore ground. A solid night overall for everyone on the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge team.”
