SRT Motorsports – Dodge Sprint Cup Series Race Advance
Federated Auto Parts 400 – Richmond International Raceway
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012
www.srtmotorsports.com
www.twitter.com/teamdodge
DODGE NEWS AND NOTES
· Dodge earned its seventh appearance in the eight-year history of the Chase when Brad Keselowski locked in a berth with a third-place finish at Atlanta.
· Three Dodge drivers have used finishes in Race 26 at Richmond to earn Chase berths. Jeremy Mayfield (2004) won to overcome a 55-point deficit. Ryan Newman (2005) finished 12th to make up a one-point deficit. Kasey Kahne (2006) used a third-place finish to erase a 30-point deficit.
DODGE AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
· Dodge has 17 Sprint Cup wins at Richmond including three since the manufacturer returned to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001.
· Lee Petty drove a Dodge to victory in the first NASCAR race at Richmond in 1953.
· Dodge winners in addition to Petty include Buck Baker, David Pearson, Cotton Owens, Bobby Allison, Richard Petty, Dave Marcis, Neil Bonnett, Ryan Newman, Jeremy Mayfield and Kasey Kahne.
NUMBERS DON’T LIE
· Dodge’s Brad Keselowski is on pace to set career-bests in the Sprint Cup Series this season. Through the first 25 Sprint Cup Series races, he has three wins along with 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. Keselowski’s season total for 36 races last year – three wins, 10 top five and 14 top 10s.
ON MAKING THE CHASE “It’s what your season is measured by and what you get graded on at the end of the year. That No. 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.” Travis Geisler, Director of Competition, Penske Racing
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.
· Dodge is an Official Passenger Car of NASCAR.
· Dodge’s Brad Keselowski will take part in an ESPN “Car Wash” tomorrow across several ESPN platforms as he previews the 2012 Chase for the Championship. His day begins at 9:40 a.m. ET with a live shot on SportsCenter.
FROM THE ENGINEER – RACING AT RICHMOND “Richmond has a really fast frontstretch with really slow corners. That’s the number one engineering problem we face every time the series visits the historic facility. It’s almost impossible to make a car turn too good at Richmond. If you can achieve that feat, you’ll likely suffer with traction problems off the corners. Richmond has always been the ultimate test of walking that fine line between turning and traction. Engineers will be busy all weekend trying to solve that mystery.” Howard Comstock, SRT Engineering
2012 RACE REWIND
· Race Four: Brad Keselowski qualified fifth and led 232 laps en route to his first Sprint Cup win of the season at Bristol.
· Race 10: Dodge visited victory lane for the second time in 2012 when Keselowski led 10 circuits and avoided a nine-car mishap with just two laps remaining at Talladega.
· Race 17: Keselowski captured his third Sprint Cup victory of the season at Kentucky Speedway, leading the final 56 laps en route to victory.
· Race 18: Sam Hornish Jr. assumes the ride of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger for Penske Racing.
· Race 22: Hornish Jr. earns first top-five Sprint Cup finish in 2012.
· Race 25: Keselowski earns second consecutive berth in Chase for the Sprint Cup with third-place finish at Atlanta.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Coming from the short tracks of Michigan and Ohio really helps me when we go to places like Richmond. The track has characteristics of several places where I cut my racing teeth. But what helped me out the most was the competition that raced up there. You had to learn to get tough or go home. I learned a lot of lessons on the short tracks back home that helped make me into the racecar driver I am today. I love racing under the lights on Saturday night because it reminds me a lot of those days.” Brad Keselowski, driver, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
DODGE QUOTES “I’m really looking forward to going to Richmond with no pressure, other than trying to win the race. That is going to be one wild race on Saturday night. Some really good drivers need to win to make it in, but we aren’t going to give it to them. We want to win to go into the Chase tied for the points lead. With the security we have of already locking ourselves in, we can take some chances to see if we can hit on something that will help us get to Victory Lane. It’s been a great year for the Miller Lite Dodge team. Now it’s time to see what we’re made of.” Brad Keselowski, No 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
“It’s another weekend with the busy schedule of running both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races. It can be challenging to keep on bouncing back from one garage to the other, but I’m loving it. Running both cars has proven beneficial and I know that’ll certainly be the case again this weekend. We’re getting stronger as a group with Todd (Gordon, crew chief) and all the guys on the Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Team. I am so thankful to continue to have the opportunity to drive that 22 Cup car. We carried the Pennzoil colors to the winner’s circle at Richmond in the IndyCar race there 10 years ago. We’ll be trying as hard as we can to take our Shell-Pennzoil Cup car to Victory Lane on Saturday night.” Sam Hornish Jr., No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger
