Sunday, November 18, 2012
Ford Ecoboost 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Post-Race Quotes
Dodge PR
http://twitter.com/teamdodge www.media.chrysler.com www.srtmotorsports.com
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) SPRINT CUP CHAMPION Finished 15th “It means the world, it really does. I’ve got the best team in racing and I’m just so thrilled to be a part of it. From the top down, Roger Penske, Paul Wolfe, everybody else, the crew guys and my family, that means so much. I couldn’t do it without the support of everybody on the Miller Lite Dodge.”
YOU MENTIONED YOUR FAMILY. TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY GAVE UP AND WHAT YOU’VE GIVEN BACK TO THEM. “They made incredible sacrifices and I’m just so fortunate to have them around me. Without them none of this is possible and they deserve way more credit than I do.”
TAKE US THROUGH YOUR RACE TODAY. YOU HAD A DECENT CAR AND WHEN JIMMIE FELL OUT DID THE CREW TELL YOU ABOUT THAT AND DID THAT CHANGE ANYTHING? “I saw him on the apron and I knew something was wrong, based on the speed he was traveling at and that was that.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO GIVE ROGER PENSKE HIS FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP? “Means I’m a lucky guy (laughs). That’s what it means. I’ve got a great owner, a great team, a great family. Just very, very fortunate.”
HOW SPECIAL IS IT TO BEAT JIMMIE JOHNSON FOR THE TITLE? “He’s the best. He proved it here today. He was going to win this damn race and I know that. We were not as fast as we wanted to be and we’d be the first to admit that but my guys never gave up. We kept working and at the end there we were even capable of getting back up enough to where it wouldn’t have mattered if he’d have won which made me feel a lot better. But my guys just did a great job all year long and especially in this Chase and I’m lucky to have ‘em.”
Roger Penske (Chairman, Penske Corporation) “It’s the human capital in this organization and I can’t tell you what a thrill it is for me. It was a goal I’ve had for many years and been able to make it happen now. It’s just amazing. For Dodge, obviously for Miller Lite and Pennzoil, everybody the Shell guys and all our great sponsors to think about that we won this championship is amazing.”
WHAT’S THE FEELING? “Well, I’ll tell ya, it’s been a great season. I just can’t take my hat off enough to all the great guys on our team from Brad (Keselowski), obviously, Paul Wolfe (crew chief) and Travis Geisler and when you think about Mike Nelson and all those guys who built those great engines – not one failure all year in that Dodge engine. I want to thank Dodge for what they’ve done for us. And this win goes to all the servicemen around the world who have put so much in their hearts for us to keep us safe and secure. For me it’s just a double-win.”
WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT AND WHY WAS IT SO HARD TO GET HERE? “I just think the competition is just so super and you think about the people that have won this series over the years. You know, Rick Hendrick is a great friend of mine. You could see (Jimmie) Johnson and those guys were right there, right down to the last few laps. It’s just something that you have to work on and these guys are the best.”
Travis Geisler (Director of Competition, Penske Racing) “This something that is big enough where it’s going to take a few days for it to sink in. It’s a special day. To see Roger Penske and Walt (Czarnecki) and Bud (Denker) have the opportunity to win this NASCAR championship is just a dream come true for everyone at Penske. To win at the sport that they love, and the sport that they have put some much effort into is just incredible. You can’t give Roger Penske much that he doesn’t have and today this team delivered.”
Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charge r R/T) Finished 22nd WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE A TEAMMATE TO WIN THE SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP? “When I first came over to the stock car side, I said part of the reason that I want to do this is Roger puts in a lot of effort over here, a lot of time, a lot of money. He’s been doing it for two decades now and he hasn’t had the success that he has had in open wheel. I knew that I might not be the guy that wins the Daytona 500 or the championship but I’d like to be there for it. We definitely had that opportunity. I’m really happy for Brad, I’m really happy for Roger and Dodge especially for letting me go out on a high note. Wish we could have done a little bit better. Ran good all day long and just didn’t have enough fuel to make it to the end but that’s our own fault. We should have stopped if there was a chance with how many long, green flag runs there’s been this year, you know, we knew that we could make it to the end from that point we should have just stopped and had fuel to do it. We were running ninth or tenth and we had to stop the last time. It’s just unfortunate. All the guys that work on the Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger do a great job. Just wish we had a little bit more for ‘em.”
WAS THIS KIND OF A BITTERSWEET DAY? “I wanted to finish a lot better than 22nd but I didn’t have any false hopes that we were going to win today. Our car wasn’t good enough to do that and I was very happy that we were good enough to run in the top 10 for most of the day. It’s not my fault that we didn’t get the finish that we deserved. I don’t know my I’m emotional about it. It doesn’t matter but I’m just happy for Roger.
“I had a good feeling about after the first race of the Chase when Brad was able to win. Even when I was out there driving around there was times when I let him go in traffic just so that he didn’t have to worry about racing whoever was racing behind him and tried to take care of him at Martinsville and Kansas and a couple of other places where there was a mayhem out there. That’s what RP asked me to do.”
Ralph Gilles (President and CEO Street and Racing Technology Brand and Motorsports) “I couldn’t be more proud of our engineering team that never gave up all season. An amazing accomplishment for everyone for sure. Obviously this project wasn’t one that started yesterday. This has been an 11-year run with a lot of talented people who spend countless hours to make this championship possible. That’s the Dodge way. It’s always been the Dodge way. The underdogs came up did it today. Three years ago people were looking at us sideways when put this deal together. Everybody grew from it. From Brad (Keselowski) to Penske to Dodge, to go out on top it makes it all worthwhile.”
Bob Keselowski (Brad Keselowski’s father) WHAT DOES THIS WIN MEAN TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY? “Wow. It’s so big I don’t know if I can fathom it right now. This is something that is years and years in the making. Every year you go along it just seems a little bit further away. There’s a reason why God made us work as hard as we did and tonight it’s very rewarding. I even question God during the race when Brad was running back in 22nd and Jimmie was leading the race. I wasn’t going to complain and then the 48 broke and you realize that your dream came true.”
YOU HAVE BEEN A BIG SUPPORTER OF DODGE AND RAM ALL YOUR CAREER, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SEE BRAD WIN THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP IN A DODGE? “It’s double rewarding. It’s my son. It’s Roger. But winning the championship in a Dodge is icing on the cake.
