THE RACE
Federated Auto Parts 400 – Richmond International Raceway (.75-mile oval, Richmond, VA)
No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion driven by Brad Keselowski | No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion driven by Joey Logano
Saturday, September 6, 2014, 7:30 pm ET
THE CARS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion
· STRONG STARTS STAT: On the heels of last weekend’s solid qualifying performance when he earned a second-place starting spot at Atlanta, Keselowski has now qualified on the front row a career-best and series-leading 10 times this year. The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Champion has earned three pole positions and seven second-place starts this season.
· MILLER LITE WHITE UNDER THE LIGHTS: This weekend, the white colors of Miller Lite will once again adorn the iconic No. 2 Ford Fusion under the lights at Richmond International Raceway.
· LAST RACE BEFORE THE CHASE: This weekend marks the end of the NSCS regular season and while the No. 2 Miller Lite team has already secured a spot in the Chase, the team is anxious to end the season with a victory and build some momentum heading into the postseason.
· STAYING IN THE SEAT: After a rare Sunday night race at Atlanta, Keselowski and the No. 2 Team Penske crew tested at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, along with teammate Joey Logano and the No. 22 team. With the Richmond race on Saturday night, Keselowski will have driven his Ford Fusion seven of nine days beginning in Atlanta and ending Saturday night under the lights.
· MEET BRAD: Keselowski will make an appearance for Miller Lite in nearby Mechanicsville, VA this Thursday, Sept. 4, at Marty’s Grill located at 9357 Atlee Road. The appearance will start at 7:30 pm ET.
· MOVING ON UP: With just one week to go until the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase begins, Joey Logano was able to move up one position in the Chase Grid standings following his 14th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday night. That means that based on his current position in the point standings (fourth) and his three wins this season, Logano would be the third-seeded driver when NASCAR’s “playoffs” begin at Chicagoland Speedway next weekend.
· DEFENDING WINNER: Logano comes into the weekend at Richmond International Raceway as the defending race winner. The last time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visited the .75-mile track in April, Logano took the lead late after a furious four-car battle between he, teammate Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon. It was Logano’s first career win at Richmond and his second of the season.
· A JACK OF ALL… TRACKS: With his win at Bristol Motor Speedway just two weeks ago, his sixth-career Sprint Cup Series victory, Logano has now earned a win at six different sized tracks. Logano has won at the .75-mile Richmond, one-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, two-mile Michigan International Speedway, 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway and the .533-mile Bristol track.
· CONTINUED STATISTICAL SUCCESS: Despite his first finish outside of the top 10 since New Hampshire, Logano continued to be a threat up front at Atlanta and the Shell-Pennzoil Ford has continued to prove to be one of the fastest cars week-in and week-out. Logano now leads the series in average mid-race running position, average finish, laps in the top five and quality passes. His driver rating is the second-best in the series behind point leader Jeff Gordon and he ranks fourth in total laps led.
· THE HOMETOWN SHOWDOWN: Logano will head back to his home state of Connecticut next month to race for a cause at his foundation’s inaugural Hometown Showdown Driven by AutoTrader.com. The friendly go-karting competition is set for Thursday, September 18 from 3:30-9:00 p.m. ET at On Track Karting in Wallingford, Conn. The night will provide an opportunity for fans to test their racing skills against Logano and other participants in a fun competition. In addition to the on-track racing, the event will host a variety of activities, such as a silent auction, a raffle and plenty of opportunities to interact with Logano.
THE BROADCAST
Race: Federated Auto Parts 400
Track: Richmond International Raceway
Race Start Time: 7:30 pm ET
Radio Broadcast: Live on MRN & SIRIUS XM NASCAR Channel 90
TV Schedule
Friday
Friday
Sunday
1:00 pm ET, Final Practice (ESPN2)
5:30 pm ET, Qualifying (ESPN2)
7:30 pm ET, Federated Auto Parts 400 (ABC)
THE Q&A
BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD
YOU HAD A STRONG PERFORMANCE IN THE SPRING RACE AT RICHMOND. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS WEEKEND?
“We did have a strong run at Richmond earlier this year. We led quite a few laps and we had a Ford Fusion that was capable of winning. This is another one of the tracks where our results are not indicative of our performance. We need to fix that this weekend. I enjoy racing at Richmond as it has great short-track racing. This is one of those places that the driver has to be up on the wheel and also take care of the car. It is also a place where pit-lane performance is crucial since the laps are so fast. This Miller Lite team is capable of winning and that is what we intend to do this Saturday night.”
PAUL WOLFE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD
THE TEAM IS LOCKED INTO THE CHASE. DOES THAT AFFECT HOW YOU APPROACH THIS RACE?
“We pretty much approach every race in a similar fashion. The preparation starts from the moment we finished the race the last time we were at Richmond. We are constantly fine tuning, learning from each race and applying those lessons to our program. Since this is the last race before the chase, and we are locked in, we have the ability to be aggressive in our approach and execution during the race. We have had some good runs here, but we’ve not put it all together yet, and that is what we are looking to do this weekend.”
JOEY LOGANO, NO. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD
WITH JUST ONE RACE REMAINING BEFORE THE CHASE, DO YOU FEEL THAT THE TEAM IS WHERE YOU NEED IT TO BE?
“I think so. I think you go back and look at our performance over the last month or so, we have been among the top three or four teams in the garage and that is where we want to be. Some people will look at the results from last weekend and think we lost a little something, but we ran in the top five all night long. I think we had a shot to win the race if we didn’t have a small problem in the pits and then get wrecked late in the race by a slow car on two tires, we easily would have finished in the top three and that’s what our team knows. We have been on it the last few weeks and that is what you want going into the Chase. You want to have everything clicking and I think the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford team is clicking right now.”
YOU ARE COMING INTO THE WEEKEND HAVING WON THE RICHMOND RACE EARLIER THIS YEAR. CAN YOU WIN BACK-TO-BACK AT RICHMOND?
“I still can’t believe that I won at Richmond. That was one of those tracks that I’ve just struggled at most of the time during my career. I was able to run well at the first race last year, but in the fall race we just missed it. So to go out there and run as fast as we did that day and then run away with it at the end was fun. That was probably one of the best battles I’ve ever had for the lead of a race as well. It was just a great race and a great weekend. Now I know what I want and what I need at Richmond. That’s a pretty cool feeling to have and something to look forward to going into the weekend.”
