Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes NNS Race Advance STP 300 Chicagoland Speedway Saturday, June 4, 2011
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T
Career Starts: 152
Wins: 12
Top Fives: 65
Top 10s: 91
Poles: 8
Career Highlights:
· Keselowski’s last NASCAR Nationwide Series win came at Gateway last fall (16 races).
· He is the reigning NASCAR Nationwide champion.
· Earned Penske Racing its first NASCAR champion last season.
· In 2010, set career-bests in wins (6), top five’s (26), top 10s (29) and poles (5).
· Set a NASCAR record 102 consecutive Nationwide Series races without a DNF (Did Not Finish) that ended at this year’s season-opening race at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
· First Nationwide victory came at Nashville Superspeedway (2008).
KESELOWSKI AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
· Keselowski is making his fifth career Nationwide Series start at Chicagoland Speedway.
· Highest starting position: Second – 2010
· Highest finishing position: Third – 2008
· Average starting position: 15.5
· Average finishing position: 14.0
· Laps Led: 31
· Completed 799 of 803 laps run at Chicagoland
DID YOU KNOW
· Penske Racing’s Sam Hornish Jr. will be piloting the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T on Friday at Chicagoland as Brad Keselowski will be in Kansas for Sprint Cup Series qualifying.
· No Nationwide race winner at Chicagoland has started on the front row.
DODGE IN THE NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
· Dodge won its first Nationwide Series championship last year when Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski claimed the driver’s title.
· Dodge is fielding two entries in the Nationwide Series this year with Penske Racing. Sam Hornish Jr. joins teammate Keselowski for a limited race schedule in 2011.
· Dodge has 34 wins in the Nationwide Series, seven of which came in 2010.
STATS OF THE WEEK
· In four career NNS starts at Chicagoland, Keselowski has posted one top-five and one top-10 finish.
· Keselowski’s avg. finishing position this season: 11.4
· Keselowski has nine top-10 finishes in last 11 NNS races.
THE NUMBERS
· Dodge has two wins at Chicagoland Speedway. Justin Labonte won in 2004 and Casey Mears in 2006. Labonte’s win was by the closet margin in track history for the Nationwide Series — .418 seconds.
· In his 2010 Nationwide championship season, Brad Keselowski’s average finishing position was 5.2. His best start this season was second at Texas. His best finish of second also came at Texas.
FROM THE CREW CHIEF “Chicago is a pretty unique race track. It’s a very fast 1.5-mile oval, so you need to make sure that you have done your homework in the aerodynamic department. You also need mechanical grip because the track is very bumpy and the surface is becoming pretty worn. I really feel like we are making gains in our intermediate program and a trip to Victory Lane is not far off. That would be great validation for all of the hard work that the guys on this team are putting in each and every week. We’ll get there.” Todd Gordon, crew chief, No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T
DODGE QUOTE: “The most important thing you can do to help yourself with the non-companion weekends is surround yourself with good people. It’s so much easier when all you have to worry about is getting in the car. The logistics alone make it very taxing to go back and forth, so anything you can do to alleviate strain will pay off. At the end of the day, I love driving race cars and I love competing in both the Cup Series and the Nationwide Series. The enjoyment of being able to race in both series far outweighs any of the travel issues associated with it.” Brad Keselowski – No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger
