CHASE FOR THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP
Chase Race No. 3 – Dover Motor Speedway – Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011
· Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
o Finished 13th in first race at Dover in May (career best at Dover)
o Started ninth, finished on lead lap
o Will be making his fifth start at “The Monster Mile”
o Has eight top-10 finishes in last night races
o Dover avg. start: 20.0 Dover avg. finish: 17.7
· Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T
o Finished 14th in first race at Dover in May
o Making his 23rd career Dover start
o Has five top-five and seven top-10 finishes at Dover
o Has led 328 laps at “The Monster Mile”
o Career best Dover finish: Fourth (Fall – 2006 and 2010).
o Dover avg. start: 10.9 Dover avg. finish: 18.7
Results: Chase Race No. 2 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Sunday, Sept. 25
Summary: Brad Keselowski led Team Dodge with a runner-up finish – his eighth top five of the season. Keselowski started ninth, but struggled to run inside the top-20 the first half of the 300-lap event. Crew chief Paul Wolfe used race strategy, choosing not to pit on lap 174 under caution, to gain track position. Fuel mileage keyed Keselowski to a second-place finish, a career best at Loudon, moving him to third in the Chase point standings. Teammate Kurt Busch qualified fifth, but lost track position early and was never able to recover as the race had only three cautions. Busch finished 22nd and dropped to ninth in the Chase standings.
· Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
o Qualified: 16th Finished: 2nd
o Points Position: 3rd Gain/Loss: +3 Behind Leader: -11
o Highest points position in Sprint Cup career.
o Average finish of 4.55 in his last nine Sprint Cup races (best among all Chase drivers)
o Eighth top-10 finish in his last nine Sprint Cup starts
o Has completed every lap of last nine Sprint Cup races
o Has led laps in first two Chase races
· Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T
o Qualified: 5th Finished: 22nd
o Points Position: 9th Gain/Loss: -5 Behind Leader: -28
o Worse finish since Michigan (34th) in August
o Led once for four laps
o Only Sprint Cup driver to remain inside the top 10 in driver standings all season
Results: Chase Race No. 1 – Chicagoland Speedway – Monday, Sept. 19
Summary: Brad Keselowski earned a fifth-place finish in his first career Chase race. After qualifying sixth, Keselowski was a top-12 car most of the race. He managed to stretch his fuel window for the race’s final 53 laps, something several other lead-lap cars were unable to do (four ran out of fuel). Kurt Busch qualified third, led the most laps (63) en route to his 15th top 10 of the season. He finished sixth. Keselowski started the Chase 11th in the standings, 12 points behind the leader. Busch started the Chase nine points behind the leader in seventh.
· Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T
o Qualified: 3rd Finished: 6th
o Points position: 4th Gain/Loss: +3 Behind Leader: -11
o Led 64 of 267 laps – most by any driver
o Seventh top-five and 15th top-10 of the season.
· Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
o Qualified: 6th Finished: 5th
o Points Position: 6th Gain/Loss: +5 Behind Leader: -14
o Seventh consecutive top-12 finish.
o Career-best Chicagoland Speedway finish.
o Seventh top-five and 11th top-10 of the season.
o Since Indianapolis (August), has scored more points than any other NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, 289 to Jeff Gordon’s 262
DODGE AT DOVER MOTOR SPEEDWAY
· Dodge has five wins at Dover: Richard Petty (2), Ryan Newman (3).
· Petty gave Dodge its first Dover victory at the 1974 Delaware 500. He led 491 of the 500 laps.
· Dodge has earned 12 pole positions at Dover. The first by Bobby Isaac (129.538 mph) in 1970 and most recent by Ryan Newman (152.925 mph) at the spring event in 2007.
