Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes – NSCS Race Advance – Phoenix 2

Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes

NSCS Race Advance

Kobalt Tools 500

Phoenix International Raceway

Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011

DODGE AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

·   Dodge is seeking its first win at Phoenix International Raceway in Sprint Cup competition.

·   Dodge has four poles at PIR since returning to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 (Ryan Newman – 3, Casey Atwood).

·   Kurt Busch is the only active Dodge driver with a win at PIR. The victory came in 2005 prior to joining Penske Racing and Dodge in 2006.

CHASE FAST FACTS

·   Dodge’s Brad Keselowski qualified eighth and finished 24th at Texas.  He is fifth in the Chase standings, 49 points behind the leader.

·   Dodge’s Kurt Busch qualified 14th and finished 30th at Texas.  He is ninth in the Chase standings, 87 points behind the leader.

·   Brad Keselowski’s average finish in the eight Chase races is 11.375.

·   Kurt Busch’s average finish in the eight Chase races is 16.875.

·   The last time two Penske Racing Dodges qualified for the Chase was 2005 (Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman).

·   Dodge has not won a Sprint Cup championship since the Chase format was introduced in 2004.

·   Dodge drivers have won four Sprint Cup championships: David Pearson (1966), Bobby Isaac (1970), Richard Petty (1974, 1975).

THE DODGE BOYS

·   Dodge has 212 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories.

·   Dodge has five victories this season, three by Brad Keselowski and two by Kurt Busch.  Dodge’s most recent win came at Dover.  Busch led five times for 90 of the 400 laps.

·   Dodge teams have recorded 52 victories since the manufacturer’s return to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 after being out of the sport since 1977.

DODGE IN THE CHASE AT PHOENIX INT’L RACEWAY

·   2004:  Two Dodge drivers earned Chase berths – Ryan Newman and Jeremy Mayfield.  Newman started from the pole and finished second, Mayfield started 24th and finished 21st.

·   2005:  Dodge was represented by three drivers in the Chase – Ryan Newman, Rusty Wallace and Jeremy Mayfield.  Newman finished 12th, Mayfield 24th and Wallace 29th.

·   2006:  Kasey Kahne started 11th and finished seventh.

·   2007:  Kurt Busch started ninth and finished 12th.

·   2008:  There were no Dodges in the 2008 Chase field.

·   2009:  Kurt Busch started second, led 69 laps and finished sixth. Kasey Kahne started fourth and finished 15th.

·   2010:  Kurt Busch, the only Dodge driver in the Chase, qualified third and finished ninth.

2011 CHASE to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings (After 34 of 36 Events) 1.  Carl Edwards        2316                    7.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.                  -79 2.  Tony Stewart                 -3                     8.  Jeff Gordon                                 -81 3.  Kevin Harvick       -33             9.  Kurt Busch                  -87 4.  Matt Kenseth        -38             10.  Denny Hamlin         -99 5.  Brad Keselowski    -49                      11.  Kyle Busch                         -100 6.  Jimmie Johnson    -55                       12.  Ryan Newman                  -103

FROM THE DODGE ENGINEER: “The new Phoenix is bigger, wider and faster.  It has more banking, a new smoother racing surface and could be a disaster for engineers. The newly reconfigured facility will make racing better, more exciting and more competitive – eventually. But the problem for engineers this week is the surface is so new, there’s only one racing groove that has any grip.  That means passing will be extremely difficult unless they figure out a way to make the cars grab the outside line of the corners. Springs, shocks, sway bars, and track bars will be hot topics of conversation in every practice session before the race begins on Sunday.” Howard Comstock, Dodge Engineering

DODGE MOTORSPORTS QUOTE OF THE WEEK “One of the drawbacks of a new surface is that there will only be one racing groove until the track cures.  The good thing is that shouldn’t take long with it being in the desert.  That being said, track position will be very important this weekend and that will place a big emphasis on qualifying. Phoenix is still a mix of intermediate and short-track setups, but with the smooth surface you can get a little more aggressive to get more speed out of the car.  I don’t foresee there being much falloff in the tires throughout the race, so there will be a lot of strategy that will come into play.  The Miller Lite Dodge has shown speed on all types of tracks this year so we feel good about having the speed necessary to win this weekend.” Paul Wolfe, crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger

2011 SPRINT CUP SERIES SEASON BEST ·   Kurt Busch                          Start: 1st (Kansas1, Pocono1 & Michigan1)                                                Finish: 1st (Infineon, Dover2)

·   Brad Keselowski             Start: 1st (Charlotte1)                                                Finish: 1st (Kansas1, Pocono2, Bristol2)

·   Robby Gordon                 Start: 30th (Daytona1)                                                Finish: 16th (Daytona1)

DODGE DRIVER QUOTES – KOBALT TOOLS 500 – PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY “The scenic location, the grandstands and the facilities may remain the same, but this is definitely not your old PIR that everyone had gotten accustomed to.  It’s a case of throwing all your old notes and data out the window because it is like racing at a brand new track. All the knowledge you’ve gained and logged before there doesn’t apply at all now.  It’s just a totally different track.  After the testing we all did there, we’re coming back convinced there’s only going to be one groove and it won’t be very wide.  Restarts will be treacherous. We’ll see how it shakes out.  It will be a ‘fill the tank up with gas and ride it to the end’ situation with how the tires did not and likely will not be wearing out there this weekend. Kurt Busch, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T

“You have to applaud Phoenix for having the forethought to re-surface the track before it became a problem.  No one can deny that the surface was aging, but it did produce some great racing.  I have seen the new track and I truly believe that once it gets some age on it, it will be a fantastic place to race.  Racing two-wide down the backstretch will be exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. However, it may take a couple of years for it to get to where we can do all of those cool things.  I know they are taking great measures to make sure we can put on the best show possible this weekend.  I’m just excited to get the Miller Lite Dodge out there and see what it’s all about.” Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

Brad Keselowski on the Chase for the Championship thus far: “These last two weeks definitely haven’t been what we were looking for with the Miller Lite Dodge.  We need to find ways to finish races in the spots we deserve because we’ve had much better cars than where we’ve finished lately.  This weekend at Phoenix is wide open and anything can happen so the points could be heavily altered going into Homestead.  But to look at what Tony (Stewart) is doing, it’s been amazing.  He came into the Chase with guns blazing.  I think we’ve had the cars, minus Dover, to compete with him and Carl, but we just haven’t had the luck.  Luck, just like performance, can go in cycles. Hopefully we get it back on our side over the last two weekends and that will carry over into 2012.”