** KESELOWSKI PRESS CONFERENCE NOTES TO FOLLOW **
BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T) Race Winner “You couldn’t ask for a better way to end the season. Not being able to win the championship, it’s good to be able to finish on a high note, winning the pole and the race today at Homestead. It’s a great exclamation point to the season for the whole Discount Tire Dodge team.”
WE HAVE A LOT OF FUN WATCHING THE RACING OUT THERE TONIGHT. IS IT THAT MUCH FUN BEHIND THE WHEEL? “Hell yeah, I mean, it is when you win. It was tough, it was frustrating, it was hot here in Miami and that’s what makes it worth it.”
WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY THAT YOU CAN APPLY TO THE CUP RACE TOMORROW? “Man, I can’t tell you that (smiles). Just driving the hell out of it; I’m going to drive hard I guess. And thanks to all the fans for coming out.”
SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger R/T) Finished Seventh “It was a pretty solid night for the Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger. We just didn’t have the short run that we needed late in the race to crack into the top five. We had our ups and downs all night. We felt that we had really good long-run speed in the car to compete all night. We just got down to the end of the race and it became a short-run race with all the cautions. We made a small change and it wasn’t enough to get us where we needed to be. We got stuck on the inside on that last restart; it slowed us down a bit. We were good. We just needed more short-run speed.”
HAS THE LAST FOUR RACES GIVEN YOU GUYS A GOOD BUILDING BLOCK HEADING INTO THE 2012 SEASON? “I think so. It’s not easy when you’re not running a full-time season, but we certainly didn’t waste any of the opportunities that we had all year. We raced to some top 10s, won at Phoenix and had another top 10 tonight. We need to continue to work on our short run speed. I think everyone on this team gained a lot of valuable experience and that can only be a positive thing heading into next year. Our race changes have been improving. Our team has become stronger in the pits. Everything that we’ve done the last four races has helped make us a team to contend with next season.”
TRAVIS GEISLER (Director of Competition, Penske Racing) “A great night. The last couple of weeks have been really good. To get Sam (Hornish) in victory lane with his Alliance Truck Parts Dodge last weekend at Phoenix and Brad (Keselowski) tonight in his Discount Tire Dodge is awesome. This is pretty sweet. It’s always great to go out on a high note. Our Nationwide program did a great job all year with six wins and six poles. To come here and beat Carl Edwards is a real testament to everyone that touches these Dodge Challengers. This is why we go racing to be able to share in great moments like this. It certainly makes the off-season a lot shorter.”
