DODGE AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY · Dodge has four Daytona 500 wins (Richard Petty (2), Ward Burton and Ryan Newman). · Dodge has 15 Sprint Cup wins at Daytona International Speedway. · Dodge won the Budweiser Shootout and a Gatorade 150 Duel during last year’s Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. · Dodge had a 1-2 finish in the 2008 Daytona 500 when Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge) and Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) claimed the top two spots in the 50th running of the “Great American Race”. Dodge drivers finished in six of the first eight positions. · Ward Burton’s win at the 2002 Daytona 500 was Dodge’s first Cup win at Daytona since Richard Petty’s visited victory lane in 1974.
DODGE NEWS AND NOTES · Brad Keselowski set NSCS career bests in wins (3), top-fives (10) and top-10s (14) in 2011. · A.J. Allmendinger’s career best finish of third came at the 2009 Daytona 500 while driving a Dodge Charger for Richard Petty Motorsports. · Todd Gordon is the new crew chief of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger. Gordon was Brad Keselowski’s crew chief last season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
THE DODGE BOYS · Dodge has 212 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories. · Dodge’s most recent win came at Dover Motor Speedway. Dodge claimed five Sprint Cup victories in 2011. · Dodge teams have posted 52 wins since the manufacturer’s return to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 after being out of the sport since 1977. · Dodge has posted wins each season since its return in 2001 including seven wins twice (2002 and 2006).
DODGE HISTORICAL DATA · First Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win: Lee Petty, 2/1/53, West Palm Beach, Fla., 100 miles, .5-mile track. · Last Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win: Kurt Busch, 10/2/2011, AAA 400, Dover Motor Speedway, 119.413 mph avg. speed. · First Dodge Daytona 500 Win: Richard Petty, 02/18/1973, 157.205 mph avg. speed. · Last Dodge Daytona 500 Win: Ryan Newman, 02/17/2008, 152.672 mph avg. speed.
DID YOU KNOW? · Brad Keselowski earned a career high three NSCS wins in 2011 (Kansas-1, Pocono-2 and Bristol-2) · Dodge’s most recent pole for the Daytona 500 was earned by Bill Elliott in 2001 (183.565 mph). · Dodge is an Official Passenger Car of NASCAR. · Robby Gordon won the first of the two qualifying races for the Daytona 500 in 2003.
DAYTONA INT’L SPEEDWAY FACTS · The Daytona 500 qualifying record of 210.364 mph was set by Bill Elliott in 1987. · There have been 10 different winners in the last 10 Daytona 500s. · The 2012 Daytona 500 will be the first race in the history of NASCAR that Sprint Cup Series cars will be using electronic fuel injection (EFI) systems. · No driver has swept all three Speedweeks races.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS · First-time winners of the “Great American Race” have won the last six and eight of the last 10 Daytona 500s. · Robby Gordon has eight career top 10s in restrictor plate races. · The Daytona 500 record for lead changes of 74 was set last year. · Brad Keselowski will be making his third Daytona 500 start. His best finish is 29th in 2011. · Robby Gordon has a career best Daytona 500 finish of sixth set in 2003.
TALKING SHOP WITH PENSKE RACING “The thing that we didn’t know coming to Daytona is how the cars were going to race in a pack. At the test, we had some packs, but nobody was really aggressive and trying to move. The phenomenon of speedway racing really doesn’t occur until you get 43 guys motivated to go after a checker flag. We saw that in the Shootout and once we get to Sunday, good luck to the guys that think they’re going to take it easy because it’s going to be crazy.” Travis Geisler, Director of Competition, Penske Racing
DODGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK “We can’t wait for the 2012 NASCAR season to kick off this weekend. We’re coming off of a very successful season last year with our two Dodge drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Brad (Keselowski) is a proven winner and we’re confident A.J. (Allmendinger) will be a winner for us too. Our partnership with Penske Racing has produced results, so our expectations this season are to win races and compete for the Sprint Cup.” Ralph Gilles, President & CEO – Street and Racing Technology Brand (SRT) and Motorsports
DODGE DRIVER QUOTES “Our cars are fast. With all the resources going into our Dodge race cars, we have good stuff. I think we’ll have speed, it just matters how the race plays out. I think that if we can work together, going through the Shootout, Duels and getting into the 500, then we’ll have a pretty good idea on how the racing is going to be. More than anything else, I was excited about how Brad and I worked together (in the Shootout). If we can do that, whether it’s a tandem or pack, if we can stick together as a group, we have a chance to being up front at the end of the race.” A.J. Allmendinger, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger
DO YOU LET YOURSELF DAYDREAM ABOUT WINNING THE DAYTONA 500? “I think about a moment. To me, when I look at a win, I always think of a moment that created the win. Do you allow yourself to win the 500? Yes. I think about the pass for the win or whatever moment it takes to get the win. That’s the moment that I think about. The wins that I have been fortunate to have, the memories that I have from them are those moments; the moment that you take the lead. Those are the moments that I dream of.” Brad Keselowski, No 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
