SRT Motorsports – RAM Camping World Truck Series Race Advance
VFW 200 – Michigan International Speedway
Saturday, August 18, 2012
www.media.chrysler.com
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 29 Cooper Standard RAM Crew Chief: Jeff Stankiewicz
Career Stats: Starts: 52 Wins: 0 Top Fives: 4 Top 10s: 7 Poles: 1 Laps Led: 125
2012 Season Stats: Starts: 4 Wins: 0 Top Fives: 3 Top 10s: 3 Poles: 0 Laps Led: 51
• Has back-to-back second-place finishes in two most recent NCWTS starts at Charlotte (race No. 5) and Kentucky (race No. 8).
• Has finished third or better in three of his four starts this season.
• Average finish of 8.5 in four races.
• First NCWTS start came at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in April 2004 with family-owned team.
• First pole came at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park in June 2007.
• Has one previous NCWTS start at Michigan (2005); he exited the race early with engine issues, finishing 35th.
• Seeking to become the first father-son pair to win a race in NCWTS history. Father Bob won the 1997 event at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway behind the wheel of his No. 29 RAM. The elder Keselowski finished 3.059 seconds ahead of second-place Jack Sprague and led the race twice for 82 of 200 laps, the most of any driver.
• The No. 29 team is sixth in the NCWTS owner point standings, 35 behind leader Tom Deloach (No. 17).
• Has three career second-place finishes, most recently at Kentucky in 2012 (race No. 8).
RAM QUOTES “There’s never been a father-son combination to win in the Camping World Truck Series and I’d like to be the first one to do it. I think that would be really cool. I’m probably more motivated about that or more motivated for that reason than I am for the reason to join the 24 or 25 crowd (to win in all three NASCAR Series). We’re close. We’re getting closer. I know we’ve had some seconds and thirds in this deal. It’s a lot harder when you do it with your own team versus a Cup-affiliated team, that’s for sure. It makes it that much more worthwhile. Being able to come back to Michigan with some success in the profession that I’ve chosen is very rewarding.” — Brad Keselowski
RAM NUMBERS AT MICHIGAN
• RAM has two wins at Michigan – Robert Pressley (2002) and Brendan Gaughan (2003).
• RAM has four poles at Michigan with four different drivers in four consecutive races: Stacy Compton (1999), Jamie McMurray (2000), Ted Musgrave (2002) and Jason Leffler (2003).
• RAM drivers have racked up 13 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes at Michigan.
• The most RAM drivers to finish inside the top 10 in a race at Michigan are six in 2003.
RAM IN THE CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
• Bobby Hamilton (2004) and Ted Musgrave (2005) won the season championship driving a RAM.
• RAM has captured the manufacturer’s championship three times in the 17-year history of the series – 2001, 2003 and 2004.
• Tony Raines gave RAM its first win in the series in 1997, winning at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo.
• RAM won 15 of the 24 NCWTS races during the 2001 season, 13 of 25 in 2003 and 11 of 25 in 2004.
• There have been 428 races in the NCWTS beginning at Phoenix International Raceway on Feb. 2, 1995. There were three RAM drivers – Joe Bessey, Bob Keselowski and Walker Evans – in that first 33-truck starting field.
RAM TALK “I feel really confident about our chances. This is the race last year that I felt like we had a shot at winning. We were running up there in the top two or three most of the last part of the race and got caught up in an accident. We’re taking the same RAM that Brad has raced most of the year. I feel really good about it.” –Jeff Stankiewicz, Crew Chief, No. 29 Cooper Standard RAM
