DODGE AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
• Dodge has one win in 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sterling Marlin was the 2002 winner driving a Dodge.
• Dodge has earned three poles at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – 2004 (Marlin) 2007 (Kasey Kahne) and 2010 (Kurt Busch).
• In 10 career LVMS starts, Kurt Busch has never started outside of the top 10. His average starting position at the 1.5-mile track is an incredible 5.2, best among all drivers with at least one start.
DODGE NEWS AND NOTES
• Dodge started from the pole at last year’s event at LVMS with Kurt Busch posting a lap time of 26.614 seconds (188.719 mph).
• Kurt Bush won the first two restrictor-plate races of his career during Speedweeks at Daytona – Budweiser Shootout and Gatorade Duel.
• Dodge’s Brad Keselowski is 20th in the Sprint Cup driver standings, the first time he’s been in the top 20 in his career.
• In two first two Sprint Cup races this season, Dodge has led the second most laps (66) among the four participating manufacturers.
THE DODGE BOYS
• Dodge has 207 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories.
• Dodge’s most recent win came at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kurt Busch led 252 of 400 laps en route to victory in the Coca-Cola 600.
• Dodge claimed two Sprint Cup victories in 2010.
• Dodge teams have posted 47 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 it’s 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, Fla., 100 miles, .5-mile track.
• Last Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win: Kurt Busch, 5/30/2010, Charlotte, 600 miles, 1.5-mile track.
LAS VEGAS NUGGET
• The Busch Brothers started 1-2 at Las Vegas in 2009 – Kyle was on the pole and Kurt on the outside. Kurt also started on the outside pole in 2004.
• Kurt Busch’s best finish at LVMS – third in 2005.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS • After two NSCS races this season, only four of last year’s Chase drivers are in the top 10 in points (Kyle Busch -1st; Kurt Busch -2nd; Tony Stewart – 3rd and Jeff Gordon – 5th).
DID YOU KNOW?
• Brother’s Busch (Kyle and Kurt) currently sit 1-2 in the Sprint Cup driver point standings which hasn’t happened since the current position-based points structure in 1975. The last family to do so was Bobby and Davey Allison. They were 1-2 after the season-opening Daytona 500 in 1988.
• Dodge is an Official Passenger Car of NASCAR.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
• Dodge’s Kurt Busch leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver ratings at 113.7 (150.0 is perfect).
• Dodge’s Kurt Busch never ran a lap outside the top 10 under green flag racing last weekend at Phoenix.
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FAST FACTS
• In three of the last five races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the margin of victory was under one second.
• Qualifying has never been cancelled at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
DODGE MOTORSPORTS QUOTE OF THE WEEK “We have shown a lot of potential through the years in the Vegas races, but we’ve yet to be able to put together many strong showings from beginning to end. Last year’s race is pretty representative of how our history has been on the Vegas track.” Kurt Busch, driver No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T
FROM THE ENGINEER “Many said the season began at Daytona two weeks ago and others said the “real” season started at Phoenix last week. Well, if you’re a student of the Sprint Cup Series, you might want to consider that 11 of the 36 point races are contested on 1.5-mile, high-banked tracks. Maybe Las Vegas should be called the start of the season. Diversity in the shapes and sizes of the tracks that the Sprint Cup competes on is interesting, but the title is based on points and if you don’t have the setups to be competitive on the 1.5-mile tracks, you’re going to miss the opportunity to score big in almost a third of the races.” Howard Comstock, Dodge Motorsports Engineering
FROM THE CREW CHIEF “I was fortunate enough to be with Kyle (as his crew chief) when we won the Vegas race back in 2009. You could just sense that winning there was big – I mean really big. Seeing Kurt come into Victory Lane and congratulate his brother like he did really shot the importance factor of winning there into orbit. I know just how much that win meant to Kyle and it was a thrill to be part of such a huge hometown win like that.” Steve Addington, crew chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge
DODGE QUOTES “We’re coming back to Vegas hoping for the kind of change we’ve experienced at some of the other tracks recently. We’re really hoping for the type of turnaround that we’ve enjoyed at tracks like Charlotte (Motor Speedway) and Daytona (International Speedway). We’ve been able to taste success finally on those tracks and Las Vegas Motor Speedway is definitely No. 1 on my ‘hit list’ now.” Kurt Busch, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T
“Las Vegas in a Cup car is extremely fast, one of the fastest mile-and-a-half tracks that we visit. The key is running the whole race without getting into trouble. It’s such an ‘edge’ track and you have to really stay tuned in mentally. You need to concentrate on hitting your marks, but you also have to charge the corner. As a team I’m excited at how fast our cars have been to start the season. Hopefully, we’ll hit the jackpot this weekend with the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger.” Brad Keselowski, No 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T
“Track position is always important, but at Las Vegas it seems to be paramount. Clean air will make any car feel like it’s handling a little better. To get out front and enjoy that downforce you need to be able to get through the corners is key. Vegas is very fast for a mile-and-a-half track and it can be one of the most challenging places for setting up a car.” Paul Wolfe, crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
