Brad Keselowski Texas Motor Speedway Event Preview

November 3, 2009


Brad Keselowski
No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger
Texas Motor Speedway – Dickies 500
November 8, 2009

No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger News and Notes
• This Week’s Charger… The No. 12 Penske Dodge team will use chassis PRS-708 during Sunday’s 500-mile event. PRS-708 is a brand new car to the No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger fleet.
• Welcome Aboard... Rising star Brad Keselowski takes over the driving duties of the No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger beginning this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The 25-year-old Keselowski will drive the Penske Dodge for the three remaining races on the 2009 Cup Series schedule in preparation for the team’s quest for the 2010 championship. Keselowski will continue driving duties for the No. 88 NASCAR Nationwide Series entry through the end of this season, before driving the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge for Penske Racing in the 2010 Nationwide Series.
• Media Availability… Keselowski will be available behind the No. 12 Penske Dodge hauler on Friday, November 6 at 3 p.m. CT to answer questions from members of the media. 
• Back Where He Started… In 2008, Keselowski made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, driving the No. 25 car. He started in the 37th position, but battled all day to finish inside the top-20.
• Tested and Approved… Keselowski and the No. 12 Penske Dodge team spent Monday and Tuesday testing at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 in February.
• Watch and Listen… The Dickies 500 will be seen live on Sunday, November 8 on the ABC television network. Race coverage is scheduled to begin at 2:30 pm ET. The event will also be heard live on PRN Radio as well as Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 128.

Brad Keselowski on driving at Texas Motor Speedway
“It sure seems like a lot has changed in one year. The team built me a brand new race car which it is pretty exciting to have a new car for my first start at Penske Racing. This is an exciting opportunity. I feel like we are going to go there and run competitively and hopefully be able to help Kurt [Busch] out at the same time. Texas [Motor Speedway] is like the other mile-and-a-half tracks, similar in a sense to Chicagoland Speedway. We have run very well here in the past.  I feel pretty good about it; it’s more the past success that makes me feel good here.

“I think the biggest hurdle for me is to look around and see how everything works on the No. 12 Penske Dodge team. I need to be very observant and try to understand how we do things. There are a million little things that are going to be different. The most challenging part will be adjusting to how things are done, but I feel we are all up to the task.”

Roy McCauley on racing at Texas Motor Speedway
“Texas is one of the fastest places we race. You carry a lot of speed into the corners so the car has to be comfortable to drive. I am really looking forward to having Brad [Keselowski] in the car. He has proven that he has a tremendous amount of ability. He has been to Texas [Motor Speedway] before, which helps us get ahead of the curve. Our biggest hurdle is going to be trying to learn how to communicate with one another. We have a couple of test sessions under our belt together now, so I feel we will hit the ground running.”

 

Brad Keselowski NASCAR Cup Series Career Totals
Races      Wins      Top-Fives      Top-10s      Poles      Money Won
   14              1                1                      4                 0          $1,458,800


Brad Keselowski 2009 Totals
Races      Wins      Top-Fives      Top-10s      Poles      Money Won
   12              1                1                      4                0           $1,291,950