News

Brad Keselowski
No. 12 AAA Insurance Dodge Charger
Auto Club Speedway – Auto Club 500
February 21, 2010

No. 12 AAA Insurance Dodge Charger News and Notes
• This Week’s Charger… The No. 12 AAA Insurance Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-713 during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway. PRS-713 is a brand new chassis to the No. 12 Dodge team.
• A First Time for Everything... This weekend mark’s Keselowski’s first Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway. He has made seven Nationwide Series starts at the two-mile oval with his best finish of fifth coming in his most recent race at the venue last October.  
• No. 12 AAA Insurance Dodge in 2010... After one event, Brad Keselowski and the No. 12 AAA Insurance Dodge team currently sit 36th in the Cup Series driver and owner point standings. Keselowski finished 36th in last weekend’s Daytona 500 after an early-race accident dropped the No. 12 back in the running order.
• Follow Me on Twitter… Fans can now follow Keselowski on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/keselowski. Followers can get a glimpse inside his everyday life while keeping up-to-date on the latest news for the No. 12 Dodge team.
• Watch and Listen… The Auto Club 500 will be seen live on Sunday, February 21 on FOX-TV. Race coverage is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. ET. The event will also be heard live on MRN Radio as well as Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 128.
• The Rest is History... Penske Racing earned consecutive Cup Series victories at Auto Club Speedway in 2000 and 2001, the most-recent with former driver Rusty Wallace. Additionally, the organization has captured four poles, eight top-five finishes and 19 top-10 results in 45 starts at the Fontana, Calif. oval built by Roger Penske.   

Brad Keselowski on this weekend’s race at Auto Club Speedway
“We need a good, solid finish this weekend in the No. 12 AAA Insurance Dodge Charger. Unfortunately we lost some points at Daytona when we had our tire issues, but we can get those back. It’s easier to make up ground at the beginning of the season than it is later in the year. Auto Club Speedway is a good track to start working our way back. It’s a ‘driver’s’ track, one with a lot of grooves that you can explore to find where your car is the most comfortable. We’ll be running anywhere between the apron and the wall and that’s why a lot of drivers like running there. I’m excited to have AAA Insurance on the car this weekend and it would be a great feeling to get them a win at their track.”

Crew chief Jay Guy on preparing a car for Auto Club Speedway
“The key to victory at Auto Club Speedway is having a car with great balance. The track is known for long green flag runs and the car tends to get looser the longer you run. It’s a delicate balance because you have to be loose to start a run. A tight racecar is no good either but the driver has to be able to hold on to it. That is a very fine line. In Brad we have a driver that can handle a loose racecar. In fact, he prefers the car to be loose rather than tight and his margin for error is pretty wide. That gives me confidence that we can put a winning car underneath him.”