News

Brad Keselowski
No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger
Autism Speaks 400 presented by HERSHEY®’S Milk & Milkshakes 
Dover International Speedway
May 16, 2010

No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger News and Notes
• This Week’s Charger… The No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-713 during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway. Keselowski drove chassis PRS-713 to a 21st-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in February.
• No. 12 Penske Dodge in 2010... After 11 events, Keselowski and the No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger team currently sit 25th in the Cup Series driver and owner point standings. Keselowski gained one position, while making up substantial ground in overall points, after his 12th place finish at Darlington Raceway last Saturday night.
• First Timer… Keselowski will be making his first NASCAR Cup Series start at the “Monster Mile” this weekend. There are four remaining tracks on the Cup Series schedule where he has yet to make a series start: Pocono Raceway, Infineon Raceway, Watkins Glen International and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• Keeping the Momentum Going… Keselowski’s first top-10 finish with Penske Racing seems to be just on the horizon. He has finished no worse than 16th in six of the last seven NASCAR Cup Series races.
• The Rest is History... Penske Racing made its first start at Dover International Speedway in the 1972 Delaware 500 with Dave Marcis driving the No. 16 entry. Over the next four decades, Penske Racing enjoyed a lot of success on the tough one-mile oval. In 76 starts, the organization has recorded six wins, 10 poles and 22 top-five finishes.
• Take Me Out to The Ballgame… On Thursday, May 13, Keselowski will throw out the first pitch of the New York Yankees/Detroit Tigers baseball game at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit. The hometown appearance is in advance of the upcoming NASCAR race weekend at Michigan International Speedway, June 11-13.

Brad Keselowski on racing on concrete tracks like Dover International Speedway
“Dover is one of my favorite tracks and one of the reasons is that it is concrete. I love concrete racetracks. They provide a different kind of challenge than asphalt. If you look at the different types of tracks, concrete is almost its own genre. It requires a different driving style. It tends to ‘rubber up’ differently and the adjustments you have to make are different as a result.”

Brad Keselowski on the roller coaster aspect of Dover International Speedway
“Dover is very much like a roller coaster that you are in control of. The drops are very severe and the load that is put on your body doesn’t go left to right, it goes straight down. So you feel yourself essentially getting shorter when you go into the corners and your body compresses. Fighter pilots call that a ‘z-load’ axis. Coming out of the corners, you are almost driving uphill and blind. It’s very hard on your body, very physically demanding, and it can take its toll on you after a long race.”

Crew chief Jay Guy on preparing for Dover International Speedway
“You don’t get much of a break when you go from Darlington to Dover. Dover is another very tough racetrack and it’s similar to Darlington in that you have to race the track first and the other competitors second. Track position is important, so you have to place more of an emphasis on qualifying. The track will change a lot throughout the race so the biggest concern is making sure you keep up with that through your adjustments. This is one of Brad’s favorite tracks and we would like to tame the ‘Monster Mile’ this weekend.”