News

Brad Keselowski
No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger
Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
Pocono Raceway
August 1, 2010

No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger News and Notes
• This Week’s Charger… The No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-733 during Sunday’s 500-mile race at Pocono Raceway. This is a brand new chassis to the No. 12 team.
• No. 12 Penske Dodge in 2010... After 20 events, Keselowski and the No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger team currently sit 25th in the Cup Series driver point standings and 26th in the owner point standings. The team moved up one spot in both rankings following its 19th-place finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last Sunday. 
• Flat-Track Qualifying… Keselowski has shown a propensity for qualifying well at on the flat 2.5-mile ovals. Pocono and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are included in that genre of racetrack and Keselowski has started 11th in the two races contested on those tracks this season.
• A Family Affair… Keselowski’s father, 1989 ARCA RE/MAX Series champion Bob Keselowski, made his only NASCAR Cup Series start at Pocono Raceway in 1994. Brad’s uncle, Ron Keselowski, picked up a win at the 2.5-mile triangle in the now-defunct USAC stock car division in April of 1974.
• Homecoming for Guy… Team crew chief Jay Guy will be returning to his home state this weekend. Guy is originally from Lancaster, Pa. He grew up watching races at the Pocono oval.
• The Rest is History... Penske Racing has enjoyed considerable success at Pocono Raceway. In 74 Cup Series starts, Penske Racing drivers have recorded eight wins, five pole awards and 17 top-five finishes. The organization made its first start at the track in August of 1975 with Bobby Allison behind the wheel of the No. 16 entry.

Brad Keselowski on returning to Pocono Raceway for his second-career race
“I enjoy the unique challenge that racing at Pocono provides. Obviously, the more you run at a track, the more you are going to learn about what it takes to be fast there. I should be a much better Pocono racer this weekend with the experience of that first race under my belt. (The track) has characteristics of Indianapolis and we had a strong car there last weekend. We just struggled to find some racing luck. The No. 12 Penske Dodge team has run better than our finishes have indicated over the last month.”

Brad Keselowski on visiting Pocono Raceway as a child
“Pocono is a place that I’ve been to many times with my family. My dad always ran well there in the family ARCA car and those are my earliest recollections of the track. He did make one Cup start there, which is pretty cool. His experience is something that I’ve definitely leaned on as I get up to speed. It can be a tricky place, but it has the reputation of being a place where you can run well without a lot of experience. That gives me confidence that we can grab a good finish this weekend. It would be awesome to get Jay (Guy) a win at his home track.”

Crew chief Jay Guy on preparing for the second Pocono race of 2010
“We have a much bigger notes package heading into the second race at Pocono. That gives us a lot of confidence that we can improve on our effort from June. Going back to these tracks for a second time – and getting better results – is very important to the growth process of this team. We were able to post one of our best qualifying efforts of the season for the first race, but we had a mechanical failure that kept us from a good race finish. There has definitely been improvement in this team over the last few weeks. I see us carrying that into Pocono this weekend.”