News

Brad Keselowski
No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger
Carfax 400
Michigan International Speedway
August 15, 2010

No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger News and Notes
• This Week’s Charger… The No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-726 during Sunday’s Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway. This chassis last competed at the first race at Pocono Raceway in June.
• No. 12 Penske Dodge in 2010... After 22 events, Keselowski and the No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger team currently sit 25th in the Cup Series driver point and owner point standings.
• Homecoming for Keselowski… The name Keselowski is racing royalty in the state of Michigan. A native of Rochester Hills, Mich., Brad Keselowski will be returning to his “home” track this weekend for the second time as a member of Penske Racing.
• Michigan Triumvirate… The names Penske, Keselowski and Dodge carry a lot of weight in the state of Michigan. All have deep roots running through the Wolverine State. The three will come together this weekend as Keselowski will drive the red No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger for Roger Penske at MIS.
• Cup Series Speedway Stats… In 21 career speedway starts in the Cup Series, Keselowski has accumulated two top-10 finishes and has led a total of three laps. 
• The Rest is History... Penske Racing has enjoyed considerable success at MIS, a track that used to be owned by Roger Penske. In 83 Cup Series starts at the venue, Penske Racing drivers have recorded six wins, two pole awards and 23 top-five finishes. The organization made its first start at the track in August of 1972 with Dave Marcis behind the wheel of the No. 16 entry.

Brad Keselowski on how the spoiler affected the cars in the first race at Michigan
“I think the new spoiler affects us everywhere we go, with the exception of a Martinsville. It certainly made a difference in the first race at Michigan. The draft was a little bigger than normal. I think the racing through the corners was some of the best that we’ve seen. The overall top speed is slower, but the corner speed and grip is higher. It will be interesting to see how much we learned from that first race that we can apply as we go back a second time. I know that it’s been something we’ve really placed an emphasis on because I’m sure that racing will change again, for the better.”

Brad Keselowski on whether he supports a style change to the current Cup Series car
“There has been a lot of talk about changing the styling of the Cup car to match what we now have in the Nationwide Series. I think all of the drivers would enjoy seeing a style change to get back to the days when the manufacturers had more identity. In my opinion it would be great for the sport. ‘What wins on Sunday, sells on Monday’ is a slogan that helped build NASCAR to where it is today. Fans would be able to really get behind their manufacturer. Hopefully, they will get behind Dodge.”

Crew chief Jay Guy on preparing for the second race at Michigan International Speedway
“We have been working really hard on our intermediate program recently and I’m confident that we’ll see the fruits of that labor this weekend. We are bringing our best car to Brad and Roger’s home track and I feel like the mechanical and aerodynamic balance is really well-suited for Michigan. The transition to the spoiler has leveled the playing field a bit in the Cup Series. It’s something that we’ve paid extra attention to over the last few weeks – really since the first Michigan race – to better understand what Brad needs so that we can put him in position to run up front.”