News

Brad Keselowski
No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger
Irwin Tools Night Race
Bristol Motor Speedway
August 21, 2010

No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger News and Notes
• This Week’s Charger… The No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-720 during Saturday night’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). Keselowski drove this chassis to a 19th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August. 
• No. 12 Penske Dodge in 2010... After 23 events, Keselowski and the No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger team currently sit 25th in the Cup Series driver and owner point standings.
• Bristol Rewind… Keselowski had one of his strongest runs of the year at BMS in March. After starting the race from the 36th position, Keselowski made his way to the front of the field by utilizing smart driving, along with a great pit strategy by crew chief Jay Guy. Keselowski paced the field for 26 laps before crossing the finish line in 13th place.
• Keselowski NASCAR History at Bristol… In addition to his lone Cup Series race at Bristol, Keselowski has made seven career starts in the Nationwide Series and three starts in the Camping World Truck Series at the .533-mile BMS oval. He picked up the win in the 2008 fall Nationwide Series race at the track. Keselowski has finished outside the top-10 only once in the last six Nationwide Series races at BMS.
• Triple Threat… Keselowski will be one of only two drivers (Kyle Busch) competing in all three series at BMS this week.
• The Rest is History... Penske Racing has enjoyed its share of success at BMS. In 76 starts, the organization has produced eight wins, 10 poles, 22 top-five and 37 top-10 finishes at the track. Rusty Wallace earned seven of those wins and became one of the most-successful drivers in Bristol history during his time behind the wheel of the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing. In 2003, Ryan Newman set the track qualifying record with his blistering lap of 14.90 seconds in the No. 12 Dodge.

Brad Keselowski on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway
“Bristol is one of those tracks where you always have to be mindful of your pace, where you are on the track and who you are around. But you also have to be looking forward so that you can avoid that wreck that happens half of a straightaway in front of you. Short track racing and restrictor-plate racing are very similar in that you can get caught up in a wreck that you had nothing to do with. Bristol is a very aggressively-paced race. You have to stay tuned in to what’s going on the entire time if you want stay out of trouble.”

Brad Keselowski reflects on his spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway
“We certainly had a solid run at Bristol in the spring and I think we are only going to get better as we go to these tracks more often as a team. (Crew chief) Jay (Guy) made some great calls to get us track position because we didn’t qualify that well. But once we went to the front, we were able to stay up there and eventually lead some laps. I believe we can repeat that performance – if not improve on it – this weekend. We’ve made a lot of gains in our cars over the last few weeks. Our short track program has been a bright spot for us this year. Hopefully that continues at Bristol, because that’s one of my favorite racetracks.”

Crew chief Jay Guy on preparing for the second race at Bristol Motor Speedway
“We feel really good about heading back to ‘Thunder Valley.’ We had a strong car there in the spring and we were able to get a solid finish. We should be able to produce better results this weekend with the improvements we’ve made in our cars. Bristol is a good track for Brad and it’s a place he looks forward to every year. He’s a smart and calculating driver, which is what you need on a bullring like Bristol.”