News

Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks
Dover International Speedway
May 15, 2011

No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger News and Notes
• This Week’s Charger… The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-743 during Sunday’s FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway. Keselowski raced this chassis to a 26th-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in March.
• No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 2011... After 10 events, Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team sit 26th in the Cup Series driver and owner point standings. The team is coming off a season-best third-place finish in the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway last Saturday.
• Keselowski NASCAR History at Dover International Speedway… In addition to his two career Cup Series starts at Dover, Keselowski has made eight career NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) starts at the one-mile oval. In those races, Keselowski has accumulated one win (2009), three top-five and six top-10 finishes. Keselowski also has two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts under his belt at the “Monster Mile,” with a best finish of 15th coming in his family-owned K-Automotive entry in 2005.
• Save Your Summer! Tastepoints.com… The featured tag line on the bumper of the “Blue Deuce” this weekend in Dover will be “Save Your Summer! Tastepoints.com.” The Tastepoints.com program encourages people to collect codes off specially-packaged Miller Lite that can be redeemed for a variety of prizes, including the chance to participate in the Miller Lite 1100.
• First Top-Five with Penske … Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge team hope that momentum from last weekend’s third-place result at Darlington will carry over to this weekend’s event at Dover. The finish marked the first top-five result of the year for Keselowski and his highest finish to date since joining Penske Racing late in the 2009 season.
• Ride Shotgun on All-Star Weekend!.. Thanks to Penske Racing partners Shell-Pennzoil, Miller Lite and Discount Tire, one lucky winner will get to ride in the passenger seat with one of seven NASCAR All-Stars on May 21st. The winner also receives roundtrip airfare for two, a three-day, two-night hotel stay, tickets to the NASCAR All-Star race and $50 in spending money!  Also there are second- and third-place prizes for $50 and $25 Shell Gas Gift Cards. To enter, go to www.facebook.com/discounttire or www.facebook.com/discounttiremotorsports to enter!!
• 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 its share of success on the tough one-mile oval. In 69 starts, the organization has recorded six wins, nine poles and 21 top-five finishes at Dover. Penske Racing drivers have led 1,584 laps at the track. 

Brad Keselowski on this weekend’s race at Dover International Speedway
“Coming back to Dover is really cool. I’ve run these tracks in the Nationwide and Truck series enough to have a pretty good comfort level in the Cup Series. Dover is a place where I’ve had success and it’s a great track to race on.  A lap around Dover is pretty spectacular.  That roller coaster feeling you get climbing and falling off the corners is amazing.  I feel pretty confident going back there and I’d like to think that Dover is one of my better tracks.”

Brad Keselowski on a lap around Dover International Speedway
“What makes Dover so difficult is the fact that it has so much load – you’re asking the car to do a lot of different things. Then, you combine the way that the track’s concrete rubbers-in and it really makes your front tires slick. It’s always a challenge to find front grip and what you end up doing is taking away rear grip. That just makes it more challenging to drive when your car gets sideways.  With the track being concrete it makes you become a more disciplined driver. It’s the fine balance between driving your car hard and finding the finesse that you need to drive hard through the center of the corner.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on last weekend’s third-place finish at Darlington
“It was nice to score a solid finish last weekend (at Darlington) after some of the tough breaks that we’ve caught this year. We know that we have to make our racecars faster, but to see our team come together and keep digging and take a 15th-place car to a top-three car is a step in the right direction. It’s really competitive out here and when your car isn’t perfect, you need to win the attrition battle and grind your way to positive finishes.”