News

Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
Coke Zero 400
Daytona International Speedway
July 2, 2011

No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger News and Notes
• This Week’s Charger… The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will race chassis PRS-639 during Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. This is a new chassis to the No. 2 fleet.
• No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 2011... After 16 points-paying events, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team sit 22nd in the NASCAR Cup Series (NSCS) driver and owner point standings. The team is coming off a 10th-place finish in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway last weekend. Keselowski sits just 12 points outside of the top 20 and a possible spot in the Chase for the Championship, following his win at Kansas Speedway in June.
• A Family Affair... In addition to his father, Bob, Keselowski also lists his uncle, Ron Keselowski, as one of his racing heroes. While the two Keselowski brothers were racing on the Midwest short tracks in the 1970’s, the two also made nine starts at Daytona with Ron as the driver and Bob as the crew chief. Their best effort came in NASCAR’s 1972 Firecracker 400 when Ron qualified 10th and finished seventh while driving a Dodge.  
• Have a Beer with Brad… Keselowski will appear at the Buffalo Wild Wings located at 2479 W. International Speedway Boulevard on Thursday, June 29 at 9:00 pm ET.
• Have at it, Brad… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend in Daytona will be “Have at it, Brad.” Keselowski has embodied the “Have at it, Boys” mantra in NASCAR racing.
• The Rest is History... In 83 combined Cup Series starts at DIS, Penske Racing drivers have recorded one win, 20 top-five finishes and 29 top-10 results. The lone victory came in the 50th running of the Daytona 500 in 2008 as Penske Racing finished first and second with drivers Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch, respectively.

Brad Keselowski on the strength of the Penske Racing cars on restrictor-plate tracks this season
“Our speedway program is very good, very strong. I’m very happy with where we are with our cars. We led laps with our Miller Lite Dodge in the Daytona 500, and at Talladega, but we don’t have the finishes to show for how well we have run in those races. I just need to continue to make the right moves in the race and catch the right breaks. So far we’ve run up front, but we’ve had terrible luck with the restrictor-plate races. If we can get a little bit of luck on our side, I really think we can be a threat at any of the speedway races.”

Brad Keselowski on his role in developing the two-car draft during his 2009 Talladega victory
“We had seen instances in the past where two cars could hook up and really pick up speed, but I think everyone saw what the two-car draft could do that weekend at Talladega. When the race restarted for the final time with about four laps to go, I knew that pushing Carl (Edwards) was the only chance either one of us had at a good finish. Based on what we had learned throughout the weekend, I was confident that we could make it work. It’s certainly cool to have been a part of something so innovative. I really think that it will be the way we race on restrictor-plate tracks for the foreseeable future. It’s an evolutionary period in our sport. It was my first win, which makes it very special to me, but to have it come in that fashion definitely adds another layer to the victory.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on the recent turnaround of the team
"It has been a lot of work, for sure. I'm proud to be a part of this organization and this Miller Lite Dodge team. Everybody stuck together when we were struggling. It's pretty amazing how this has turned around in such a short amount of time, especially considering how competitive this series is now. There's definitely a lot of hard work going on here at Penske Racing and I can't wait to get back to the race track. We have a shot at getting into the Chase with this new wild card format and it's definitely realistic that we can win on Saturday night.”