News

Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
Advocare 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
September 4, 2011
TV: ESPN at 7:30 PM   Radio: PRN/Sirius Channel 90 at 6:30 PM

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-755 during Saturday’s Advocare 500 at Atlanta Speedway (AMS). Brad Keselowski last drove this chassis to a 25th-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in June.
• No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 2011... After 24 points-paying events, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are ranked 11th in the NASCAR Cup Series (NSCS) driver and owner point standings. The team is coming off its third victory of the season last Saturday night in the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Keselowski continues to hold the No. 1 wild card position for the 2011 Chase for the Championship and is now just 21 points outside of the top 10.
• Keselowski is Hot, Hot, Hot…Keselowski’s 1.75 average finishing position over the last four races ranks as the best over that period in NSCS competition. Keselowski has garnered a two wins, a second-place finish and a third-place result over the previous four weeks.
• DIRECTV Head2Head Knockout… By winning at Bristol on Saturday night, Keselowski took the title in the 2011 DIRECTV Head2Head Knockout challenge. By winning the bracket-style event, the Penske Racing driver earned a total of $199,375 for the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
• 3 Million Reasons to ‘Man Up’… The featured tag line on the bumper of the “Blue Deuce” this weekend at Atlanta will be “3 Million Reasons to ‘Man Up.’” This is a nod to the Sprint Summer Showdown promotion that Keselowski will take part in this weekend. Keselowski, along with three other drivers, will have a chance to win $3 million if they can take the checkered flag on Sunday night at Atlanta. If he were to win, $1 million would go to Keselowski, $1 million would go to a fan and $1 million would go to the Checkered Flag Foundation.
• The Rest is History... Penske Racing made its first start at AMS on March 26, 1972 as the late Mark Donohue finished 15th in the Atlanta 500. In 86 combined starts at the track, Penske Racing has produced three wins (Rusty Wallace – 1993 and Kurt Busch – 2009-2010), eight poles and 10 top-five finishes.

Brad Keselowski on racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway
“I like the fact that Atlanta is a very slick racetrack. You come in to put tires on and you are almost three seconds a lap faster. That’s huge! A guy that will come in and pit one lap earlier than you do will gain almost half a straightaway on you. That puts pit strategy into focus. It’s just a fun place to race. I had a lot of success running the high line in the spring race last year. I don’t really think of myself as a driver that prefers the top, but I’ll definitely search around to see where my car is the fastest. That’s why we love racing at Atlanta.”

Brad Keselowski on Atlanta moving to one Cup Series date
“Things change in racing - the one constant is change, as they say. You look at Atlanta and it has been a fixture on the schedule for a long time. It’s hosted over 100 races, which is pretty incredible. It even hosted three in one year. There is no doubt that Atlanta is in a tough market, but I think this move will help them out in the long run. It should help sell the single Labor Day event out. If we can continue to put on the racing that has defined Atlanta over the years, I think the fans will come back. As for the drivers, it’s been 12 months since we’ve been on the surface at Atlanta. What has changed in that year? Will it be even more slick? Those are questions we’ll find the answers to real quick.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on Atlanta Motor Speedway
“It would be great if this was our second race of the season at Atlanta. We’d have a big package of notes to go on and I’d feel like we could roll of the truck and be fast. But that’s not reality. The reality is this is my first Cup race at Atlanta and we’ve had to draw on our other resources here at Penske Racing to make sure we have enough speed in our Miller Lite Dodge this weekend to continue how we’ve been running over the last month or so. Brad has run well there in the past, and we had a decent Nationwide Series car there last year, so I have an idea of where we need to be when we get there. I’ve always liked the racing at Atlanta and there is always something to be said for momentum.”