News

Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charg
Food City 500
Bristol Motor Speedway
Sunday, March 18, 2012
TV: FOX at 12:30 PM ET   Radio: MRN/Sirius Channel 90

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-813 during Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). This is a new chassis to the No. 2 fleet.
• No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in 2012… After three points-paying events, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are ranked 21st in the 2012 driver and owner points standings. The team is coming off a 32nd-place finish last weekend in the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• Winner, Winner…In the most recent Cup Series race at BMS, Keselowski scored a signature win in the Irwin Tools Night Race last fall. His third win of the season propelled him to a spot in the 2011 Chase for the Championship. In addition, the win gave Keselowski 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.
• 350 and 100… Two nice, round numbers that represent the total number of all-time race victories by Penske Racing and the total number of stock car wins by Penske Racing, respectively. The most recent victory came in the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway when Keselowski scored the win. 
• Making Laps… The notoriously tough bullring at BMS is known for its fender-banging action that can lead to cars retiring early from the event. Keselowski, however, has completed all but one lap of Sprint Cup competition at BMS over the last two seasons, good for a sterling 99.9% of the total laps contested.
• Taste Greatness… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend in Bristol is “Deuces Wild.” The triple hops brewing process gives Miller Lite its great, award-winning taste.
• Have a Beer with Brad… Keselowski will make two Bristol-area appearances on Thursday, March 15. He will appear at the Food City store, located at 1430 Volunteer Parkway, at 6 pm. He will then move to 620 State Restaurant and Venue, located at 620 State Street, at 7 pm.
• The Rest is History... Penske Racing has enjoyed its share of success at BMS. In 83 combined starts, the organization has produced nine wins, 10 poles, 23 top-five and 40 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 Penske Racing No. 12 Dodge.

Brad Keselowski on the start of the season
“I could not be happier with the speed that we’ve shown in our Miller Lite Dodges to start the season. It’s unfortunate that we’ve encountered the issues that we have because I honestly believe we should have top-five finishes in every race thus far. That’s racing, though. There are two very large pieces to winning a race – speed and execution. We have the speed. Now we just need to learn from our mistakes and execute better. Execution is the easier of the two to fix. Bristol is a great place for us to put everything together. We’ve all tasted success there and we can do it again.”

Brad Keselowski on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway
“I love racing at Bristol. Normally I don’t pick favorite tracks because if you have tracks that you like, then you have to have places where you despise going. That means you are defeated before you ever get there. But if I had to pick a favorite, Bristol would be right at the top. The feeling I get when I walk through that tunnel is the same feeling I had when I went there for the first time. I’ve never been, but it has to be the same feeling that you get when you walk into the Roman Coliseum. “

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on Las Vegas Motor Speedway
“As a crew chief you look forward to going to Bristol because you don’t have to worry about aerodynamics or ‘dirty air.’ It’s all about finding mechanical grip and forward bite. If you can do that your driver can be successful. Track position will be important. Running up front should keep you out of trouble and in position for a good finish. We’ve won before and I know we can win again here.”