News

Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
Bojangles’ Southern 500
Darlington Raceway
Saturday, May 12, 2012
TV: FOX at 6:30 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-810 during Saturday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Keselowski last drove this chassis to a fifth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway in March.
• No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in 2012… After 10 points-paying events, Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are ranked 12th in the 2012 driver point standings and 13th in the owner point rankings. The team is coming off its second victory of the season in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway last Sunday afternoon.
• 100 Starts, By The Numbers… This weekend’s event will mark the 100th Cup Series start for Keselowski. In that time span Keselowski has picked up six Cup Series wins, 15 NASCAR Nationwide Series victories (17 total), one NNS championship (2010) and over 261,000 Twitter followers.
• Most-Recent Cup Winner… Keselowski led a total of 10 laps in last weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway to pick up his sixth-career Cup Series victory. In the process he became the first driver since the debut of the two-car tandem draft to score the win after taking the white flag with the lead. With two wins on the season, Keselowski currently holds the No. 1 wild card spot for the 2012 Chase for the Championship.
• Miller Lite Punch Top Can… With a successful legacy as innovators in the beer market, Miller Lite will debut a new innovation in the Punch Top Can this week. This new can features a second tab to be opened for a smoother pour with less glug. To help launch this new campaign, Keselowski will be featured in a national television advertisement for the Punch Top Can that will be seen, most-notably, during the NBA and NHL playoffs.
• It’s Miller Time… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend in Darlington is “It’s Miller Time.” One of the most-recognized marketing slogans in recent memory, “It’s Miller Time” can be found within many popular culture references. MillerCoors decided to bring back the slogan last month.
• The Rest is History... Penske Racing made its first start at Darlington Raceway in the 1972 Southern 500. The organization immediately began to show that it would be a force on the 1.3-mile oval. In their first eight races at Darlington, Penske Racing drivers recorded two wins (both by Bobby Allison) and never qualified outside the top-10. In 64 Darlington starts, Penske Racing has posted two wins, two poles and 19 top-five finishes.

Brad Keselowski on this weekend’s race at Darlington Raceway
“Darlington is one of my favorite tracks. I wish we had more like it on the schedule. It’s just a tough, old racetrack that is nothing like anywhere else we go. I never had the opportunity to race there when the asphalt was worn out and I would have loved that. Hopefully I’ll have a long career and I’ll be able to see it get back to that ‘slipping and sliding’ racing that used to be so cool to watch on TV. Back in the day, the Southern 500 was one of our biggest races. It would mean a lot to me to have that trophy.”

Brad Keselowski on what his second win means to his season
“Getting two wins this early in the season really takes the shackles off what we are able to do over the remaining races before the Chase for the Championship. Right now we are outside the top 10, but that is our No. 1 goal. Knowing that two wins will probably get us in the Chase means we can take some chances and go for wins without really having to pay too close attention to the points. That doesn’t mean we can just throw caution to the wind, but we can be aggressive when we feel like we have the car to do so. I like being able to do that.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on preparing for Darlington Raceway
“It’s always a challenge to run at Darlington. There is a fine line of racing other people and racing the track. You need to find a good race pace and work on handling to keep the car turning from the center out to corner exit. People get in trouble by racing each other too hard and the ‘Lady in Black’ will reach out and grab you. Race hard and race the track and you will put yourself in contention for the win at the end of the night. We’re bringing our Phoenix car this weekend and we had good results with it earlier in the year. Hopefully we can dance with the ‘Lady in Black’ without stepping on her toes.”