News

Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
Toyota/ Save Mart 350
Sonoma (formerly Infineon Raceway)
Sunday, June 24, 2012
TV: TNT at 2:00 PM ET   Radio: PRN/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-806 during Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma. This is a brand-new chassis to the No. 2 fleet.
• No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in 2012… After 15 points-paying events, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are ranked 10th in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) driver and owner point rankings. The team is coming off a 13th-place finish in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway last Sunday.
• Right Turns? No Problem… While Keselowski doesn’t have the road course experience that comes with many years in the Cup Series, he more than held his own in that discipline in 2011. One top-five (Watkins Glen) and two top-10 finishes prove that the young driver is one of the most versatile in the series. In 2010, Keselowski scored more points on the three road courses in the NASCAR Nationwide Series than any other competitor.
• Penske Pride… Penske Racing has 357 all-time race victories with 102 stock car wins and 418 pole positions overall including 129 NASCAR poles.
• New Punch Top Can… With a successful legacy as innovators in the beer market, Miller Lite has debuted a new innovation in the Punch Top Can. This new can features a second tab to be opened for a smoother pour with less glug. To help launch this new campaign, Keselowski is featured in a national television advertisement for the Punch Top Can.
• The Rest is History... Starting from the seventh position, Rusty Wallace scored the first victory for Penske Racing at Sonoma in May of 1996. Kurt Busch captured the team’s second victory at the track in 2011. In 40 combined starts at Sonoma, the organization also has two pole positions, 11 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. In addition, both Helio Castroneves (2008) and Will Power (2010, 2011) have picked up victories for Team Penske at the track in IZOD IndyCar Series competition in recent years.

Brad Keselowski on road course racing
“It took a while, but I’ve become a big fan of road course racing over the last couple of years. As a racecar driver, it’s not easy when you have to step out of your comfort zone and road course racing was definitely uncomfortable to me. Now it’s something I take a lot of pride in. Versatility, in this sport or any sport, is a good thing. The two drivers that came before me in the Miller Lite Dodge were good road course racers and I hope to be able to continue to carry on that tradition. We’ve been close before, but a road course win would rank right up there with the best wins of my career.”

Brad Keselowski on Sonoma
“Sonoma is in a beautiful part of the country, but it’s a very demanding road course. It’s just so technical, whereas Watkins Glen is more of a stock car driver’s circuit. You have to be mindful of hitting your marks on every lap and you can’t throw your car around very much. There’s a lot of elevation change that make it difficult to see around the corners, but that also makes it a fun place to race. You are as worn out mentally as you are physically when you finish a race at Sonoma.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on racing at Sonoma
“I’ve seen Brad make great strides in his road course racing. He’s very much a student of the game and he constantly looks for ways to improve. I feel confident that we’ve put together a good car for this weekend – one that he can race up front with. This usually turns into a fuel mileage race, but you still have to have a car that can race with people at the end. Brakes play a big part in that. Road course racing is very hard on brakes so you have to constantly remind your driver to not abuse them. I love road course racing. The two races that we have each year give you a nice break in the action and it mixes it up a little bit.”