News

Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen
Watkins Glen International
Sunday, August 12, 2012
TV: ESPN at 12:00 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-806 during Sunday’s Finger Lakes 335 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International (WGI). Keselowski last raced this chassis to a 12th-place finish at Sonoma in June.
• No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in 2012… After 21 points-paying events, Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are ranked seventh in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) driver and owner point standings. Winners of three races already this season, the team is coming off a fourth-place finish in the rain-shortened Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway last Sunday. • Just One More Spot… Last year’s event at WGI marked the second race in an impressive summer stretch for Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge team. While nursing a broken ankle, Keselowski battled Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch over the final laps to secure a second-place finish, a career-high road course result for the Penske Racing driver. The previous week, Keselowski drove to Victory Lane at Pocono Raceway to begin his run to the 2011 Chase for the Championship.
• Statistically Speaking… The Miller Lite Dodge has displayed impressive speed throughout the 2012 season, supported by the fact that Keselowski ranks at or near the top of the Cup Series in several key categories, including: Quality Passes (First), Laps Led (Sixth), Laps In The Top 15 (Sixth), Fastest Driver on Restarts (Sixth) and Fastest Speed in Traffic (Sixth).
• New Punch Top Can… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend at Watkins Glen is “New Punch Top Can.” With a successful legacy as innovators in the beer market, Miller Lite has unveiled 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.
• Paul Wolfe Homecoming… Crew chief Paul Wolfe will be making a return to his “home” track as crew chief of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend. Wolfe grew up 150 miles east of WGI in the town of Milford, NY. A former racer himself, Wolfe has competed in one Nationwide Series race and four K&N Pro Series East (KNPSE) races at WGI. His best finish of third came in a KNPSE race in 2001. 
• Meet Brad… Keselowski will make an appearance at Bleachers located at 413 N. Franklin Street in Watkins Glen, N.Y., on Thursday, August 9 at 7:00 pm ET.
• The Rest is History... Roger Penske-owned entries have made a combined 87 starts in 10 different series at WGI, including the Cup Series, Indy car, Formula 1 and Grand-Am. The organization has produced 12 victories over the years at the famed circuit. In the first Cup Series start for Penske Racing at WGI in 1991, Rusty Wallace raced his way from a 20th-place starting position to finish fourth. 

Brad Keselowski on Watkins Glen International
“Watkins Glen is an extremely fast road course. It’s not nearly as technical as Sonoma and it doesn’t require as much finesse, but you still have to hit your marks. At the Glen you need to concentrate on where you can brake heavily and where you can put the power down when you need to so that you carry big runs down the straightaway. To me, Watkins Glen is more of a stock car driver’s road course. You can throw your car around a little more than Sonoma, especially with the new runoff areas, because you don’t have to worry about getting stuck in the sand traps anymore. I’m still learning how to be a better road course racer, but it’s starting to click with me. I was really proud of our second-place run at the Glen last year. Hopefully we can be one spot better on Sunday.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on preparing a car for Watkins Glen, his home track
“I’m a big fan of Watkins Glen. Going there brings back a lot of memories from my first visits to the track when I was a kid. I still have some family and friends that are in the area, so it’s good to see them while there. The Glen is a high-speed course that is well-suited for stock cars. There is actually some banking in some of the corners and you don’t have to be as technical as you do at Sonoma.  You really have to pay attention to forward drive throughout the race at the Glen. The goal is to find a balance that will allow you to pit early and also race hard at the end.”