News

Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
Hollywood Casino 400
Kansas Speedway
Sunday, October 21, 2012
TV: ESPN at 1:00 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-832 during Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Keselowski last raced this chassis to a victory at Chicagoland Speedway in the opening race to the Chase for the Championship.
• No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in 2012… After five races in the 2012 Chase for the Championship, including victories at Chicagoland and Dover, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge team lead the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) driver and owner point standings by seven points over Jimmie Johnson. The team is coming off an 11th-place finish in the Bank of America 500 last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS).
• Quality Pass Leader… Keselowski continues to lead the Cup Series in Quality Passes with 1,961, 150 more than second place. He also ranks inside the top 10 in Fastest Speed In Traffic (Third), Laps Led (Fifth), Laps In The Top 15 (Sixth) and Fastest Laps Run (Sixth).
• Former Kansas Winner… Forgive Keselowski if he is feeling a bit nostalgic this weekend. In 2011, he entered the spring race weekend at Kansas with only one career NSCS win. Using fuel strategy and a fast Miller Lite Dodge, Keselowski scored his first NSCS win with Penske Racing in the 2011 STP 400. The win served as a launching pad to two more victories that season and a spot in the 2011 Chase for the Championship, as he finished fifth in the final series standings.
• Helluva Run… Despite his 11th-place finish at CMS this past weekend, Keselowski remains one of the hottest drivers on the circuit. In his last 15 races, the Michigan native has only two finishes outside the top 10, including three wins. His 139 laps led last week at CMS were the second-most of his career, behind the 232 laps he led in his win at Bristol Motor Speedway last March.
• It’s Miller Time… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend at Kansas 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 earlier this year.
• The Rest is History... Penske Racing has competed in every NASCAR Cup Series event held at Kansas Speedway since the racetrack opened in 2001. In that first event, Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace finished second and fourth, respectively, to capture two of the organization’s five top-five finishes at the track. In 30 combined starts, Penske Racing drivers have captured two wins (2003 – Ryan Newman, 2011 – Keselowski), 10 top-10 finishes and have led 509 laps at Kansas Speedway.

Brad Keselowski on racing this weekend at Kansas Speedway
“I know I speak for everyone on the Miller Lite Dodge team when I say we can’t wait to get to Kansas to prove that our finish at Charlotte was an anomaly, a blip on the radar. And going to a track where we’ve won before gives us a little extra confidence, although it is a new surface that we’ll be breaking in. We were able to take part in the tire test there a few weeks ago and they did an outstanding job with the repave. It’s smooth and fast, and while it may be one-groove for a few races, I think we’ll see it become a very competitive place. I would definitely like to be the first driver to win on the new surface.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on this weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway
“We definitely learned a lot about the new surface at Kansas when we did the tire test in August, so we should be able to roll of the truck with some decent speed in the Miller Lite Dodge. It’s going to be a very fast place, for sure. I don’t think many people are going to venture outside the groove, so passing may be difficult for the first couple of races. That means qualifying will be very important and that’s something we will work on during the practice sessions. We’ve shown speed in our cars throughout the Chase and I expect that to carry over to what is, basically, a brand new racetrack at Kansas.”