News

THE RACE

AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway (1-mile oval, Dover, Del.)
Sunday, September 29, 2:00 pm ET

THE CARS

No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Driven by Brad Keselowski

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion
Driven by Joey Logano
 

THE BROADCAST

Race: AAA 400
Track: Dover International Speedway
Date: Sunday, September 29
Race Start Time: 2:00 pm ET     
Radio Broadcast: Live on MRN Radio and SIRIUS XM Channel 90

TV Schedule:
Friday
· 11:00 am ET, Practice (FS1)
· 3:00 pm ET, Qualifying (ESPN2)
Saturday
· 11:00 am ET, Practice (FS2)
· 12:00 am ET, Final Practice (FS2 )  
Sunday
· 2:00 pm ET, AAA 400 (ESPN)

THE NEWS AND NOTES

No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion

· DEFENDING WINNER: In the 2012 AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, Brad Keselowski picked up his second win of the Chase for the Sprint Cup en route to his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title.

· WALTER REED VISIT: On Thursday afternoon Keselowski will be a part of a Penske Racing contingent, including Roger Penske, Walt Czarnecki, Joey Logano and Sam Hornish Jr., that will visit the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. The NASCAR-led visit to Walter Reed holds a special place in Keselowski’s heart as an earlier trip led to the creation of his Checkered Flag Foundation, whose mission is to support those individuals that have made great sacrifices for America, including military members, veterans, first-responders and their families, among others.

· DRIVER TURNED CREW CHIEF: No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion crew chief Paul Wolfe made 16 starts in the Nationwide Series from 2003-2005. Two of those starts came at Dover in 2003 and 2005, as he finished 16th in each event. In addition, Wolfe competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East from 2000-2004 and he made three starts at the “Monster Mile,” capturing one pole award, one outside pole position and two second-place finishes (2002, 2004).

· TRANSLATING NATIONWIDE SUCCESS TO CUP: Dover is one of five racetracks where Keselowski owns wins in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series competition. The others are Bristol Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.

· MEET KESELOWSKI: Keselowski will make an appearance at Grotto Pizza, located at 102 Silicato Way in Milford, DE, beginning at 6 pm ET on Friday evening, September 27.
   

THE Q & A

BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD

WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR YOU TO GET YOUR FIRST WIN OF THE YEAR AT DOVER?

“Dover is a pretty tough track to go looking for your first win of the year. It’s a very physically-demanding track on both the driver and the car. (Crew chief) Paul (Wolfe) and I have really worked on getting better at Dover and it’s shown in our results. Obviously, with the win last year, we feel like it’s a place where we can win again this weekend. I’m confident the speed will be there – we just need to work on limiting the mistakes on things that we can control.”

DESCRIBE THE RACING AT THE “MONSTER MILE”

“A lap around Dover is pretty spectacular. That roller coaster feeling you get climbing and falling off the corners is amazing. Paul does a superb job in making in-race adjustments, and that is very important at Dover because the track changes drastically as rubber gets laid down. Some tracks are temperamental due to the weather, but with Dover, it’s the rubber on the track that will make you scratch your head. It used to be one of our weaker Chase tracks but I think we put that to rest last year with the win. Hopefully we can put everything together again because we could sure use a win now.”

THE NEWS AND NOTES

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion

· LOOKING TO MOVE UP:  With his 14th-place finish in last weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Joey Logano remained 12th in the Sprint Cup Series point standings.  He is positioned 69 points from first place, but just 30 points away from the top five in the Chase.

· WALTER REED VISIT:  Logano will be one of a number of NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series drivers that will be making a visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD on Thursday afternoon.  Logano, along with Penske Racing’s Roger Penske, Walt Czarnecki and his teammates Brad Keselowski and Sam Hornish Jr., will visit with injured troops and participate in a dinner before heading to Dover.

· DOUBLE DUTY: Logano will return to the seat of the No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang in the Nationwide Series this weekend in Dover.  Logano has won the last three NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Dover International Speedway, sweeping both in 2012 and the spring race this season.

· MONSTER MILE MEMORIES: Dover, conveniently nicknamed the “Monster Mile,” holds a number of memories for Logano, both good and bad.  Logano wrapped up his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship at Dover International Speedway in 2007, capping off a remarkable and record-breaking season that saw him win seven races.  Logano then made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut on May 31, 2008 at Dover International Speedway, where he earned a ninth-place starting spot and a sixth-place finish.  Logano also suffered one of the biggest accidents of his career at Dover in 2009, when his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series machine rolled a total of seven times down the banking of turns three and four and he was involved in another hair-raising accident after just missing the win in last year’s summer NASCAR Nationwide Series event at the mile-long track.

· GETTING BETTER:  In the early part of his career, Dover wasn’t always the best of place for Logano.  But over the last couple of years, he has produced much better results at the high-banked track. Logano has earned top-10 results in his last three Dover starts, finishing eighth, 10th and seventh dating back to last season.

 
THE Q & A

JOEY LOGANO, NO. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD

HOW TOUGH IS IT GOING TO BE TO MAKE A RUN FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP OVER THESE FINAL EIGHT RACES?

“It’s going to be tough for sure.  The way that the 20 team has been running and the fact that we got in a big hole with our engine issues in Chicago put us behind, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still do it.  All it takes is for a couple of guys to have a bad race here or there and you are right back in the hunt. But we need to get back to doing our thing and that’s the plan this weekend.  We need to just run our race and let everything else take care of itself. We struggled a bit at New Hampshire, but I think we can turn it around this weekend.”

WHY HAVE YOU ALWAYS LOVED DOVER SO MUCH?

“One of the questions I get asked a lot when we do question and answer sessions is what is your favorite track. Dover would be very high on my list. It’s just a track I feel like I can get around well.  I love the speed and the sensation of the banking.  It’s really cool to just run around there, especially in qualifying trim.  I’m excited to go back with a race in the books between me and (crew chief) Todd (Gordon).  I think we are going to be really fast this weekend.”