News

THE RACE

Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile superspeedway, Bristol, Tenn.)
Sunday, March 16, 1:00 pm ET

THE CARS

The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Driver: Brad Keselowski

The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion
Driver: Joey Logano
 

THE NEWS AND NOTES

The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion

· SUPER START: Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team are off to a remarkable start in 2014. Through the first three races, the team has an average finish of 2.3 with one victory and two top-three finishes. The team has also qualified on the front row at the two most recent races, including winning the pole at Phoenix. The recent accomplishments represent the best-ever start to a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season for Keselowski, the 2012 series champion.

· PROVEN TRACK RECORD: Keselowski knows the route to Victory Circle at Bristol. He has won twice at the renowned track (2011 and 2012) in his eight career Cup Series starts at Bristol.

· GOOD SHAPE FOR THE CHASE: After winning last weekend’s Kobalt Tools 400, Keselowski and the No. 2 Ford team dramatically enhanced their chances of making it into the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, under the new series scoring format.

· CONCENTRATING ON CUP: After running three consecutive double duty weekends to start the 2014 NASCAR season, Keselowski will relinquish his seat in the Nationwide Series No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang at Bristol to Team Penske driver, Ryan Blaney.

· TEN AND COUNTING: Team Penske has a total of 10 victories at Bristol Motor Speedway with the two most recent wins credited to Keselowski who won two consecutive races (fall of 2011 and spring of 2012).

· SEE BRAD AT BRISTOL: Keselowski will be appearing on behalf of Miller Lite at the Food City display in the Bristol Motor Speedway Hospitality Village Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. ET. He will also be at the Miller Lite stage at the Earhart Campground Sunday morning at 10:10 a.m. ET and then at the Ford Display in the Fan Zone at 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday.
    
THE Q&A

BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD

BRISTOL HAS BEEN A GOOD TRACK FOR YOU. WITH THE STRONG START TO THE SEASON, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS WEEKEND?

“This No. 2 Miller Lite team has been diligently preparing for this season since late last season, and we’ve also been intensely focused on each event. Our recent successes demonstrate that we are making the effort in the proper areas and that we are executing on race day. The weekend at Las Vegas gives us momentum and freedom to race for wins moving forward. While I enjoy racing everywhere we go, Bristol is one of those places that standout for most drivers. I have to say that I like the idea of getting our Ford Fusion into Victory Lane this Sunday.”

PAUL WOLFE, CREW CHIEF NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD

THE TEAM IS OFF TO A FANTASTIC START. HOW DOES THIS AFFECT YOUR APPROACH THIS WEEKEND?

“After last weekend’s win at Las Vegas we feel as though a little of the pressure to win has been removed, but the desire to win has been increased. Brad is remarkably adept at Bristol, and our Ford Fusions have had the speed required to run up front. As we saw last weekend, the thing that has made the No. 2 Miller Lite team successful over the last few years is being aggressive, and we’re going to be aggressive this year. Just like this season, we’re just getting started.”

THE NEWS AND NOTES

The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion

· NEVER BEFORE IN HIS CAREER…:  Just three races into the season, Joey Logano is already off to the strongest start of his Sprint Cup Series career.  His fourth-place standing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) points is the highest that Logano has ever been over the course of his five previous full-time seasons. Logano also has led laps in the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion in all three events in 2014 (all four, counting the Sprint Unlimited). This marks the first time that Logano has led laps in three or four straight events.

· HELP JOEY HELP GAVIN:  In 2010, a special young boy named Gavin Grubbs got the thrill of a lifetime when Logano, his favorite driver, surprised him when he visited Gavin in Arkansas as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Since then, Logano and Grubbs have remained very close and often exchange text messages.  Now, Logano is helping Gavin once again.  Gavin, who suffers from merosin-negative muscular dystrophy, is trying to raise $10,000 for a local Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) walk in Arkansas. Logano is enlisting his social media followers to help Gavin raise the funds. In addition to Logano personally donating through the number of retweets, anyone that donates $5 or more to the cause will get a Racers Dream Garage calendar.  Visit twitter.com/joeylogano for more information.

· BRISTOL BIOGRAPHY:  Bristol Motor Speedway is known to be unpredictable and that theme ties in well with Logano’s results at the famed half-mile speedway. Logano struggled over his first couple of years at Bristol, but he turned things around in 2012 when he finished eighth. Last season, Logano was racing for the lead before contact with another competitor took him out of contention. He backed up that run with a fifth-place finish in the fall Bristol race last year. Logano has only qualified outside of the top 10 twice in his 10 career starts at the track. In 2010, he won the pole at Bristol when he set the record as the youngest Sprint Cup Series pole winner in series history.

· BRING ON ANOTHER SHOOTOUT:  With Logano’s pole won at Phoenix, the eighth of his career, he qualified for next season’s Sprint Unlimited. Logano has never missed the season-opening event in his NSCS career.  Logano’s eighth-career pole puts him 69th on the all-time list, tied with Kyle Petty and Elliott Sadler.

 
THE Q&A

JOEY LOGANO, NO. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD

TALK ABOUT YOUR GREAT START TO THE SEASON.

“Yeah, it’s been a really good start. We have done some of the things we wanted to going into the year other than win a race. But we have been in a position to win races at each of the first three races.  Daytona is Daytona, but I think we were good enough with a few more changes to win at Phoenix and Vegas. We’ve lead laps in each race as well. And we’ve qualified on the front row in the last two races. So it’s been a good start. But we can’t focus on that. We need to focus on winning races. We want to get that first win under our belt and then let the rest take care of itself. So we don’t think about the first races too much. We focus on what’s coming next. But we will ride the momentum.”

IS MOMENTUM A BIG FACTOR IN THIS SPORT?

“Momentum really gives you confidence. And confidence means a lot, both as a driver but also for the team. You need to work well together as a team between the driver and the crew chief, the driver and the mechanics and the mechanics and the crew chief.  When you have momentum, you have confidence and when you have the confidence, the chemistry is just there and it shows in the garage. I don’t think momentum itself does a lot, but it can affect other things, which then can mean a lot. That is one of the strongest parts of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team is our chemistry. It’s at an all-time high right now.”