News

THE RACE

AAA Texas 500
Texas Motor Speedway
Sunday, November 2, 2014, 3:00 pm ET

THE CARS

The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Driven by Brad Keselowski    

The No. 22 AAA Ford Fusion
driven by Joey Logano

THE NEWS AND NOTES

The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion

· TWO FOR THE TWO IN THE CHASE: Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion are tied with teammate Joey Logano with a series-leading two victories in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase for the Championship. Keselowski has claimed three victories in the last eight races and he is the winningest driver to date this season with a career-high six victories to his credit.

· MILLER LITE WINS ON AND OFF THE TRACK: On top of its success on the track with the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford this season, the Original Lite Beer, Miller Lite, was recently recognized as the top Lite beer in its segment as it received the coveted Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival. #ItsMillerTime

· A RECENT FIRST AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: A little over a week ago, Keselowski was at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) to promote this weekend’s race. While he was there, he became the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to play video games on the famous TMS Big Hoss high-definition television.

· STRENGTH IN THESE NUMBERS: Three of Keselowski’s six victories this season have come on intermediate tracks. He led 53 laps to win at Las Vegas, he was dominant in a victory at Kentucky leading 199 laps and he cruised to the winner’s circle at Chicago with 62 laps at the front of the field to his credit.

· THRIVING WITH NEW FORMATS: The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series incorporated two major changes in competition this year. The adjustments have allowed the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team and its driver to showcase their abilities. First, the new “elimination style” qualifying format has resulted in Keselowski more than doubling his career pole production as he came into the season with three career poles and after earning five poles this year he now owns eight. Through seven races in the new Chase format, Keselowski has already equaled his win tally from his 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship run with two victories.

· A TIME TO SIGN: Keselowski will be at the Walmart located at 1228 N. Hwy 377   in Roanoke, Tex., this Thursday evening beginning at 7:30 pm CT as he will be signing autographs for Miller Lite to start the race weekend.

    
THE Q&A

BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD

YOU’VE HAD A VERY UP AND DOWN CHASE SO FAR, ARE YOU ENJOYING THE NEW FORMAT?

“This new format has delivered plenty of excitement so far. As I’ve mentioned before, the racing and the format ultimately are for the enjoyment of the fans. If our fans are happy with it and if we are gaining new fans because of it, well that’s what is important. Regardless of the format, we are running very well and this Miller Lite Ford team is very competitive this year. We’re winning races; our Fusions have great speed. The team is focused on doing the work and this No. 2 team thrives in adversity. I am looking forward to this weekend.”

YOU AND THIS TEAM SEEM TO BE ON A MISSION RIGHT NOW; HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT MINDSET GOING INTO THIS RACE?

“This is as a championship-caliber effort at Team Penske. This is who we are, and this is what we do. I am going to make the most of this opportunity to win races and to win this championship.  We’ve done that with race wins and we’re doing what we have to earn the championship, but our opportunity and our capabilities as a group are so much higher than that and I don’t want to miss out on it, so it’s very, very important to me personally to live up to this opportunity that I’m so fortunate to have right now with this team and this organization.”

THE NEWS AND NOTES

The No. 22 AAA Ford Fusion

· OWNER OF SOME NEW GUNS:  The last time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) visited the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, Joey Logano came away with his first of five victories, thus far, in 2014.  The spring race marked Logano’s first career win at Texas and his first-career NSCS win on a 1.5-mile oval. With the win, Logano got to celebrate in Victory Lane by shooting off the traditional six-shooter guns, which he just recently picked up and displayed in his race shop in Huntersville, NC.

· A SERIES LEADER:  Despite losing the points lead following his fifth-place finish at Martinsville Speedway last weekend, Logano was able to extend his lead in one category – top-five finishes.  Logano now has 16 top fives in 2014, a career-best and two better than the next-highest total in the series recorded by Jeff Gordon.  Logano’s 21 top-10 finishes are tied with Gordon for the best in the series.  Logano also has finished in the top five in six of the first seven Chase races this season.

· AFTER A ROCKY START…:  Logano’s career at Texas Motor Speedway didn’t start out very well. Despite seven finishes of 19th or worse in his first eight races at the track, Logano has been able to turn it around as of late, especially since joining Team Penske.  In his last four races at the TMS oval, Logano has produced finishes of 11th, fifth, third and first.

· WELCOME BACK AAA:  The No. 22 Team Penske Ford Fusion will have a different look this weekend in Texas as it will carry the red, white and blue colors of AAA.  It will mark the second time this season that unique AAA livery has adorned the sides of the No. 22 with the first race coming at Kansas Speedway back in April.  AAA is a long-time partner with Team Penske, sponsoring both the No. 22 in the Sprint Cup Series as well as the No. 3 car driven by Helio Castroneves in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

· MORE AND MORE TRACK TIME:  Logano won’t get much rest this week. He and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Fusion team, along with their teammate Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Ford team, will join several other teams at Homestead-Miami Speedway for a two-day test session. The teams are all getting ready for next month’s NSCS season-finale and championship showdown.

· LONE STAR NATIVE:  One member of the No. 22 AAA team will be close to home when the teams visit the Lone Star state this weekend.  Larry Robinett, the rear tire changer for the AAA Ford, grew up just 50 miles to the east of Fort Worth in Garland, Tex.
 

THE Q&A

BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD

YOU’VE HAD A VERY UP AND DOWN CHASE SO FAR, ARE YOU ENJOYING THE NEW FORMAT?

“This new format has delivered plenty of excitement so far. As I’ve mentioned before, the racing and the format ultimately are for the enjoyment of the fans. If our fans are happy with it and if we are gaining new fans because of it, well that’s what is important. Regardless of the format, we are running very well and this Miller Lite Ford team is very competitive this year. We’re winning races; our Fusions have great speed. The team is focused on doing the work and this No. 2 team thrives in adversity. I am looking forward to this weekend.”

YOU AND THIS TEAM SEEM TO BE ON A MISSION RIGHT NOW; HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT MINDSET GOING INTO THIS RACE?

“This is as a championship-caliber effort at Team Penske. This is who we are, and this is what we do. I am going to make the most of this opportunity to win races and to win this championship.  We’ve done that with race wins and we’re doing what we have to earn the championship, but our opportunity and our capabilities as a group are so much higher than that and I don’t want to miss out on it, so it’s very, very important to me personally to live up to this opportunity that I’m so fortunate to have right now with this team and this organization.”
    
JOEY LOGANO, NO. 22 AAA FORD

LOOKING BACK ON YOUR WIN IN TEXAS EARLIER THIS YEAR, HOW BIG WAS THAT FOR YOU AND FOR YOUR TEAM?

“I think it was a huge momentum booster. We had already run pretty well to start the season and we had some good finishes, but the way the race played out, with leading late and then having a caution coming to the white flag, coming in and taking tires and then having to pass Jeff Gordon for the win on the green-white-checkered, was a big confidence booster for me and for my team. It also really put me and (crew chief) Todd Gordon on another level. He always stresses that he likes to come in and give me tires and let me be aggressive, and that’s what we did there and it really worked out well. It was a big deal and I think we learned a lot from it. I knew we were going to be strong, but I don’t think I even thought at that point we’d be sitting here with five wins.”

TODD GORDON HAS SAID REPEATEDLY THAT YOU ARE ONE OF THE BEST AT RESTARTS IN THE SERIES.  WHAT MAKES YOU SO GOOD?

“We’ve worked really hard as a team to get better and better at restarts. The cars help, but knowing that at most of these tracks, the restarts are where you have to get it done really puts me up on the wheel. You have to be aggressive and take advantage of those laps when everyone is right there. It’s just something I’ve worked hard at and tried to get better at over the years and it’s really paid off.  Plus, it’s a lot of fun to get up on the wheel during those restarts.”