News

THE RACE

Ford EcoBoost 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sunday, November 16, 2014, 3:00 pm ET

THE CARS

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

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

THE NEWS AND NOTES

The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion

· A SIX PACK OF VICTORIES: Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite team have scored a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series-leading, and a career-best, six victories this season. Unfortunately, it was not quite enough to qualify the team for a shot at the 2014 Championship in the Chase finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend.

· A STRONG CASE FOR THE MILLER LITE FORD: In his six career starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Keselowski has a best finish of sixth, which came at last year’s final race. In his last three starts at the South Florida circuit, he has qualified inside the top five. To date this season, Keselowski has earned a career-best five pole positions. He also has five top-three finishes in his last 10 starts in 2014.

· NO. 2 KNOWS THE FRONT ROW: Driving the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, Keselowski has collected an impressive 13 front row starts this season. The effort represents an incredible 37% front row starting average during Keselowski’s career-best year of qualifying.

· INTER-DISCIPLINARY SUCCESSES: As one of the few drivers to compete in all three of NASCAR’s top touring series, Keselowski has won a race this year in all three disciplines. His six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series triumphs, five wins in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory translated to an astounding one win for every four starts. This season, Keselowski has 48 starts across all three series and 12 combined victories.

· MILLER LITE SPOT LITE ON THE SPOTTER: Joey Meier, the spotter for Keselowski and the Miller Lite Ford team, hails from Hialeah, Fla. Meier wears a few different hats as he spots for Keselowski in Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck series competition. On top of his spotting duties, Meier also pilots Keselowski’s plane.

· ANOTHER CHANCE AT A DOUBLE AND A TITLE: Following his NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) victory last weekend in Phoenix, Keselowski will get one more chance to race in the Team Penske Ford Mustang this weekend. Keselowski will drive the No. 22 Hertz Ford this Saturday as teammate Joey Logano will focus on trying to win the Sprint Cup Series Championship this weekend at Homestead. This will mark Keselowski’s 11th double-duty weekend of the 2014 season. The extra race gives Keselowski one last opportunity to capture a third weekend sweep for the year as he took top honors in both races at Las Vegas and Loudon this year. Keselowski will also be trying to help secure the NNS Owner Points Championship for the No. 22 Ford team this weekend.

THE Q&A

BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD

DOES NOT BEING IN THE CHASE AFFECT YOUR APPROACH THIS WEEKEND AT HOMESTEAD?

“We will treat this race as we treat the rest of them – we show up to win. Since we are not in the Chase, we have nothing to lose, but we still have a lot to gain. This team has six wins this year and we like the sound of seven. This Miller Lite Ford team is competitive – yeah we are all a bit disappointed to not be in the Chase Championship, but we appreciate the opportunity we have to go out there this weekend and win another race. We tested here a couple of weeks back and we took away some good data. We will look to use this weekend as a chance to end the year on a high note. The other part of this is that Team Penske is in the Chase so our team will support Joey and the No. 22 Ford team to the best of our ability.”

PAUL WOLFE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD

THE TEAM TESTED HERE RECENTLY, WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO THIS RACE?

“This last test showed us that the fast way around this track is up top. So we’ll have to make sure our set-up allows Brad to do that. Besides that, since this race begins in the afternoon and then finishes at night – keeping up with the changing track conditions is vital. We will also have to manage our tires. This tire and this track tend to have a lot of fall off, so we need to be sure to have fresh tires at the end. There are quite a few challenges to this race, but I think that is a good thing as this team does its best work while facing challenges. The Miller Lite Ford team is hungry. We want to end the season with another win.”

THE NEWS AND NOTES

The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion

· IN THE CHASE:  Joey Logano is one of four drivers vying for the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Logano comes into Homestead on the heels of a career-best year in the Sprint Cup Series, notching five wins, 16 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes, all best among the four drivers left racing for the Sprint Cup Championship. Logano also has earned two wins, six top-five and seven top-10 finishes in the nine Chase races up to this point.

· BUSY TIME FOR THE TITLE CONTENDER:  As one of the four drivers with a shot at the title at Homestead, Logano will have a full plate leading up to the 400-mile event on Sunday afternoon. Logano will take part in a special Championship Media Day on Wednesday.  In addition, Logano will participate in an exclusive autograph session on Saturday at Homestead with his three fellow competitors racing for the championship. He will also have a host of media responsibilities over the week, including several interviews on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

· HOMESTEAD HOPEFUL:  Logano’s career numbers at Homestead-Miami Speedway might not reflect a track record of success, but looking at his season, past numbers aren’t always indicative of current results. In his only race at Homestead with Team Penske, Logano started third and finished eighth last season. Logano also has won a pole at Homestead, as he topped qualifying for the 2012 finale. Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team also tested at Homestead-Miami Speedway a few weeks ago.

· LOOKING BACK ON THE MOTIVATION:  Being a part of the “Championship 4,” Logano will be guaranteed his best career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points finish. His previous best came last season, his first year with Team Penske, when he finished eighth in the point standings. Logano continues to draw inspiration from an early-season issue of NASCAR Illustrated, where it was predicted Logano would miss the Chase and finish 14th in the 2014 Sprint Cup Series point standings, despite coming off of a then-career-year in 2013.

· ALL EQUAL SHOTS AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP:  With the new format of the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2014, Logano and his fellow Championship hopefuls all come into the event with an equal shot for the title. Under the previous versions of the Chase, with points accumulated over the 10 Chase races, Logano would enter the Homestead finale with a 26-point lead over Kevin Harvick.
 

THE Q&A    

JOEY LOGANO, NO. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE COMPETING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP THIS WEEKEND AT HOMESTEAD?

“It is exactly how you would think it feels – it’s the accumulation of a whole season of hard work. This No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford team has been strong all year, and I think we deserve to be in the final four competing for this Championship. I think it would have been a shame not to race for the title after the year we have had. Thankfully, we were able to make it through the Chase and make it to the final round. All of the teams in the Chase will say the same thing, but we deserve it. This team has worked its butt off all year long. We’ve been through a lot and we’ve come a long way to get where we are. (Crew chief) Todd (Gordon) has led this team, and we are all very close. This is the type of team you win Championships with.”

WHO DO YOU FEEL WILL BE THE BIGGEST COMPETITION FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP THIS WEEKEND?

“I think they are all going to be strong. You don’t make it to this position without being strong. Kevin (Harvick), of course, has been strong all year long.  They’ve led a lot of laps, and they’ve been strong at almost every single track. Denny (Hamlin) and that team have been coming on lately, and they’ve been strong in the Chase. And he won last year at Homestead, and that’s probably one of his better tracks.  And Ryan (Newman) is consistent. Sometimes you just don’t think about him and there he is running fourth or fifth in the race out of nowhere. All of the teams are strong, but I think the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team is just as strong, if not stronger, than all of them. I think we have as good of a shot as anyone, and I’d put my money on me. It will be fun to watch as a fan for sure.”