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Dodge Motorsports NNS Race Advance - CARFAX 250 - Michigan International Speedway
August 11, 2010 , BROOKLYN, Mich.
For Immediate Release
Dodge Motorsports NNS Race Advance
CARFAX 250
Michigan International Speedway
Saturday, Aug. 14, 2010 1:00 PM ESPN


Dodge in 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series
* Dodge’s two NASCAR Nationwide Series entries from Penske Racing have combined for five poles and four wins along with 21 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes this season.

DODGE CHALLENGER RETURNS
• The Dodge Challenger returns to action this weekend as the “new cars” of the NASCAR Nationwide Series will compete for the second time this season. The Challenger will also race at Richmond and Charlotte this year before full integration in the series in 2011.
• Dodge Challengers swept the front row at the debut of the Nationwide “new car” at Daytona in July. Brad Keselowski earned the pole with Penske development driver Parker Kligerman starting second. Keselowski led twice and finished fourth at Daytona while Kligerman was 13th and Justin Allgaier, who led 11 laps, was 17th.

JUSTIN ALLGAIER – No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge
Highlights:
• Allgaier earned his first NASCAR Nationwide Series win this year at Bristol Motor Speedway, leading a 1-2 finish for Penske Racing and Dodge.
• Allgaier has one win, five top-five, and 12 top-10 finishes in 22 races this season.
• Allgaier sits fourth in the Nationwide driver standings heading into Michigan this weekend.
• Allgaier has only one previous start at MIS; he started 28th and finished seventh in 2009.
• Allgaier was the 2009 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year.

BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge
Highlights:
• Keselowski currently leads the Nationwide Series standings by 327 points over Carl Edwards. He has led the standings since his win at Talladega in April.
• Keselowski is the defending Nationwide event winner at MIS. He started 13th and led three laps en route to his fifth-career NNS victory
• Keselowski earned back-to-back wins at Talladega and Richmond. He leads the Nationwide Series in top fives (16), top 10s (19) and laps completed (4,037). He has only one finish outside the top 15 (Chicago – 21st).
• In Nationwide Series competition on speedways, Keselowski has three wins along with 29 top-five and 43 top-10 finishes in 73 starts. He has started from the pole four times.
• Keselowski has a NASCAR record 89 consecutive Nationwide Series races without a DNF (Did Not Finish).

DODGE NATIONWIDE QUOTES
“It goes without saying that a win at Michigan would be huge for our Verizon team. Roger Penske lives outside of Detroit and Dodge calls the area home. It would be monumental if we were to win at Michigan. The track itself is huge. It’s a fun track, but a challenging one due to the seams in the pavement. The track lacks overall grip, and that provides another challenge. I feel like this race will have a lot of interest as it is a race featuring the new Nationwide Series cars, and I think we, as drivers, will be challenged because we’ll have to drive differently given the new car configuration.”
Justin Allgaier, No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge Charger

“The biggest thing with the new Dodge Challenger this weekend at Michigan is that you don’t know what to expect. There isn’t much we can take from Daytona other than the fact that we know we’ve built some pretty fast race cars. We still need to keep working on it to make it better and better each time we run it. I’ve pointed to these races with the new Dodge Challenger as the wild cards in the championship battle. I’m happy with how we performed at Daytona and we need to ensure we stay on top of our game this weekend at Michigan. We’ve definitely hit a homerun with the look of the cars.”
Brad Keselowski, No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger



Records
Date Series Driver Speed
6/13/99 Sprint Cup Race Dale Jarrett 174.00
6/19/05 Sprint Cup Qualifying Ryan Newman 194.232
8/18/07 Nationwide Race Denny Hamlin 156.00
8/18/07 Nationwide Qualifying Greg Biffle 186.548
7/26/03 Camping World Truck Race Brendan Gaughan 154.00
6/18/05 Camping World Truck Qualifying Kyle Busch 181.612

Nationwide Series
Upcoming Race Aug 14
Carfax 250


Track Facts
Michigan International Speedway

Location: Brooklyn, MI
Banking/Turns: Oval
Distance: 2.00 miles
Shape: Oval

Nationwide
Date Race Name Pole Winner Race Winner Make Purse
8/15/09 Carfax 250 Brian Vickers Brad Keselowski Chevrolet $1,232,690
8/16/08 Carfax 250 Carl Edwards Carl Edwards Ford $1,237,221
8/18/07 Carfax 250 Greg Biffle Denny Hamlin Chevrolet $1,216,807
8/19/06 Carfax 250 Mark Martin Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet $1,193,158