Records
Date Series Driver Speed
11/14/99 Sprint Cup Race Tony Stewart 140.00
11/16/03 Sprint Cup Qualifying Jamie McMurray 181.111
11/10/01 Nationwide Race Joe Nemechek 132.00
11/20/04 Nationwide Qualifying Casey Mears 177.936
11/16/07 Camping World Truck Race Johnny Benson 135.00
11/16/07 Camping World Truck Qualifying Jon Wood 173.188
Nationwide Series
Saturday November 20
4:30 PM ESPN2
Nationwide Date Race Name Pole Winner Race Winner Make Purse
11/21/09 Ford 300 Carl Edwards Kyle Busch Toyota $1,553,466
11/15/08 Ford 300 Joey Logano Carl Edwards Ford $1,556,572
11/17/07 Ford 300 David Ragan Jeff Burton Chevrolet $1,533,505
11/18/06 Ford 300 Kevin Harvick Matt Kenseth Ford $1,511,998
Sprint Cup Series
Upcoming Race Sunday Nov 21
Ford 400
1:00 PM ESPN
Track Facts
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Location: Homestead, FL
Banking/Turns: Oval
Distance: 1.50 miles
Shape: Oval
Most Cup Wins (since 1975)
* Greg Biffle: 3
Date Race Name Pole Winner Race Winner Make Purse
11/22/09 Ford 400 Jimmie Johnson Denny Hamlin Toyota $5,413,645
11/16/08 Ford 400 David Reutimann Carl Edwards Ford $5,374,166
11/18/07 Ford 400 Jimmie Johnson Matt Kenseth Ford $5,310,336
11/19/06 Ford 400 Kasey Kahne Greg Biffle Ford $5,200,543
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HOMESTEAD, Fla. , Nov 17, 2010 - For Immediate Release
NASCAR Nationwide Series Race Advance
Ford 300
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger
Highlights:
• Clinched the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series driver’s championship two weeks ago at Texas.
• Captured the first NASCAR series championship for Penske Racing and first for Dodge in the Nationwide Series.
• 2010 Nationwide wins include: Talladega, Richmond, Nashville, Michigan, Charlotte and Gateway.
• Won two of the four “new car” races in the Nationwide Series this season in the Dodge Challenger – Michigan and Charlotte.
• Currently leads the Nationwide Series standings by 430 points over Carl Edwards.
• Has a NASCAR record 101 consecutive Nationwide Series races without a DNF (Did Not Finish).
• In addition to six wins, he has 25 top-five and 28 top-10 finishes in 34 races.
JUSTIN ALLGAIER – No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge Charger
Highlights:
• Season totals includes one win along with eight top-five and 20 top-10 finishes
• Earned his first Nationwide Series victory earlier this year at Bristol Motor Speedway, leading a 1-2 finish for Penske Racing and Dodge.
• Allgaier will pilot the same Verizon Dodge that he scored his first NASCAR victory with at Bristol.
• Currently fourth in the season point standings, best among full-time, Nationwide Series-only drivers
• Has two poles this season, most recently at Gateway International Speedway
SAM HORNISH JR. – No. 26 Alliance Parts Dodge Charger
• Hornish is making his first NNS start since 2008 (Bristol – August).
• In 19 Nationwide starts, Hornish has one top five and three top-10 finishes.
• Hornish’s former Sprint Cup crew chief Chris Carrier will be atop the pit box this weekend for his Nationwide race.
DODGE NUGGETS
• Brad Keselowski can break the NASCAR Nationwide Series record of most top-five finishes in a single season (25) that was set last year by Kyle Busch.
• Penske Dodges have seven poles, seven wins along with 33 top-five and 48 top-10 finishes and completed 12,429 of 12,578 laps contested this season.
DODGE NATIONWIDE SERIES QUOTES
“Winning the championship in the Nationwide Series is the culmination of a dream, not only for me, but for my family, friends and everyone who has helped me along the way to get to where I am. Winning the first championship for Mr. Penske and Penske Racing definitely adds another layer to that. It’s the product of a lot of hard work that ends with the culmination and realization of a dream that makes it very special.” Brad Keselowski, No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge
“Racing at Homestead is a lot of fun. You can race three-and-four wide in the corners, but everyone has to funnel in line when you get to the straightaways. For the most part, it’s an action-packed race. It’s a cool weekend because everyone knows that’s their last chance to win for the year.” Justin Allgaier, No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge
“I am really looking forward to racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend in Homestead, the site of my second career NASCAR start in 2006. I feel that I have learned a lot about stock cars in a relatively short amount of time. Although I’ve spent the past two years racing solely in the Sprint Cup Series, I have always felt that Nationwide races are competitive, action-packed and a lot of fun.” Sam Hornish Jr., No. 26 Alliance Parts Dodge
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Rick
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DODGE AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
• Dodge has one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Bill Elliott – 2001).
• Former Dodge driver Bill Elliott (2001) and current Dodge driver Kurt Busch (2002) are the only two Cup Series winner’s at HMS to start from the pole.
• Kurt Busch has earned two poles at Homestead-Miami Speedway, both prior to joining Penske Racing. Busch’s two poles tie him with Jimmie Johnson for the most at HMS.
THE DODGE BOYS
• Dodge has 207 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories.
• Dodge’s most recent win came at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. Kurt Busch led 252 of 400 laps en route to victory in the Coca-Cola 600. It was his second win of the 2010 season.
• Dodge teams have posted 47 victories since the manufacturer’s return to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 after being out of the sport since 1977.
• First Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win: Lee Petty, 2/1/53, West Palm, Fla., 100 miles, .5-mile track.
• Last Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win: Kurt Busch, 5/30/2010, Charlotte, 600 miles, 1.5-mile track.
HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY NUGGETS
• Sam Hornish will compete in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races this weekend at HMS. His last Nationwide Series start was at the 2008 Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2008. Hornish will be driving the No. 26 Dodge Charger for Penske Racing.
DID YOU KNOW
• Kurt Busch is the youngest pole winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch earned the pole at the 2002 event at the age of 24 years, 13 months, 3 days.
DODGE IN THE CHASE: HOMESTEAD-MIAMI
• 2004: Kurt Busch, driving for Roush Racing at that time, finished fifth to clinch the Sprint Cup title by eight points over Jimmie Johnson. Dodge drivers in the Chase were Ryan Newman and Jeremy Mayfield. Newman started third and finished 30th after being involved in an accident. Mayfield started 20th and finished 35th.
• 2005: Ryan Newman qualified second, led four times for 33 laps and finished seventh. Jeremy Mayfield started 13th and finished 10th and Rusty Wallace was 13th at the checkered flag.
• 2006: Kasey Kahne earned Dodge its first pole at HMS, led five times for 90 laps and finished fourth. He moved up to eighth in the final Chase standings.
• 2007: Kurt Busch was the lone Dodge driver in the Chase. He started fifth in the season finale, led 34 circuits and finished second. He was seventh in the final standings.
• 2008: There were no Dodges in the 2008 Chase field.
• 2009: Kurt Busch started 12th, led 43 laps and finished fourth while Kasey Kahne finished 17th. Busch finished fourth in the Chase standings and Kahne 10th.
KURT BUSCH – INSIDE THE CHASE NUMBERS
• Busch is competing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the fifth time: 2004 – Champion, 2005 – 10th, 2007 – seventh and 2009 – fourth.
• Busch is 10th in the Chase standings after finishing ninth at Phoenix last weekend. He is 388 points behind the leader.
• Busch was ranked fourth, 211 points behind the leader, after nine races in the 2009 Chase.
• Busch has one win at Homestead-Miami. He started from the pole at the 2002 event and led 28 laps en route to victory.
• Through nine Chase races this year, Busch’s average finish is 16.8.
• Has competed in 68 Chase races since 2004 (47 have been in a Dodge) with 16 top-five and 34 top-10 finishes.
• Career totals at Homestead-Miami Speedway include one win, four top-fives, and four top 10s. His average start is 15.8 with an average finish of 19.6.
• Has scored top-five finishes in four of last seven Homestead races. He has led 92 laps at HMS.
FAST FACT
Only twice since 1975 has the Sprint Cup point lead changed in the final race of the season – 1979 and 1992. In 1979, Richard Petty overcame a two-point deficit to win by 11 over Darrell Waltrip. In ‘92, Alan Kulwicki overcame a 30-point deficit to win by 10 over Bill Elliott.
DODGE MOTORSPORTS ENGINEERING QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"It seems fitting that the season should end at a mile and a half track. This is the 10th time we've run on one this year, far more than any other configuration. But Homestead- Miami's secret to being different from all the rest is that it has graduated banking in the corners, and the higher you run on the track, the more banking you get to take advantage of. So the engineering choice here is always, ‘Do I set up the car to run low, the shorter way around the track, or do I set up the car to run high, a longer distance around but more banking and more momentum?’ Yet another engineering choice to make." Howard Comstock – Dodge Motorsports Engineering
DODGE DRIVER QUOTES
“We’re coming in there ranked 10th in the points and really need to finish up the season in the top 10 in the standings. Only the top-10 drivers get stage time at the banquet out in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. It would be a cool deal and very appropriate if we have the opportunity to take to the stage and publicly thanks all our sponsors. We’re celebrating the five great seasons with MillerCoors and starting the new chapter with Shell-Pennzoil and would love to have the opportunity to get up there and thank them all for their support.” Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
“I like Homestead-Miami Speedway; it’s been one of my favorite places for many years. Unlike other intermediate venues that are tri-ovals, both ends of the track are exactly the same with two straightaways in between. The way you get into the corners at Homestead is unlike anywhere else. It’s a unique track and a great place to have the final race of the season. Sam Hornish Jr. No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
“This year has been a year of progression and learning, for sure. I feel like we are building equity here at Penske Racing. We want to definitely be better. It’s hard to put a grade on that. I think that some of the efforts we put in could have yielded better results, but a lot of that was just bad racing luck. Other weeks we haven’t performed well and have had good luck to get decent finishes. So that makes it hard to put a grade on the season. We still have work to do to get to where we want to be, and that is contending for wins and a spot in the Chase.” Brad Keselowski, No 12 Penske Dodge Charger
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Rick
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After a two-year absence, Defiance native Sam Hornish Jr. will make his return to the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"I'm really looking forward to racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend in Homestead," explained Hornish on the Penske Racing website. "(Homestead is) the site of my second career NASCAR start in 2006."
Hornish will be driving the No. 26 Alliance Parts Dodge Charger, sporting the yellow and black paint scheme of the Daimler Trucks North America LLC subsidiary.
The Ford 300 at Homestead will be Hornish's 20th start in the Nationwide series. In his previous starts, Hornish has compiled one top-five, three top-10 and five top-15 finishes.
Hornish also experienced great success at Homestead as an open-wheel driver.
During his time in the IndyCar Series, Hornish earned three victories and six top-fives in Miami.
Now, as he heads into the season finale, Hornish is excited to get back behind the wheel of a Nationwide ride.
"I feel that I have learned a lot about stock cars in a relatively short amount of time," said Hornish, whose last Nationwide experience came at Bristol in 2008. "Although I've spent the past two years racing solely in the Sprint Cup Series, I have always felt that Nationwide races are competitive, action-packed and a lot of fun. As we work to finalize our plans for 2011, it feels good to end this season with a little excitement."
Team owner Roger Penske is also excited to see his driver test his skills.
"We're all excited to have Sam compete in the Nationwide Series race this weekend," Penske explained. "Sam is a true competitor with solid performances in both the NASCAR Cup and Nationwide Series, as well as in the IndyCar Series."
Hornish will also be reunited with former Cup crew chief Chris Carrier.
Carrier was the crew chief of Penske's No. 77 Cup car during Hornish's rookie season and has since been helping develop Nationwide driver Parker Klingerman.
"I am looking forward to racing at Homestead for several reasons," Carrier pointed out. "One is simply the privilege to show up at any race with equipment of this caliber. Also, it's going to be great to be teamed up with Sam again. I really feel there is some unfinished business there, and that motivates me even more. Sam is a stand-up person and a talented race driver that has accomplished a lot in his career."
Qualifying for the Ford 300 will take place on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. with the green flag dropping on Saturday at 4 p.m. The race can be seen live on ESPN2.
CHA, CHA, CHA, CHANGES — The final race of the Sprint Cup season always represents the ends of some relationships in the NASCAR garage and the beginning of other new ones. Penske Racing is one of the teams making major changes for next season, when Brad Keselowski will move from the No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger to the No. 2 Miller Lite-sponsored car, made famous first by Rusty Wallace and over the last five years, Kurt Busch. In 2011, Busch will drive the No. 22 Penske Dodge with sponsorship from Shell Pennzoil. It’s a bittersweet move for Busch.
“It’s been a great run in the Miller Lite Dodge,” said Busch. “It’s tough to sit here and think of words to describe what it’s meant to me and what it’s meant to the group up in Milwaukee. When I first started to feel it is when I put on the Shell driver’s suit for a photo shoot, getting things ready for 2011. You’re sitting there thinking about the good times, what the Miller Lite car has meant to so many NASCAR fans. To have Rusty run in it for so many years and have a shot at championships and race wins. And for me, just a quick five-year run, it was definitely feeling comfortable at the end.”
Penske is expected to run just two Sprint Cup cars in 2011, with Sam Hornish Jr.’s future uncertain at this point.
Last Updated: Friday, Nov 19, 2010 4:55 pm, EST
Ford 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Order Driver (No.) Car Qualifying Speed 1 Kasey Kahne (83) Toyota 176.904
2 Carl Edwards (99) Ford 176.725
3 Jamie McMurray (1) Chevrolet 176.713
4 Bill Elliott (21) Ford 176.586
5 A J Allmendinger (43) Ford 176.569
6 Jimmie Johnson (48) Chevrolet 176.482
7 David Reutimann (00) Toyota 176.453
8 Mark Martin (5) Chevrolet 176.442
9 David Ragan (6) Ford 176.321
10 Regan Smith (78) Chevrolet 176.217
11 Jeff Gordon (24) Chevrolet 176.194
12 Elliott Sadler (19) Ford 176.177
13 Matt Kenseth (17) Ford 176.114
14 Jeff Burton (31) Chevrolet 176.056 15 Kurt Busch (2) Dodge 175.924
16 Paul Menard (98) Ford 175.776
17 Clint Bowyer (33) Chevrolet 175.764
18 Brad Keselowski (12) Dodge 175.701
19 Joey Logano (20) Toyota 175.655
20 Marcos Ambrose (47) Toyota 175.627
21 J.J. Yeley (36) Chevrolet 175.547
22 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) Chevrolet 175.347
23 Ryan Newman (39) Chevrolet 175.251
24 Aric Almirola (9) Ford 175.177
25 Martin Truex Jr. (56) Toyota 175.154 26 Sam Hornish Jr. (77) Dodge 175.109
27 Greg Biffle (16) Ford 175.029
28 Kevin Harvick (29) Chevrolet 174.927
29 Joe Nemechek (87) Toyota 174.893
30 Mike Bliss (66) Toyota 174.831
31 Tony Stewart (14) Chevrolet 174.820
32 Bobby Labonte (09) Chevrolet 174.820
33 Kyle Busch (18) Toyota 174.548
34 Casey Mears (13) Toyota 174.486
35 Andy Lally (71) Chevrolet 174.469
36 Dave Blaney (38) Ford 174.452
37 Denny Hamlin (11) Toyota 174.407
38 David Gilliland (37) Ford 173.919
39 Travis Kvapil (34) Ford 173.885
40 Juan Pablo Montoya (42) Chevrolet 173.010
41 Scott Speed (82) Toyota 172.988
42 Kevin Conway (7) Toyota 170.729
43 Landon Cassill (164) Toyota 174.452
44 Michael McDowell (46) DNQ 174.407
45 Patrick Carpentier (26) DNQ 172.414
__________________
Rick
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Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes - NSCS Final Qualifying - Homestead-Miami Speedway
November 19, 2010 , HOMESTEAD, Fla. -
KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) Qualified 15th
"Not a bad run. We picked up some speed from qualifying in the Miller Lite Dodge and that made the front end drive a little bit different, just too harsh. We really didn’t have the ride quality that we needed. Overall, we're just trying to get our front end to plant a little bit better."
SAM HORNISH JR, (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) Qualified 26th
"We didn't really have a good practice earlier today. We haven't made the gains that we needed. We threw a lot at it for qualifying and made the Mobil 1 Dodge a little better. We'll just wait and see how it all plays out. I think we made a positive gain in qualifying."
BRAD KESELOWSKI (NO. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger) Qualified 18th
"We'll take it. We made some positive changes to the car that brought it to life. The car felt really good going into Turn 1. We'll go back and look at the data and switch our focus to race runs tomorrow."
__________________
Rick
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Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes - Kurt Busch Open Interview - Homestead
November 19, 2010 , HOMESTEAD, Fla. -
KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON DRIVING THE NO. 2 MILLER LITE DODGE FOR THE LAST TIME THIS WEEKEND AT HOMESTEAD? “Yeah, it’s been a great run. It’s tough to see it come to an end, driving the Blue Deuce. It’s been a privilege to drive the car and carry on the legacy that Rusty Wallace started. Just when I started to feel comfortable in his shoes that he left me, we had to make a change. When a sponsor requests to have you drive their car, it’s really a unique opportunity with Shell/Pennzoil coming aboard and requesting me to drive their car. It’s really neat to have a sponsor want you in this day and age and go out there to compete for wins and championships, the whole deal. That’s what we’ll have to do and I hope we start off strong next year down in Daytona. It’s been a great ride with the Blue Deuce. A bunch of wins; I think the biggest of my five-year stint driving the car is probably winning the All-Star race this year and backing it up with the Coke 600. As they say, all good things must come to an end. It’s been a great group to work with in Milwaukee. Great friendships. Good people. I’ve got enough contacts to still have some beer delivered to the house, so that will work out pretty good as well.”
AS A FORMER CHASE CHAMPION, WHAT ARE THE THREE GUYS ELIGIBLE TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP GOING THROUGH THIS WEEKEND? “The atmosphere that the Chase was supposed to be all about is right here, unfolding in front of us. In 2004, it was a storybook of how you write the Chase. And so these guys are definitely feeling the pressure. Every lap that you make out on the track and in practice, the intense focus is there. Those three guys are worrying themselves to death. It’s just part of the nature of how you go into the Chase…basically where it’s heads-up. If Hamlin finishes in front of the 48, he’s the champion. If the 48 finishes in front of the 11, he’s the champion. The way that I raced it back in ’04, I didn’t care that I had an 18-point lead. I just said I had to finish ahead of those guys and beat them heads-up. As luck turned out, we needed those 18 points because (Jimmie Johnson) finished second and we were fifth. Those guys are racing each other heads-up and Harvick has nothing to lose; he’s going for broke because he can’t finish worse than third in points. It’s interesting to see the three of them going at it. If I had to pick a favorite, I would go with Hamlin. His car, his team has just had more speed than the rest of the group.”
YOU’LL BE AT ROCKINGHAM FOR THE POLAR BEAR 150. WHY DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE EVENT AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT GOING BACK TO ROCKINGHAM?
”We race car drivers are crazy. With how long the season is and how we look forward to the end of the year, the first thing we do is go and jump back in a race car. I’m excited and just want to go have fun. It’s that grassroots feel of when I first started racing in Street Stock back in 1996. It’s what I’m looking forward to, go out there and just kind of rough it – change some springs around, some sway bars, just get dirty and get in the mix with all the great street racers that have come to compete at this Polar Bear 150 and to do it at Rockingham. We’re taking street stock cars that are supposed to be on half-mile tracks and we’re going to a mile race track with it. I hear that it’s really close to wide open all the way around. It’s going to be excited. It’s going to be fun. I only have one full-time employee who works on race cars for me and a bunch of volunteers. It reminds me of the old school days when you just go out there and have some fun with it.”
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR PENSKE RACING TO HAVE A BREAKOUT SEASON NEXT YEAR?
“We hope that we find the right tools necessary to find the speed that we need. Yeah, we’re competitive, but we need to be better. Right now, it’s just a process of working around the clock to find different chassis designs, chassis setups, and aerodynamic changes. You name it; we’re searching high and low. With us being as competitive as we were this year and winning a couple of races, I still just felt like we weren’t where we needed to be in the Chase. It’s been a tough Chase. Overall, just the improvements made these last few weeks give us that indication that next year could be a break-out year.”
WHAT DID YOU DO TO HELP BRAD THIS YEAR? HOW MUCH WAS HE ABLE TO HELP YOU?
“It was great to work with Brad. He’s got that youthful exuberance about him where he’s on the gas all the time. He was very focused on his Nationwide program and it’s great to see him put that all together and a championship effort. I congratulate him and our group on what they’ve done and accomplished. Now we need to get him in the Cup car with that same mindset where he’s just completely focused on it and he’s getting faster and faster with the more experience that he gains. It was nice to work with him and see what he thinks about certain race tracks and how he approaches things. Anytime that you have a stronger teammate, it makes your program better. I’m really looking forward to him feeling more comfortable in his second season. That way we can definitely lean on each other harder and competing where we’re racing each other hard every week. Right now, it’s been I’ve had a solid run and they’ve been struggling a bit.”
YOUR ONE OF ONLY TWO DRIVERS TO HAVE BEATEN JIMMIE JOHNSON IN THE CHASE. WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE JIMMIE, KEVIN AND DENNY?
“Yeah, 2004 was a perfect Hollywood ending and they way that our season went and came down here to the final race. I think those guys need to race each other heads-up. You can’t expect to finish a couple of spots behind and hang on to the championship. You’re going to have to race them heads-up, that’s the way that I approached it. We even got the opportunity when things unfolded for us in our championship run that afternoon when we pitted with (Jimmie) Johnson. They were the target. No matter what they did, we did. That’s the approach and advice I’d give.”
HOW OFTEN DO YOU PONDER THE INCIDENT ON PIT ROAD IN 2004 WHEN YOU HAD THE TIRE ISSUE?
“It’s amazing how that whole day unfolded for us. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. The way that it all worked out, I can’t remember if we had the lucky dog back then, I don’t think that we did. So, we would have had to race our way back on the lead lap and that would have made it that much more difficult. But we had one key factory in that race that helped us win that championship and that’s Greg Biffle. He led and dominated all the laps that day. He was a teammate of mine who actually kept (Jimmie) Johnson from leading a lap. He kept those five points away from him and Jeff Gordon as well. If we were trying to get a lap back in the race, Biffle might have slowed up a bit more than he would have if it was someone else. He helped us tremendously. He was a great teammate and good friend.”
__________________
Rick
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BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger) 2010 NNS Champion
"It's been a long ride to get here. It's been a good ride, a lot of fun. It's pretty amazing. From just a few years back to not having a job in this sport and really thinking that I'd have to get a "real" job to being out here and winning the championship and establishing yourself. Hopefully, we can carry this success to the Cup side."
Q. Congratulations, gentlemen. Brad, you actually clinched the championship last weekend. So what was it like coming to this race as the champion? Is it a precursor to what you'll experience next year going to each race as the champion?
“It feels really good. Obviously, for us that meant we could come here and just take a gamble to win, and we did that. We took a pretty large gamble to win there towards the end. It didn't quite pay off, but it felt good that we knew at the end of the day we didn't leave anything on the table, and for that I'm very proud.
“Throughout the year I think if you look at the way we've raced, we haven't raced in a championship mode for the most part. We've raced in a let's go for wins mode. We took gambles at tracks like Atlanta and so forth. Those were gambles to win the race.
“Probably lost some spots because of that, but we're all about doing what we can to win races. We kept that up and got even more aggressive with it here tonight.”
Q. What has Paul brought to the table for you?
KESELOWSKI: “What does Paul bring? I think he said it himself. The focus on just building fast race cars. So much of this sport revolves around speed. You're crippled as a driver when you don't have fast race cars.
“When you look through the sport's history, fast race cars always set the precedent over so many other things. Even reliability and pit road and all of that. If you have a fast race car you can just overcome so many issues.
“And that's what Paul brings to the table is the knowledge and guts to work hard and build those cars and not accept anything less than that. I think that's what Paul brings to the table.
“Obviously, our relationship has developed throughout the year to where we have a lot of confidence in each other and that gives a little more clarity and allows us all to be very focused as well.”
Q. Brad, your experience this season in running for a championship, the consistency, the Top 5 record and all that, what do you take from this side of the equation that you think will make you a better Sprint Cup driver?
KESELOWSKI: “There are so many things you take on any given weekend. You can kind of magnify the picture and look at whether it's one lap and one groove or one pit stop and how to get into pit road better. You can magnify it or you can expand it and look back as far as building a brand and a legacy of being able to win and what that does for your team and for your name for guys like Roger to continue to drive greater and bigger sponsors and so forth, or for guys on the pit crew or on the road, just to keep their spirits up or even to continue to bring new talent in and build depth throughout the company.
“I think there are multiple ways you can look at it. For me I look at it and try to keep that in mind and feel that that's why this series is so valuable to me.
“It's not just valuable to me, it's valuable to us all. If I win, Roger wins, and if Roger wins, I win. So you try to keep that in perspective. That's kind of how I feel about it and hopefully we'll get the opportunity to run next year for the championship.
“Like Roger said, we made commitments to sponsors and that to do it, and I feel good about those commitments and surely intend on honoring them. Hopefully we'll have the opportunity from a rules perspective to do just that.”
ROGER PENSKE (Chairman, Penske Corporation)
“It’s amazing to think that we’ve raced so many times here and won races wheel, but to come back here and this be the site for the championship is unbelievable. When you think just a year ago when we decided to put this team together and Paul (Wolfe, crew chief) agreed to come on board and Brad and we talked to him and we said let’s build something from the ground, a whole new team. That’s what’s we’ve done this year. When you think about what Dodge went through, bankruptcy and said, “Stay with us, don’t leave us,’ and you can see today when you see Detroit and what’s happened. We’re so proud of representing that mark through the season. Seven wins in this series and a number of poles. Of course for Brad, a Michigan guy, I think that we brought this whole thing back to Michigan. That’s pretty important to us and the state. For me, it’s a real thrill. This goes down in something that I’ve tried so hard with on the Cup side and certainly this will be a preamble to what’s going to come in the future.
“I just thank everybody in the media and all our sponsors. More important is my name might be on the door, but it's all those people that are behind that door, some 350 people, that make Penske Racing successful day in and day out. I just want to thank them for what they've done for me personally. Also thank my wife who has put up with me for 38 years coming to these races. So it's been pretty special for me.
PAUL WOLFE (crew chief, No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger)
“It’s pretty special time for all of us. It’s a first championship for a lot of us on this team and a lot of people at Penske Racing. I’m just grateful for the opportunity that Roger and Brad gave me to come onboard and start up this 22 team. It means a lot to me. All my guys have worked so hard this year. Starting up a new team, I don’t think we had any guys on our team going into December. To be able to come out here less than a year ago and win the first championship for Penske Racing just says a lot about all the guys that we put on this team. With all the help from great sponsors like Discount Tire, Ruby Tuesday’s; it was great to celebrate in victory lane with both of those guys this year. Every day I get more emotions thinking about it. I’m kind of a quiet guy. I don’t say a whole lot. It definitely means a lot and I’m just grateful for the opportunity for the two guys next to me. I think this is just a little bit of what we’ve got to look forward to in the future.”
Was there a point during the season where you said, you know, we've got a shot at this? You put together this brand new team and all of a sudden you're in that position. Then, Brad, what is it that Paul brings to the table that makes you guys a championship team this year?
WOLFE: “Well, to be honest with you, obviously, as we put this team together over the winter, the expectations and goals everybody wants to win a championship. For me, personally, it was like, all right, I need to get in there and build some fast race cars and figure out how we're going to win races. That was my number one goal.
“Didn't really have a championship on my mind. It was building fast race cars and winning races. As we got into the season and had the back to back wins at Talladega and Richmond, and kind of seeing how the points were shaking out. That's probably around that time I was like well, you know, I think we have a shot at this championship.
“As Brad touched on a little earlier, I can't say that we approached any weekend different as we found ourselves in the points lead there. I don't remember what race we had the points lead. But we didn't really approach the weekend different from the way we called the race, from the way we set up the race cars.
“I'm not going to say Brad might not have been driving smart or careful, not putting himself in bad situations which he does a really good job of not doing that. But we went out to win races and to win six races is a pretty good stat.
“You look at the 18 and you might think well, they won 12, so six doesn't seem like a lot. So they set the bar high. So I feel like for a first year team to come out here and win six of them is pretty big. So just like I said, proud of the effort and it's kind of my take on it.”
SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 26 Alliance Parts Dodge Charger) Finished 21st
“We didn’t have a very good car most of the night. We were way too tight, but somehow we managed to make a solid run to the end. We got caught on old tires late in the race and lost some spots to finish 21st. We ran inside the top 15, the top 10 parts of the night. We just didn’t have anything to run with the leaders at the end of the race.”
JUSTIN ALLGAIER (No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge Charger) Finished 11th
“A bit of a frustrating night. I was trying to come up through the field after we got some early damage that set us back. We made some pit calls that I thought were really good and I guess the 88 decided he couldn’t’ leave well enough alone from last week and wanted to get some more. It’s a shame. We got put in the fence early in the day and had to come back from it. I felt that we did a good job in the pits and out on the race track making spots up. We may have pitted too early there at the end. It’s such a tough call and we knew that we needed to take tires and we pitted. Sure enough, it got us to the front, but it wasn’t enough at the end. It was a solid 11th-place finish. I’ve got to thank all the Verizon Wireless Dodge guys at the track and at the shop. It’s been an awesome few years at Penske Racing and I’m very thankful for the opportunity to race for them.”
PARKER KLIGERMAN (No. 42 GetMoreVacations.com/Bandit Chippers Dodge) Finished 13th
“Our No. 42 Bandit Chippers Dodge Charger was really good tonight. This was the first Nationwide race that I’ve started up front, ran top 10 the whole race and had awesome pit stops up until the second to last stop where we dropped a lug nut. That dropped us back. For a small team like this to run with the big dogs is great. We know that we’re fighting above our weight. They (the crew) did a great job all night long.”
__________________
Rick
Nitro Year: 2007 (1 of 113,000 sold)
Nitro Model: R/T 4X4 Stone White
CAT-BACK Exhaust, CAI, Projector Head Lamps
Fully-Equipped w/all factory options
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NASCAR 2010 Final: Sat 11/20-11/21
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