Dodge Motorsports NSCS Race Advance - Coke Zero 400 - Daytona International Speedway
DAYTONA, Fla. , Jun 29, 2010 - For Immediate Release
Dodge Motorsports NSCS Race Advance
Coke Zero 400
Daytona International Speedway
Saturday, July 3, 2010 7:30 PM TNT
THE DODGE BOYS
• Dodge has 207 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories.
• Dodge’s most recent win came at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kurt Busch led 252 laps en route to his second victory of the season.
• Dodge claimed four Sprint Cup Series victories in 2009.
• Dodge teams have posted 47 wins since the manufacturer’s return to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 after being out of the sport since 1977.
• Dodge has posted wins each season since it’s return in 2001 including seven wins twice (2002 and 2006).
DODGE AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
• Dodge has 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Daytona International Speedway.
• Dodge has five wins in the July race (A.J. Foyt, Sam McQuagg, Bobby Isaac and Richard Petty-2) at Daytona.
• Kurt Busch has scored four consecutive top-five finishes in the July race at Daytona since joining Penske Racing and the Dodge ranks in 2006.
• Last Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win at Daytona International Speedway: Ryan Newman, 02/17/2008, Daytona 500, 152.672 mph avg. speed.
• Last Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win: Kurt Busch, 05/30/2010, Coca-Cola 600, 144.966 mph avg. speed.
KURT BUSCH – INSIDE THE CHASE NUMBERS
• Busch is currently sixth in the Sprint Cup driver standings, 201 points out of first and 271 ahead of 13th.
• Entering the 18th race at Daytona last year, Busch was fourth in the point standings, 270 out of first and 206 ahead of 13th.
• Through the first 17 races this year, Busch has two wins, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
• After 17 races last year, Busch had one win along with five top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
• Busch has 15 combined wins at the 10 race tracks leading up to the Chase - (New Hampshire – 3, Pocono -2, Michigan – 2, Bristol – 5, Atlanta – 3).
• Four drivers in the 2009 Chase for the Championship are not currently in the top 12: Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers.
• Four drivers not in the Chase for the Championship last year currently in the top 12 are Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Kurt Busch’s avg. starting position of eighth is best among 2010 NSCS drivers. He has led 793 laps this year, most in the Sprint Cup Series.
• Sam Hornish’s best starting position this season is 2nd at Texas Motor Speedway.
• Brad Keselowski won a restrictor-plate race in only his second start on a superspeedway (Talladega, 2009). He finished 18th in his only July start at Daytona last season.
DODGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK: On the repaving of Daytona International Speedway
"I don't like the idea of it, but I know you can only run so long on a surface before you end of having pieces of the track come up. It's not good for anyone to have a break in the middle of the race like we had in February. They're definitely doing the right thing with the repaving, but one of the really fun things about going to Daytona has always been that you had to still have your car handling well because the track really did eat up tires. You could really run the tires off the car and that added a lot of character to the racing in Daytona.” Sam Hornish Jr., No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
ENGINEERING TALK;
"Equipped with the biggest restrictor plate since they were introduced into NASCAR, the teams will be looking for a lot of speed at Daytona this week. This is the first restrictor plate race since the change from the wing back to the deck spoiler in the Sprint Cup Series and with the added aerodynamic drag that it puts on the cars, NASCAR felt it would have a huge effect on top speeds. So their solution has been to give the cars less carburetor restriction resulting in more horsepower and creating an offset to the added aerodynamic drag. It's a tricky equation and we'll all be anxious to see if the results are correct." Howard Comstock, Dodge Motorsports Engineering
“Returning to Daytona for the July race marks the start of the second half of the season for us. It is a challenging race because it is always hot and it will be the first time at Daytona with the rear spoiler package. I feel like we have had very good cars at Daytona recently, but we have struggled to get good results.” Travis Geisler, No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
DODGE DRIVER QUOTES
“When you look at the performance and record of our Miller Lite Dodge team so far this season, you can make the case that maybe the moon and stars are sitting right for us to finally win one of these plate races. We’ve never been able to put together a whole race and finish strong at Charlotte and we won back-to-back weekends there. We finished a strong third at Darlington. So, maybe this can be our time to come home a winner at Daytona.”
Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Vortex Dodge Charger
"I really like restrictor-plate racing, but it seems like if we could be in the wrong place at the wrong time, we've been there especially at Daytona. We've had a rough go of it at restrictor-plate tracks for a while now. The good thing is that we run fast at the superspeedways. We just need to make sure that we don't have any of the small issues and get a little luck on our side." Sam Hornish Jr., No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
“The Daytona 500 weekend almost made me sick to my stomach. It was a hard one to swallow. We had such an awesome car during Speedweeks. To blow a tire out on lap eight stung, quite frankly. Coming back to Daytona is going to be different now that we have the spoiler instead of the wing, but we are still carrying a lot of confidence and I’m ready to get there.
“Our speedway program is very good, very strong. I’m very happy with where we are with our cars. We led laps in our Duel race at Daytona, and at Talladega, but we don’t have the finishes to show for how well we have run in those races. I just need to continue to make the right moves in the race and catch the right breaks. So far we’ve run up front, but we’ve had terrible luck with the restrictor-plate races. If we can get a little bit of luck on our side, I really think we can be a threat at any of the speedway races." Brad Keselowski, No 12 Penske Dodge Charger
DODGE BOYS NSCS 2010 BEST
• Kurt Busch - Start - Pole – Las Vegas, Michigan
Finish - Win – Atlanta, Charlotte 1
* Where: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL
* When: July 3, 2010 7:49 pm EDT
* Laps: 160
* Track Length: 2.5 miles
* Race Length: 400.00 miles
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Records
Date Series Driver Speed
2/17/80 Sprint Cup Race Buddy Baker 178.00
2/14/10 Sprint Cup Qualifying Mark Martin 191.188
2/17/07 Nationwide Race Kevin Harvick 156.00
2/17/01 Nationwide Qualifying Joe Nemechek 186.966
2/17/06 Camping World Truck Race Mark Martin 147.00
2/13/04 Camping World Truck Qualifying Terry Cook 183.643
Sprint Cup Series
Upcoming Race Jul 3
Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola
Track Facts
Daytona International Speedway
Location: Daytona Beach, FL
Banking/Turns: Superspeedway
Distance: 2.50 miles
Shape: Superspeedway
Most Cup Wins (since 1975)
* Bobby Allison 6
* Jeff Gordon 6
Sprint Cup
Date Race Name Pole Winner Race Winner Make Purse
2/14/10 Daytona 500 Mark Martin Jamie McMurray Chevrolet $18,549,893
2/15/09 Daytona 500 Martin Truex Jr. Matt Kenseth Ford $18,865,586
7/4/09 Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola Tony Stewart Tony Stewart Chevrolet $6,332,752
2/17/08 Daytona 500 Jimmie Johnson Ryan Newman Dodge $18,689,238
7/5/08 Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola Paul Menard Kyle Busch Toyota $6,284,969
2/18/07 Daytona 500 David Gilliland Kevin Harvick Chevrolet $18,391,423
7/7/07 Pepsi 400 Jeff Gordon Jamie McMurray Ford $6,202,439
2/19/06 Daytona 500 Jeff Burton Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet $18,029,052
7/1/06 Pepsi 400 Boris Said Tony Stewart Chevrolet $6,074,820
__________________
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
Last Updated: Saturday, Jul 3, 2010 1:59 am, EDT
Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola
Daytona International Speedway
Order Driver (No.) Car Qualifying Speed
1 Kevin Harvick (29) Chevrolet -
2 Jimmie Johnson (48) Chevrolet -
3 Kyle Busch (18) Toyota -
4 Denny Hamlin (11) Toyota -
5 Jeff Gordon (24) Chevrolet -
6 Kurt Busch (2) Dodge -
7 Matt Kenseth (17) Ford -
8 Jeff Burton (31) Chevrolet -
9 Tony Stewart (14) Chevrolet -
10 Greg Biffle (16) Ford -
11 Mark Martin (5) Chevrolet -
12 Carl Edwards (99) Ford -
13 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) Chevrolet -
14 Ryan Newman (39) Chevrolet -
15 Clint Bowyer (33) Chevrolet -
16 Joey Logano (20) Toyota -
17 Jamie McMurray (1) Chevrolet -
18 Martin Truex Jr. (56) Toyota -
19 David Reutimann (00) Toyota -
20 Kasey Kahne (9) Ford -
21 A J Allmendinger (43) Ford -
22 Juan Pablo Montoya (42) Chevrolet -
23 Paul Menard (98) Ford -
24 Reed Sorenson (83) Toyota -
25 David Ragan (6) Ford -
26 Brad Keselowski (12) Dodge -
27 Scott Speed (82) Toyota -
28 Marcos Ambrose (47) Toyota -
29 Elliott Sadler (19) Ford -
30 Sam Hornish Jr. (77) Dodge -
31 Regan Smith (78) Chevrolet -
32 Robby Gordon (7) Toyota -
33 Kevin Conway (34) Ford -
34 Robert Richardson Jr. (37) Ford -
35 Mike Bliss (71) Chevrolet -
36 David Stremme (26) Ford -
37 Bobby Labonte (09) Chevrolet -
38 Travis Kvapil (38) Ford -
39 Steve Park (36) Chevrolet -
40 Max Papis (13) Toyota -
41 J.J. Yeley (46) Dodge -
42 Joe Nemechek (87) Toyota -
43 Dave Blaney (66) Toyota -
44 Michael McDowell (55) DNQ -
45 Todd Bodine (164) DNQ
__________________
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
Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes - Final Qualifying - Daytona
Posted On 7/2/2010 5:47:42 PM
*Rain canceled qualifying after 13 cars took the track for qualifying. The starting line up will be set according to current Cup Series owner's point's per the NASCAR rule book. Dodge's Kurt Busch did not make a qualifying lap.
SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) (was on provisional pole; Starts 29th) “We’ve got a really good Mobil 1 Dodge Charger. I was really happy with our car yesterday. Watching everybody in practice, I felt really good and thought that we’d have a good car for qualifying. The big thing for tomorrow night is to make sure that we’re there at the end of the race.
“It’s definitely a good day. It’s my birthday and I don’t get to be inside the race car too much on my birthday. I think that the last time I was in a car on my birthday was at Kansas in IndyCar.
“Qualifying is important here because of pit stall selection. These cars rely so much on aerodynamics that you have to be careful not to get tore up and keep your nose clean. You see enough guys get their fenders tore off on pits stops and that will ruin your day. If you start up front and have a clean in and out of the pits you’re always better off. I’m excited. Our car is fast. We just need this rain to hold off.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 12 Penske Dodge Challenger) “I was just a little bit nervous with the sprinkles coming down. It was just a light sprinkle and it didn’t seem to affect the track that much. It was a decent lap in our Penske Dodge Charger. My car drove great. My teammates are fast. I think we should be pretty good.”
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NEW NNS CAR AND THE CUP SERIES CAR?
“There are just subtle differences. In qualifying trim, I didn’t notice much at all. There’s just a little more power. The car comes up through the gears a little bit quicker on the Cup. You know us drivers, we love power. Both Dodge cars run great.”
__________________
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
Status: Final The start of the race was delayed almost 90 minutes by rain, and a 19-car accident with 12 laps to go stopped the action another 20 minutes.
Last Updated: Sunday, Jul 4, 20102:22 am, EDT
Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola
Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes - Race Final - Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. , Jul 4, 2010
KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) Finished 7th
“Carl (Edwards) turned right after the start-finish line and completely destroyed our car. We’ve seen him turn right before and destroy a Penske car at Atlanta with my teammate Brad Keselowski. It’s what it is. We could have limped home in seventh and not damaged like that. That was unnecessary.
“It gets tough at the end of these races. They’re more like a crap shoot. You never know when your number is going to get pulled. I had a good run down the back straightaway, but not enough on Jeff Burton. I gave him two moves, he gave me two blocks. I lifted and got tapped from behind and got loose, that’s when that big wreck all got started. One guy checks up and everybody comes in and piles on. And then I got tapped coming off Turn 4 running in the high grove. (Clint) Bowyer spun right in front of me at the end. I didn’t touch him. There’s just action everywhere at the end of these races. It’s Daytona. The asphalt is old. The tires have no grip. People are going to be sliding around. When it comes down to 40 to go, that’s when it amps up. You could see it in everybody’s eyes, they wanted to win. It was a good hard-fought battle all night for our guys, my team and this Miller Lite Dodge program. To bring it home seventh, that’s all right, but we’ve got a damaged car and that’s not good. These restrictor plate cars, there’s a lot of work that go into them.”
STEVE ADDINGTON (crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Vortex Dodge Charger)
“We had a great Miller Lite Dodge tonight. I thought that we had a shot at winning this thing, but circumstances at this place just kill you. You can’t control what other people do here. Kurt (Busch) drove a great race and hung in there all night for us. He led laps, got shuffled back when we had to pit twice, but he still was able to overcome it. We came back from the rear like four or five times. Kurt was really patient all night and beat some tough adversity during the race. I’m proud of this Miller Lite team for digging in and bringing home a seventh-place finish. So much happened the last 20 laps that a top-10 finish could have ended a lot worse if we would have got caught up in other people’s mess. I’m proud of everyone at Penske Racing.”
SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) Finished 21st
“A tough way to end the race. I just ran out of room. Everybody is shuffling around at the end of the race trying to get the best run that they can. Kurt (Busch) got a little bit loose in front of me and I tried to fill in on the bottom and there just wasn’t enough room at the exit of the turn. The Mobil 1 Dodge was really good tonight.
“It was unfortunate for sure. We’ve been working really hard to make our cars faster and I felt that we had a really good car. It handled great all night. We got beat up a little bit on the big wreck, had to pit and go to the end of line. Our car was so good that I was able to drive right back up to the front and thought that we had a chance to win the race. Our Mobil 1 Dodge was way too good tonight to deserve a finish like we had.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 12 Penske Dodge Challenger) Finished 30th
“What a tough way to end what looked like a great night for our Penske Dodge. We had an awesome car all night long. All three Penske cars were fast. We were in great position to have a great finish. We ran up front and got the lead at one point in the race. It felt like I was inside the top 10 all race to be honest with you. At one point, we had three Penske Dodge’s inside the top-five. Just a real great night until the accident happened. Our car showed a lot of promise and I thought that this was going to be a great night and sure enough, we caught a bad break and just got caught up in that big wreck.
TAKE ME THROUGH THAT BIG WRECK?
“It was just plate-racing. Everybody is racing hard, somebody gets loose in front of the pack and all heck breaks loose. I didn’t see much because everyone just stopped in front of me and I had nowhere to go. By the time I checked up, it was just too late and caused a huge pile-up behind me.”
__________________
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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