Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA
Preview

Dodge's Keselowski in points lead heading before Charlotte 500

Dodge has 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Buddy Baker recorded four wins at the 1.5-mile track while Richard Petty and Kasey Kahne posted three victories each. Others taking Dodge to victory lane include LeeRoy Yarborough, Charlie Glotzbach, Sterling Marlin, Jamie McMurray and Kurt Busch.

Brad Keselowski, Penske Racing Dodge
Brad Keselowski, Penske Racing Dodge

Photo by: Action Sports Photography

Dodge’s Brad Keselowski has one pole and one top-five finish in six career Sprint Cup starts at CMS. He has scored top-10 finishes in 13 of his last 14 starts with an average finish of 6.14.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"While much of the racing world is focused on the fact there are six races left in the 2012 Chase, team engineers are focused on the fact that with the realigned 2012 schedule, four of those final six races are on 1.5-mile tracks. We've already raced six times on 1.5-mile tracks this year, so there shouldn't be many surprises to engineers. However, just because tracks are the same in length doesn’t mean they race the same. This weekend’s race at Charlotte will take a different setup than Kansas next week or Texas in three weeks. Engine technology will be similar, aerodynamic technology will be similar, but chassis technology will be vastly different. These are three important 1.5-mile tracks coming up on the schedule. Engineers will be focused on the differences in them, not the similarities." Howard Comstock, SRT Motorsports Engineering

DODGE QUOTES - BANK OF AMERICA 500 - CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

“Having a 14-point lead heading into Charlotte is pretty big, for sure. Once we are done at Charlotte we’ll be halfway through the Chase, and while there is still a lot of racing left to go, it’s better than having to dig out of a hole. Charlotte is a place where the results don’t necessarily show how much this Miller Lite Dodge team has improved there. We were finally able to break through with a top-five finish back in May. We should be even better this time around. Our record this year on the intermediate tracks is very solid. With 1.5-mile tracks making up the majority of the rest of the Chase schedule, I’m pretty happy that we were able to come out of Talladega with a nice lead because I think we are set up for a good second half to the Chase.” Brad Keselowski, No 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger

“We aren’t taking a brand new car to Charlotte this weekend, but it’s a car that has shown a lot of speed and potential. We’ve learned a lot about Charlotte over the two years that Brad and I have been working together on the Miller Lite Dodge. I feel like this is our best chance yet to get a Cup win there. We’ve got a long row to hoe before the end of the year and we’re going to have to beat some of the guys at the top of the standings this weekend. Just because we have a 14-point lead doesn’t mean we can back off. That’s why you saw Mr. Penske, Tim Cindric and I at the NASCAR hauler after the race at Talladega. Last year the championship was tied, based on points. We are going to fight for all we can get because it could come down to a point or two.” Paul Wolfe, crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger

“We’re hoping to have an incident-free weekend at Charlotte. We’ve had some solid cars in the races on the mile-and-a-half tracks – cars strong enough to run well up in the top 10. We know that if we continue to do that, the top-five and top-10 finishes are right around the corner. One thing is for sure and that’s the importance of running well on these tracks. Of the six races remaining this season, we’re headed to Charlotte, Kansas, Texas and Homestead before the year is through. If we can get the consistency going, we can definitely end our 2012 season on a high note.” Sam Hornish Jr., No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger

“We had solid top-10 runs going in the intermediate track races heading into Charlotte and had to settle for 11th-place finishes. “We’ve been really strong on that type of track since Sam came on to drive our Shell-Pennzoil Dodge. We’re confident we can have another strong performance at Charlotte this weekend. As for the expectations for this weekend, It’s the same old challenging race track. We hope to qualify well and get a good spot on pit road. We look to execute like we need to. But most of all, we hope to be able to adapt and make the necessary adjustments through the race like we have to. We have to stay on top of the changing track conditions and what it calls for chassis-wise. If we can accomplish that, we can come out of there with an excellent result.” Todd Gordon, crew chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger

Source: SRT Motorsports

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Kvapil hopes to keep momentum rolling at Charlotte
Next article Steady improvement at Charlotte has Cassill excited for Saturday

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA