Dodge NSCS Race Advance – Coca-Cola 600
DODGE AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
· Dodge has 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
· Dodge’s most recent win at the 1.5-mile track was two years ago in the Coca-Cola 600. Kurt Busch led 252 of the 400 laps en route to the win.
· Dodge has seven Coca-Cola 600 victories. Buddy Baker earned Dodge its first 600 win in 1972.
· Richard Petty, Kasey Kahne and Buddy Baker have driven a Dodge to victory twice in the Coca-Cola 600.
· Dodge has earned seven Coca-Cola 600 poles. The most recent was Brad Keselowski last May.
· Dodge has swept the pole for both Charlotte races five times (1968, 1970, 2003, 2006 and 2007).
DODGE NEWS AND NOTES
· A.J. Allmendinger has started in the top five in three of the last four races including a pole at Kansas.
· In five previous starts at Charlotte, Brad Keselowski’s best finish of 12th came in the 2009 fall event.
· Both Dodge Chargers from Penske Racing competed in the 28th annual Sprint All-Star Race at CMS last Saturday night. A.J. Allmendinger finished second in the Sprint Showdown to qualify for the evening finale. Keselowski won the third segment and finished second in the All-Star event; Allmendinger was 11th.
DID YOU KNOW?
· The Dodge Charger street car is the only rear-wheel-drive model in Sprint Cup Series competition that is available with a V-8 engine.
· SRT Motorsports includes all of Chrysler Group’s NASCAR
· AJ Allmendinger claimed the outside pole at the 2011 Coca-Cola 600 with a lap of 28.170 seconds (191.693 mph).
THE DODGE BOYS
· Dodge drivers have 214 wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
· Dodge teams have posted 54 victories 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 its return in 2001 including seven wins twice (2002 and 2006).
DODGE HISTORICAL DATA
· First Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win: Lee Petty, 2/1/53, West Palm Beach, Fla., 100 miles, .5-mile track.
· Last Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win: Brad Keselowski, 05/06/2012, Aaron’s 499, Talladega Superspeedway, 160.192 mph avg. speed.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
· Dodge holds the Coca-Cola 600 qualifying record of 27.981 seconds, 192.988 mph (Ryan Newman).
· Dodge swept both Sprint Cup events (spring and fall) at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1968 and 1975.
· Brad Keselowski (12th in NSCS driver points) currently holds the No. 1 wildcard spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
· Allmendinger’s All-Star Race pole lap was 192.465 mph.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
· 1 — Dodge has earned one Coors Light Pole Award this season – A.J. Allmendinger (Kansas).
· 2 – Dodge has two NSCS wins this season.
· 3 – Dodge’s Brad Keselowski is one of only three NSCS drivers to have multiple wins this season (Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart).
· 5 – Brad Keselowski’s best starting position for a NSCS race this season is fifth at Bristol.
FROM THE ENGINEER – RACING AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN THE COCA-COLA 600
“As we approach the longest race of the year there are more than a few engineers that will be nervous this week. The 2012 Sprint Cup season has seen more than it##Q##s share of engine and engine related problems and with the Coca-Cola 600 upon us, durability will be on everybody##Q##s mind. Engine components and engine systems are being more and more stretched to their limits as teams constantly try to get more and more power out of them. Where does it all stop? Hopefully not in the last 100 miles of Sunday night##Q##s 600 mile race.”
Howard Comstock, SRT Motorsports Engineering
DODGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Obviously running 600 miles is a lot different than last weekend’s 40-lap Sprint Showdown and the segments that made up 90 laps in the All Star Race. But based on the way we ran last weekend, I think it’s safe to say that we are very capable of having success at Charlotte this weekend and in our 1.5-mile program in general. I really think we learned a lot of things about the car last weekend that we can apply to this weekend’s race.”
A.J. Allmendinger, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger
FROM THE CREW CHIEF
“Racing in the Showdown and in the All-Star Race gave us an idea of what to expect as for the track conditions and the mood swings it goes through as it gets later into the night. We’ll be racing from just after 6 p.m. till well after 11 o’clock and we understand better about what kind of adjustability we’ll need. Last weekend was great all around for AJ and our Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Team. We are all pumped up and ready to see how competitive we can be in the Coca-Cola 600.”
Todd Gordon, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge
DODGE QUOTES: COCA-COLA 600
“Obviously running 600 miles is a lot different than last weekend’s 40-lap Sprint Showdown and the segments that made up 90 laps in the All Star Race. “But based on the way we ran last weekend, I think it’s safe to say that we are very capable of having success at Charlotte this weekend and in our 1.5-mile program in general. I really think we learned a lot of things about the car last weekend that we can apply to this weekend’s race.”
A.J. Allmendinger, driver, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge
“It’s an endurance race, but it’s a different kind of endurance than it was years ago. The cars, engines and chassis components we are racing today can withstand 600 miles of hard racing. The endurance factor now is a matter of staying on top of the changing track conditions throughout the race. We start the race just after six o’clock and race on into the night. The team that wins will have endured all the mood swings throughout the race and will have been able to make the right adjustments.”
Todd Gordon, crew chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge
“It’s a long, tough race. You have to take car of your car all night and try to be there the last 100 miles to have a shot at the win. The Miller Lite Dodge showed good speed last weekend in the All-Star race. Adjusting to the changing track conditions and staying ahead of the track will be huge.”
Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge
Source: Chrysler
