Catchfence

PREVIEW – Brad Keselowski (No. 88 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet)

EVENT – CARFAX 250 (125 laps/ 250 miles)

TRACK – Michigan International Speedway (Two- Mile D-Shaped Oval)

DATE – Saturday, August 15, 2009

TV/ RADIO– ESPN2 (coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. EST) / MRN (broadcast begins at 3:00 p.m. EST)

MEDIA AVAILABILITY – Brad Keselowski will be available to members of the media at 3:35 p.m. on Friday, August 14 in the Michigan International Speedway Media Center.

SEASON STATS – Keselowski remains third in the championship standings, 409 back from leader Kyle Busch. In 22 races, Keselowski and the No. 88 team have two wins, 11 top-fives, 16 top-10s and one pole award. His average starting position is 13.5 and average finish is 8.5.

COMING HOME - This weekend, Keselowski returns to his home track of Michigan International Speedway. Keselowski was raised in Rochester Hills, Mich., located about 100 miles from the track. Before making his way to the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series, Keselowski spent a lot of time running local tracks in quarter-midget and late-model stock cars.

KESELOWSKI AT MICHIGAN – Keselowski will be making his third NASCAR Nationwide Series start for JR Motorsports at MIS this weekend. He has an average finish of 12.0. His best finish was 11th last season after starting 22nd.

DOUBLE DUTY – In addition to his duties driving the No. 88 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, Keselowski will drive the No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. On double-duty weekends, Keselowski has scored two top-fives and three top-10s in the Nationwide Series.

HEADING TO THE BIG HOUSE – On Thursday, Keselowski will attend football practice at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. This is the second time Keselowski has had the opportunity to visit the training camp of his favorite team, the Michigan Wolverines.

A DAY AT THE RACE – This weekend, Keselowski has invited a group of laid-off auto-workers from the Local UAW 5960 to an afternoon of racing on Saturday at MIS. Keselowski is providing transportation for the group from Orion, Mich. to the racetrack and plans to greet them when they arrive with tickets to the CARFAX 250. MIS has donated the tickets on behalf of Keselowski.

A GODADDY STREAK – Keselowski looks to continue his trend of top finishes for primary sponsor GoDaddy.com this weekend at MIS. While driving the neon green and orange No. 88 Chevrolet, Keselowski has amassed two wins, seven top-fives and nine top-10s in 12 races.

CHASSIS NO. 356 – The No. 88 GoDaddy.com team will run Chassis No. 356 this weekend in the CARFAX 250 at MIS. This car was last run at Chicagoland Speedway in July where Keselowski started 14th and finish 18th.

“DALE JR’S GREAT GIVEAWAY” TO AWARD MORE THAN 60 PRIZES – JR Motorsports announced the beginning of its six-week online promotion, “Dale Jr.’s Great Giveaway”, in which fans can register at www.DaleJrsGreatGiveaway.com to win 60 prize packages. Beginning Aug. 14th, prizes will be distributed each week for six weeks. The prizes include gift certificates, product packages, autographed merchandise, personal driver meet-n-greets, and race-weekend giveaways. Each of the prizes was donated by 12 of JR Motorsports’ sponsorship partners. Registration began on Aug. 7th, and runs through Sept. 18th. For complete rules, regulations, and a list of all 60 prizes please visit www.DaleJrsGreatGiveaway.com.

EDUCATION FOR ELI: With the effort and support of the entire NASCAR community, a college fund has been set up for Eli Ross, the 2-year-old grandson of late motorsports journalist David Poole, who passed away on April 28. Anyone interested in contributing to the “Education for Eli” fund can do so by sending donations to the following address:

Eli Samuel Ross
Bank of Stanly
Attn: Misty Nordan
P.O. Box 539
Oakboro, NC 28129

(Please make checks payable to “Eli Ross Account” at Bank of Stanly.)

For more information, please call the Bank of Stanly at 704.485.3435.

DEGREE V12 CHALLENGE – NASCAR fans can now team up with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski in the Degree V12 Challenge. The Degree V12 Driving Challenge features five road races that give players a unique and exciting online race experience. Players compete against each other for a chance to win a variety of prizes including a trip to the Degree V12 300 in Atlanta on September 6, 2009 and a chance to meet Dale Jr. Visit www.DegreeRacing.com to register for the Degree V12 Challenge and begin racing to win. (No purchase necessary. Must be 18 to enter. Void where prohibited. Ends 12/27/09. Visit www.DegreeRacing.com for complete rules.)

IN SEARCH OF REAL FANS: The search continues for the Hellmann’s NASCAR Real Fan of the Year! Three contest winners have been chosen so far, but there are still four more spots on the car and fans can log on to www.RealFanOfTheYear.com to enter for their chance to win. Finalists will get to meet Dale Jr. and have their face on the hood of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Nationwide Chevrolet this October for the Dollar General 300 race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. (No purchase necessary. Must be 18 to enter. Void where prohibited. Ends 8/31/09. Go to www.RealFanOfTheYear.com for complete rules.)

KESELOWSKI (on going home to Michigan) – “I’m so excited to come back home to the Michigan area and have the opportunity to race at this track in front of these great fans. I’ve been able to be at home this week and spend time with my family which is always good. I’ve also visited some local spots that were important to me growing up and to my racing career. To be able to race at my home track is a pretty big deal for me, as I remember watching my Dad win an ARCA race. Now I get another opportunity to try to win there as well. I really would love nothing more than to give the fans and my team a good finish in Michigan.”

KESELOWSKI (on his season to date) – “I would probably give my season to date an A minus. Obviously we’ve been able to win a few races and have some real solid finishes to back up those wins. However, there are definitely a couple of races at the beginning of the season that I’d like back. But all we can do now is look forward to the races we have left and try to win as many of them as possible. We are definitely making strides with our program, and I think that was made evident with the win at Iowa Speedway a few weeks ago.”

KESELOWSKI (on going to the University of Michigan football camp) – “Like last year, I am so pumped to be able to go to football camp up at the University of Michigan. I have been a fan of the Wolverines for as long as I can remember, and so I’ll kind of be a kid in a candy store when I get there. I know the guys up there are as excited for me to get there as I am. I’m hoping to be able to chat with some of the players as well as Coach (Rich) Rodriguez. This is going to be a good year for the team and seeing them get ready for the season will be a thrill for me for sure.”

- JR Motorsports Press Release