Catchfence

Dodge Motorsports

• Total Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Wins: 203
• First Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win: Lee Petty, 2/1/53, West Palm, Fla., 100 miles, .5-mile track.
• First Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win at MIS: Charlie Glotzbach, 08/16/1970, 1970 Yankee 400, 147.571 mph avg. speed.
• Last Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win at MIS: Kurt Busch, 08/21/2007, 3M Performance 400, 117.044 avg. speed.

DODGE AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

• Dodge has won nine races at MIS (Charlie Glotzbach, Richard Petty (2), Sterling Marlin, Ryan Newman (2), Jeremy Mayfield, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch.
• Kasey Kahne won the June, 2006 race at MIS, one of a series-high six wins for the No. 9 Dodge team that season. He started from the pole in the rain-shortened event (called after 129 of the 200 scheduled laps were completed). Kahne also has four top-five finishes in eight outings at the 2-mile track.
• Kurt Busch won the rain-shortened race at MIS in (September) 2007 after starting 15th. Busch is 17th on the all-time lap leader board at MIS in laps led – 290.
• Charlie Glotzbach posted the first Dodge victory at Michigan, taking the win in the fourth Sprint Cup race at the track (1970), driving a Ray Nichels-owned Dodge.
• Richard Petty Motorsports is the only four-car team without a DNF — did not finish — in all 2009 points races. The Petty streak stretches to 140 starts without a DNF. Kasey Kahne’s DNF at Martinsville on Oct.19 was the team’s last.

THE DODGE BOYS

• Dodge’s most recent win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was Kasey Kahne’s victory at the Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway (June 21).
• Dodge has 203 Sprint Cup Series wins.
• Kasey Kahne recorded the 200th win by Dodge in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with his victory in the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway last season.
• Dodge teams have posted 43 wins since the manufacturer returned to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 after being out of the sport since 1977.
• All seven Dodge teams running the full 36-race Sprint Cup Series schedule are in the top 35 in 2009 owner points: Kurt Busch (4th), Kasey Kahne (8th), AJ Allmendinger (24th), Elliott Sadler (26th), Sam Hornish Jr. (28th), Reed Sorenson (29th) and David Stremme (31st).

DODGE DRIVER NOTES & ANECDOTES

• Kurt Busch has an average finishing position of 13th in 17 career starts at MIS.
• Sam Hornish Jr. led the first two laps of his Sprint Cup career at the 2008 LifeLock 400 at MIS.
• Kasey Kahne has one win and five top-five finishes in 11 starts at MIS.
• Elliott Sadler is one of two current Sprint Cup drivers to have been running at the finish in the last 45 Sprint Cup races (Tony Stewart).
• David Stremme has a career-best finish of 19th at MIS.
• AJ Allmendinger will be making his fifth-career start at MIS.
• Reed Sorenson has two top-fives in seven-career starts at MIS.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Kurt Busch has finished 15th or better in 15 of the 21 races in 2009. He has scored at least one victory in each of the last eight seasons.
• Kurt Busch was 18th in the driver point standings heading into MIS last year. Busch is currently fourth.
• Kasey Kahne has top-10 finishes in five of the last seven races. Kahne has only one finish outside the top 15 in the last 10 races (Michigan -21st).
• Kurt Busch is the youngest MIS winner (24 years, 10 months, 11 days) 6/15/2003.
• The 2008 3M Performance 400 was delayed two days because of inclement weather. It’s the first time in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series’ modern era that a scheduled Sunday event has been postponed two consecutive days and completed on a Tuesday.
• Three races at MIS have been run caution free (June 1973, August 1984, June 1999).
• Kurt Busch has not been outside the top five in the point standings since Las Vegas (19 races ago).
• In 80 NSCS races at MIS, there has been only one race with double-digit amount of cautions (10 – Aug. 2006).

DODGE QUOTES

“Seriously, (Michigan’s) one track that you always come in there planning on it to have fuel mileage involved in the equation. Mark (Martin) won there in June because of fuel mileage. Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. won the first race there last year due to fuel mileage.”
Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge

“I feel like this is one of the races…being in Michigan and Detroit…you always want to perform for your manufacturer, but this year it seems like a win would really benefit (the manufacturer) and excite some people that are a huge part of Dodge.”
Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge

“Having the longest DNF streak in the Cup Series in an impressive feat, but I honestly have to give most of the credit to my race team. The guys working on these race cars at the shop and the guys that travel with us each week are doing an amazing job. Our engines are as durable as anyone out there and I know the guys down in the Concord engine shop take great pride in that. We have had some really close calls—especially last week in Watkins Glen, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—my guys never quit! They bring their best each and every week and in my opinion they are the best in the garage. I’m happy they are on my team.”
Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Stanley Dodge

“We kind of look at it as a fresh start. Sammy (Johns) has a ton of experience and a lot of knowledge that I hope to use. We have 14 races left and a lot of work to do. This team can run really well and we’d like to show that this weekend in Michigan.”
Reed Sorenson, No. 43 Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Dodge

“Sammy Johns and those guys did a heck of a job getting us ready to go racing right before the season and we had some really good runs. They are going to go over with Reed (Sorenson) and we’ll pool the information and improve our teams. We’re here to win and get a jump on 2010. Mike and I want to work on everything that will make us a contender the rest of the season and hit the ground running in Daytona in February.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 43 Super 8 Dodge

“Michigan International Speedway is awesome. As a driver, you can search the race track for different lines. If your car does not run well on the bottom, you can move to the middle or the top. Michigan is also special to the Penske Racing family. Penske Corporation is in Detroit and we consider this our home track. It is also home to the “Big Three.” We always want to run well so we have bragging rights for Dodge. We know we are bringing a great car to the track and are focusing on getting to the end. We have learned some things since our last trip to Michigan International Speedway which I think will be very beneficial this weekend. [Crew chief] Roy [McCauley] and all the guys on the Penske Dodge have done a great job trying new things to help elevate our program. We learned some things last week (testing) at Dover [International Speedway] which I think will help us not only there but at other tracks as well. We continue to gain on it each week and I am looking to end the year with some really solid finishes.”
David Stremme, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge

“I’ve always loved racing at Michigan International Speedway and it is a very special track to me. It is like Charlotte in that there are multiple lines you can choose from but, unlike Charlotte, Michigan is a very low-grip surface. Low-grip tracks allow you to find the best place for your car to work for the best results.

“We had a tough race at Watkins Glen this week. I took a pretty big hit, but the cars are safe and I’m thankful that we do everything that we do to be as safe as we can. I’ve got a couple bumps and bruises, but all in all, I’m pretty good. I’m happy about that and I’m looking forward to getting back out there and, hopefully, having a much better weekend at Michigan. Nothing would feel better than to put on a good show for my hometown crowd.”
Sam Hornish, No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge

“Michigan is a great race track. You can move around all day long. We are always running two- and three-wide into the corners, which is great for the fans. It is a long race and track position is one of the keys to success. You need to keep the car up front all day. It is even more important now with the double-file restarts.”
Roy McCauley, Crew Chief, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release