Catchfence

Dodge Motorsports

• 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 Martinsville Speedway: Lee Petty, 05/17/1953
• Last Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win at Martinsville Speedway: Rusty Wallace, 04/18/2004, Advance Auto Parts 500, 68.169 mph avg. speed.

DODGE AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

• Rusty Wallace posted the last Dodge win at Martinsville in the 2004 spring event, one of seven victories for Wallace at the .526 mile track.
• Kurt Busch won at Martinsville in 2002 prior to joining the Dodge Motorsports family. .
• Dodge has 10 wins at Martinsville including three sweeps (1953, 1956 and 1975).
• Kurt Busch is the only current Dodge driver to earn a pole at Martinsville Speedway (Oct. 2006).

DODGE IN THE CHASE

• Kurt Busch is currently fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings after his 10th-place finish at Lowe’s last weekend. He’s finished 6th, 5th, 11th, 8th and 10th in this year’s Chase races.
• Kasey Kahne is ninth in the Chase standings after finishing third at Lowe’s last weekend. He’s finished 38th, 8th, 6th, 34th and 3rd, respectively, in the first five Chase races.
• Kurt Busch is one of two drivers to lead laps in all five Chase races this year. Jimmie Johnson is the other.
• Two Dodge drivers (Jeremy Mayfield and Ryan Newman) were in the inaugural Chase in 2004.
• In 2005, three Dodge drivers (Mayfield, Newman and Rusty Wallace) made the Chase field with Newman winning the opener at New Hampshire.
• Kasey Kahne was the lone Dodge driver in the 2006 Chase field. He finished eighth in the final Chase standings.
• The Chase field was expanded from 10 to 12 drivers in 2007. Kurt Busch was the lone Dodge representative; he finished seventh in the final standings.
• There were no Dodges in the 2008 Chase field.

THE CHASE – KURT BUSCH AT MARTINSVILLE

• Busch started 19th and finished 36th in last year’s fall event at Martinsville Speedway.
• In 11 starts at Martinsville, Busch has one win, two top-five and four top-10 finishes.
• Busch has lead 358 laps at Martinsville Speedway.
• Busch’s best finish in the fall event at Martinsville came in 2002 when he led 111 laps en route to the event win.
• Busch is making his fourth Chase appearance and second driving a Dodge.
• Average start: 18.7 Average finish: 21.8

THE CHASE – KASEY KAHNE AT MARTINSVILLE

• Kahne started 14th and finished 33rd in last year’s fall event at Martinsville Speedway.
• In 11 starts at Martinsville, Kahne has one top-five and two top-10 finishes.
• Kahne has led 18 laps at Martinsville Speedway.
• Kahne has posted top-15 starts in the last four races at Martinsville including three in the top six.
• Kahne’s best fall finish at Martinsville is a seventh in 2006.
• Kahne won six races in 2006 and finished eighth in the final standings in his only other Chase appearance.
• Average start: 21.0 Average Finish: 18.5

THE DODGE BOYS

• Dodge has 204 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins.
• Dodge’s most recent win in the Sprint Cup Series was Kasey Kahne’s victory at the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Sept. 6).
• Kasey Kahne recorded the 200th win by Dodge in the Sprint Cup Series with his victory in the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway last season.
• Dodge teams have posted 44 wins since the manufacturer returned to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 after being out of the sport since 1977.
• Dodge has recorded three wins in 2009; Kurt Busch (Atlanta-1), Kasey Kahne (Infineon & Atlanta-2).

DODGE QUOTES

“It’s always been demanding enough at Martinsville in the past. We’ve already seen just how perilous it can get out there on the other tracks with the double‐file restarts and this will no doubt be the most treacherous situation yet.
Short and sweet, you don’t want to get caught up on the outside lane. As bad as it’s been in the past, with the lapped cars in one lane and the lead lappers in the other, this will be the insane end of impossible.”
Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge

“As a driver, I’ve learned a lot about racing here. But I also think that my car has gotten better at this track. The first time I was here, I could barely go around it. I wasn’t even close to qualifying well here. The next year, I was better and the car drove ten times better than the year before and we ran second. It’s a tough track and I think that some people pick this track up quicker than others, but I also think that you need a car with a good set up to win a race here.”
Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger

“You’ll be doing whatever you can to get the inside groove, I can tell you that. It may be the most controversial race of the year and probably will be. If it was ever possible to give up a spot before or during a caution in order to be on the inside for a restart, this would definitely be the place. Of course, that’d be impossible to do because there are so many variables you’re up against and things happen so fast there. About the best way to sum it up is just saying that it’s bound to be a big mess out there.”
Pat Tryson, Crew Chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger

“It’s all that’s good about short track racing. You show up with a car that’s perfect – not even a scratch on it – and when you pull in the garage after the race you can barely recognize it from all the beating and banging. You have to race as hard or harder at Martinsville than you do anywhere else, cause if you start towards the back you’re already a half lap down. This may be one of the toughest places to race, but it’s a throwback to how racing used to be around the southeast.
Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Best Buy Dodge Charger

“It seems that our short-track program has really been our strong suit this season. We have four top-15 finishes at short tracks this year and I got my first Cup Series career top-10 finish earlier this season at Phoenix International Raceway. We have put a lot of emphasis on Martinsville since we last raced there in March and I hope all of our efforts produce a strong result.”
Sam Hornish Jr., No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger

“Martinsville is a pretty challenging track. Obviously, there aren’t too many tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit that compare. The race starts on Friday. You want a good qualifying run so you can pit a good pit stall. Pit lane is pretty small and it’s easy to get boxed in by other cars.”
Reed Sorenson, No. 43 McDonald’s Dodge Charger

“As a whole, all three Penske Racing teams have picked up their short-track programs this season. Both Sam [Hornish, Jr.] and Kurt [Busch] have helped me at these kinds of tracks. I feel like all the testing we have done at places like Rockingham has really paid off. I am optimistic about our chances for a strong run this weekend. I know that this is [crew chief] Roy’s [McCauley] favorite track, which gives me a little more motivation to do well.”
David Stremme, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger
- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release