Catchfence

Dodge Motorsports 2010

• Dodge has three wins at New Hampshire (Ward Burton, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch).
• Penske Racing’s Kurt Bush (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) leads all current Dodge drivers with three Sprint Cup victories at NHMS.  Busch won the rain-shortened spring event in 2008.  Busch swept both events in 2004 prior to joining the Dodge family.
• Dodge holds the track qualifying record of 133.357 mph (28.561 sec.) set in September 2003 (Ryan Newman).
• Dodge has earned the pole in six of the last 12 races at NHMS when qualifying was not postponed.

THE DODGE BOYS

• Dodge has 207 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories.
• Dodge’s most recent win came at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Kurt Busch led 252 laps en route to his second victory of the season.
• Dodge claimed four Sprint Cup Series victories in 2009.
• Dodge teams have posted 47 wins 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 it’s return in 2001 including seven wins twice (2002 and 2006).
• First Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win at Loudon: Ward Burton, 07/21/2002, New England 300, 92.342 mph avg. speed.
• Last Dodge NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win at Loudon: Kurt Busch, 06/29/2008, Lenox Tools 301, 106.719 avg. speed.

DODGE BOYS NSCS 2010 BEST

• Kurt Busch -         Start – Pole – Las Vegas, Michigan
Finish – Win – Atlanta, Charlotte 1

• Brad Keselowski – Start – 6th – Richmond
Finish – 12th – Martinsville, Darlington

• Sam Hornish Jr.  – Start – 2nd – Texas,
Finish – 11th – Pocono

• Laps Led (Race)  – Kurt Busch (278) – Bristol

• Laps Led (Total)  – Kurt Busch – 786

DODGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I think New Hampshire reminds me a little bit of Phoenix,” Busch said.  “I’ve always liked Phoenix and the racing there a lot and have had quite a few miles around that track.  The way that you have to slide a car around on a flat track like that requires a loose setup and that’s the way I like to set my cars up.”
Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger

DID YOU KNOW?

• Kurt Busch has led 359 laps in 18 career starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  His 786 laps led this season is best among all drivers in the NSCS.
• In four NHMS starts, Sam Hornish’s career-best finish is eighth (June 2009).
• Penske Racing has won a NSCS race in each of the last 20 years (1991-2010).

KURT BUSCH – 10 TO GO TO THE CHASE

• Busch has 15 combined wins at the 10 race tracks leading up to the Chase – (New Hampshire – 3, Pocono -2, Michigan – 2, Bristol – 5, Atlanta – 3).
• Bush has 66 combined top-10 finishes at the 10 race tracks leading up to the Chase (Loudon – 9, Daytona – 10, Chicago – 5, Indy – 3, Pocono – 10, Watkins Glen – 3, Michigan – 8, Bristol – 11, Atlanta – 7).
• Busch has a 243-point advantage over the driver currently 13th in the standings (Dale Earnhardt Jr.).
• Busch’s combined average finish at the 10 races leading up to the Chase is 15.5.
• Busch has scored four straight finishes of sixth or better at New Hampshire.
• Busch has three wins, six top fives and nine top 10s at NHMS.

ENGINEERING TALK; NEW HAMPSHIRE

“Last year we had some good races in Loudon, and I’m excited to get back on track with a solid run at the flat one-mile track.  New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a difficult place to get the right setup on the car because of the need to rotate the center of the corner and still have good forward drive on the throttle.  We have had good luck with the red, white and blue AAA/Go Penske paint scheme on the No. 77 Dodge in the past and we hope that the same will hold for this weekend.”
Travis Geisler, No. 77 AAA/Go Penske Dodge Charger

“Loudon is a unique racetrack.  It has aspects of both Richmond and Phoenix all rolled into one.  We work really hard to get the car to turn the center (of the corners) and maintain forward drive for late into a run.  It is so hard to pass, you really need the complete package to win there – brakes, handling and pit stops.”
Jay Guy, No. 12 Penske AAA Dodge Charger

DODGE DRIVER QUOTES

“Loudon, you really have to pay attention to that track because that’s the first Chase race when we go there in September.  You never really pinpoint a specific date; you just hope that you have a cushion when it comes down to two or three to go to get into the Chase.”
Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger

“We were really good on the long run at New Hampshire last spring.  We were fourth going into the last pit stop, we pitted but a handful of other cars stayed out.  We were really hounding the No. 14 car to get around him before the rain came to end the race.  If we could’ve done that, I think we would’ve had a strong top-three finish.  It was a good day for us regardless, but it could’ve been a lot better.

“We have definitely run well at New Hampshire in the past and at the flatter tracks.  As different as they look, New Hampshire and Pocono have a lot in common with how flat the racetrack is and how little grip you really have.  The Mobil 1 team tends to run well at the flatter tracks and I’m looking forward to having a strong run with the AAA/Go Penske Dodge this weekend.”
Sam Hornish Jr., No. 77 AAA/Go Penske Dodge Charger

“The short tracks have been very kind to us.  We’ve been knocking on the door of the top-10 in just about every short track race this year.  It would be nice to have another one of those races this weekend to put ourselves in position to pick up our best finish of the season.  We need a solid run to get back on our feet.  We’ve had some ups and downs over the last few weeks, but everyone on this team is putting forth the maximum effort.  It would be nice to have a good, clean run at Loudon and then continue to improve every week until the end of the season.”
Brad Keselowski, No 12 Penske/AAA Dodge Charger

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release