Catchfence

Brad Keselowski

No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
Sprint All-Star Race
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Saturday, May 19, 2012
TV: SPEED at 7:00 PM ET Radio: PRN/Sirius Channel 90

No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger News and Notes

• ·         This Week’s Charger… The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will race chassis PRS-813 during Saturday night’s All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Keselowski last drove this chassis to a victory at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.
• ·         No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in 2012… After 11 points-paying events, Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are ranked 12^th in the 2012 driver point standings and 13^th in the owner point rankings. The team is coming off a 15^th-place finish in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway last Saturday night.
• ·         Pennzoil Victory Burnout Challenge… Brad Keselowski will participate in the 2012 Pennzoil Victory Burnout Challenge on Saturday, May 19 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The fifth-annual event, known as NASCAR’s version of a “slam dunk contest,” with the sport’s top talent showing off their post-win celebration abilities in classic NASCAR tire-smoking burnouts, precedes the Sprint Showdown and All-Star Race and has become a fan-favorite staple in the weekend’s activities. Keselowski will compete against four other drivers, including Penske Racing teammate AJ Allmendinger, as they perform their best 30-second freestyle burnout in identical stock cars prepared by the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Keselowski will compete for a chance to win a $10,000 donation to his favorite charity – Checkered Flag Foundation. A text-to-vote opportunity by the fans will advance the top-two drivers to the final voting round where a panel of celebrity judges will determine the 2012 champion.

•      Pit Crew Challenge… At 7 pm on Thursday night at Time Warner Cable Arena in downtown Charlotte, N.C., the No. 2 Miller Lite pit crew will compete for the 2012 Pit Crew Challenge championship. The Miller Lite crew consists of Ben Brown – Front Tire Changer, Scott Reiniger – Front Tire Carrier, Braxton Brannon – Jackman, David Mayo – Rear Tire Changer, Larry Robinette – Rear Tire Carrier and Nick Hensley – Gasman.

•       Miller Lite Punch Top Can… With a successful legacy as innovators in the beer market, Miller Lite has debuted a new innovation in the Punch Top Can. This new can features a second tab to be opened for a smoother pour with less glug. To help launch this new campaign, Keselowski will be featured in a national television advertisement for the Punch Top Can that will be seen, most-notably, during the NBA and NHL playoffs.

•       It’s Miller Time… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend in Charlotte is “It’s Miller Time.” One of the most-recognized marketing slogans in recent memory, “It’s Miller Time” can be found within many popular culture references. MillerCoors decided to bring back the slogan last month.

•     The Rest is History… Penske Racing made its first start in the NASCAR All-Star Race in 1991 when Rusty Wallace drove the No. 2 car to a seventh-place finish. In 32 combined starts, Penske Racing drivers have recorded two wins (Ryan Newman – 2002, Kurt Busch – 2010), eight top-five and 16 top-10 finishes in the non-points paying event. Sam Hornish Jr (2009) and Brad Keselowski (2011) have both scored victories in the Sprint All-Star Showdown to earn a spot in the All-Star event.

Brad Keselowski on this weekend’s All-Star race

“One of my all-time favorite races has to be the 1992 All-Star race – the first race under the lights at Charlotte. There was a lot of skepticism about whether you could light a mile-and-a-half racetrack, but they were able to do it and they put on a hell of a show. I was a Kyle Petty fan growing up so I was a little bummed at the finish but, to me, that finish epitomizes this race. Banging fenders and wrecking for the checkered flag. I mean, it’s for over one million dollars! When someone asks me what race they should go to first, one of the first ones I mention is the All-Star race. This race will make you a fan.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on how All-Star weekend differs from a points-paying weekend

“This weekend is all about two things: winning and putting on a great show for the fans. This is aggressive, hard-nosed racing from the drop of the green flag, so we’ll have to give Brad a car he can use to do that. I feel that we have one of the best drivers in the garage for this type of racing. He can definitely be aggressive when he needs to be and he is becoming better and better at getting around Charlotte.  It’s just a fun weekend, even more so that we are locked in and don’t have to run the Showdown. With the speed we’ve shown at the intermediate tracks this season, I really feel like we can get Mr. Penske another All-Star trophy this weekend.”

Brad Keselowski at Charlotte Motor Speedway – All-Star Weekend
Date	Start	Finish	LC/TL	Status	$Won
5/21/2011 (All-Star race)	20	18	99/100	Running	$80,500
5/21/2011 (Showdown)	4	2	40/40	Running	$36,925
5/22/2010 (All-Star race)	3	7	100/100	Running	$88,124
5/16/2009 (All-Star race)	10	17	100/100	Running	$85,971