A general view of the Stewart-Haas Racing media day during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Jan. 23 in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

“From Columbus, Indiana, the three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, entering his 14th year on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala, Tony Stewart.

“From South Bend, Indiana, a winner of 15 races and 49 poles in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, entering his 11th full year of Sprint Cup racing, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army / Quicken Loans Chevrolet Impala, Ryan Newman.

“From Roscoe, Illinois, the first woman to win a Major League open wheel race in a North American series with her win in the IZOD IndyCar Series, Indy Japan 300 at the twin ring oval in Japan, entering her first year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with a ten race schedule, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.Com Chevrolet Impala, Danica Patrick.

“Now their crew chiefs.  From Spartanburg, South Carolina, the crew chief for Tony Stewart, the No. 14 Office Depot, / Mobil 1 team, Steve Addington.

“From Daytona Beach, Florida, the crew chief for Ryan Newman, and the No. 39 U.S. Army / Quicken Loans team, Tony Gibson.

“And from Berlin, Connecticut, the director of competition for Stewart-Haas Racing, and the crew chief for the No. 10 GoDaddy.Com team, Greg Zipadelli.

“The glue that keeps all of this together, from Haslett, Michigan, the vice president of competition for Stewart-Haas Racing, Matt Borland.

“Excellent.  Thank you, everyone.

“Tony Stewart, driver/owner of Stewart-Haas Racing.  We’ve said it once, we’ll say it a lot.  You’re now the three-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion.  First off, how’s the view from the top of the mountain, and more importantly from behind the wheel of that Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet?”

TONY STEWART:

“I’m scared of heights, so I don’t try to get up too high.  But, no, it’s felt good this winter.  It’s definitely been a short off season, but had a lot of changes, obviously, having Steve Addington on board and having my great friend, Greg Zipadelli back on board. We’re very excited about it.

“It’s been a short off season, but we’re having fun watching the changes of Stewart-Haas Racing and how it’s going to help us be better this year.”

MODERATOR:

“Ryan, you came off another strong chase performance, and a pretty historic day where you led Stewart-Haas Racing to a one-two qualifying effort, and a one-two finish at New Hampshire, and Quicken Loans coming on board and joining the U.S. Army, as well as a host of sponsors, as well as Aspen Dental which was secured over the weekend joining Outback Steakhouse, WIX Filters, Tornados and Haas Automation, how pumped are you for the 2012 season to begin?”

RYAN NEWMAN:

“Really excited.  It’s a great list of sponsors, and obviously to have the U.S. Army back, one of our founding partners with the team at Stewart-Haas, it’s a great feeling.  To have Quicken Loans, and like you said the whole list of them – with Outback Steakhouse, new sponsors to the sport, and then Aspen Dental, new sponsors to our team – just really look forward to having an opportunity to get each and every one of them a shot at victory lane.”

THE MODERATOR:

“Danica, the year that stock car racing takes center stage is finally upon us, and after balancing IndyCars and stock cars last year, it’s all stock cars all the time, including this Memorial Day weekend.  For the first time you’ll be in Charlotte for the Coca Cola 600 instead of Indianapolis for the Indy 500.  So what’s it going to be like for the GoDaddy girl?”

DANICA PATRICK: 

“I don’t know.  You tell me.  I’m very fortunate to be in this position with this team and these people.  I’m very fortunate.  I’ve been wanting to race stock cars full time for a little while here, and it’s happening.

“We’ve added another challenge with the Coke 600 or Coke 6,000 as I’ve been told.  It’s quite long.  So I just want to thank everyone for making it happen at Stewart-Haas, and thank GoDaddy for supporting me the whole way through.  I even have my own GoDaddy microphone.  That’s pretty clever.  So life is good.”

THE MODERATOR:

“We’ll reintroduce the folks behind these drivers, starting off with Steve Addington.  Steve, welcome to Stewart-Haas Racing.  How has the transition been as you sort of rejoin the family that you once knew at JGR?”

STEVE ADDINGTON:

“It’s been awesome.  To come in and work with a group of guys like Tony Gibson has made the transition of just asking me or telling me everything that I need to know and give me the information that I need to get started and where I need to look for stuff.. Matt Borland’s got a great group in the engineering department and those guys have been very, very welcoming in getting me started and seeing where we’re at and see what direction we need to get going.”

THE MODERATOR:

“Tony Gibson, crew chief for Ryan Newman, you’ve been at Stewart-Haas Racing since the beginning.  Can you talk a little about how Stewart-Haas Racing went from a relatively unknown that people really didn’t know what would happen to, to an organization that consistently wins races and contends for a championship and finally won a championship this past year?”

TONY GIBSON:

“I think it’s just being surrounded with good, old fashioned racing people.  You know, Stewart’s just an old redneck guy that loves to race and will drive everything.  Everybody at our place, we just love racing.  We grew together and things happened probably a little faster than most expected.

“But when you put a bunch of guys together that all they want to do is win and perform and run up front, things like that happen, partnered up with Chevrolet and they make things easy too.  They give us all the things we need to improve our race teams and our company.  We have great sponsors.

“So when you put all that in a Bowl, it’s got success written all over it.  Really fortunate to be associated with Stewart-Haas Racing from the beginning and great drivers.  Like I said before, Ryan’s one of those guys you want driving, because he’s going to give you 110% whether you’re two laps down or leading a race by half a lap.  Doesn’t matter, you get the same effort out of him.

“So it’s a privilege to be hooked up with him, and Matt Borland.  I’m looking forward to working with Steve and Greg and Danica, new people in our organization that are going to help us grow and be better.  Already we’ve seen huge gains in our company since they’ve come on board.  Looking forward to it.”

THE MODERATOR: 

“Excellent.  And Greg Zipadelli, you’re reunited with Tony, but in a different way, as the competition director here at Stewart-Haas Racing.  But still not far away from that pit box as Danica’s crew chief for this ten race schedule.”

GREG ZIPADELLI:

“Yeah, it’s a great opportunity for myself.  Next chapter in my life, maybe stepping back a little bit as a crew chief goes.  I was excited to find out I was going to have the opportunity to do ten races and kind of help put this deal together.

“We had a really good test.  I have enjoyed working with Danica.  A good group of guys.  I can’t say enough about the people at Stewart-Haas.  The heart and the passion that every individual that I’ve met that works there is truly amazing.  Very warm welcomes.  Everybody has been very good to work with.

“They have done so much to help me make the transition.  The people in the shop, Tony Gibson and his guys preparing cars for us, Matt Borland in engineering, a phenomenal place.  We’re very, very excited about the future there.”

THE MODERATOR:

“Matt Borland, the vice president of competition wore many hats in 2011, oversaw a lot of change, and also oversaw a lot of success.  How did you manage it all?

MATT BORLAND:

“I think it’s pretty easy.  You look up here and we’ve got three new people up here along with all the people that have been here, each one brings a different talent and experience level to our program.  We’ve got Steve who comes from Penske and Gibbs and a lot of new fresh ideas, things to look at, things to try.

“We’ve got Greg that’s come on board and he’s got new ideas from JGR that are all things we can try and try to make our stuff better than it’s been.

“Danica comes on board, another driver with open wheel background.  So she’s got a lot of new ideas, new thoughts and new ways of thinking about things, and that just helps everybody come up with new ideas, new thoughts, new processes and hopefully out of that we’ll get a lot of wins and a lot of poles.”

THE MODERATOR:

“Well said.  We’ll open it up to questions.”

Q.  I guess sometimes I miss things, but I don’t think I missed this, Danica.  That’s news that you’re running the Coca Cola 600?  Where does that leave the Indy 500?  I assume you won’t try a double.  Is that a difficult decision to race in that event this year?

DANICA PATRICK:

“No, you didn’t miss it.  I’m going to do the Coke 600.  I’m not going to do the Indy 500.  I hope to do it in the future, the Indy 500, that is.  Maybe it will be a double.  But at this point in time after a lot of conversations, it’s just going to be the Coke 600.  It’s going to be a big challenge, but I’m looking forward to it, and especially a hometown like Charlotte for NASCAR.”

Q.  How did you make the decision?

DANICA PATRICK:

“The decision?  Well, it was just something that didn’t work out as far as the business side of things.  It just didn’t work out.  I’m hopeful to do it in the future, but for this year, it just didn’t happen.”

Q.  With the fuel injection system, how does it affect this race strategy?  And, I think you still get your engines from Hendrick Motorsports.  Is there still space left for your own modifications and changes to get ready for the race?

TONY GIBSON:

“As far as the engines we get from Hendrick, they do a fantastic job, first of all, and they have done a great job of getting prepared for the EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) stuff this year.  They’ve done a lot of testing.  They’ve really kept us involved in it, and we’ve done a lot of stuff with Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas.

“We get the engines from them.  When they come, we put the headers and transmissions and stuff on it.  But their engine tuners come over in our shops twice a week, three times a week.  So we don’t actually build them, but they keep us in the flow of things.  We’re hands on with it.  They’re very open about it.  They want our ideas and especially from those guys.  Borland on the engineering side making harnesses and stuff for us that go in and sink in with the Hendrick side of it.  They’re very welcome to our ideas.

“So on that side of it, it’s been a great partnership, and pretty smooth so far.”

Q.  Matt, can you talk about the whole development of Stewart-Haas Racing, and people talk about the projects you have going on back there.  Can you talk about how you’ve seen the evolution of Stewart-Haas Racing?

MATT BORLAND:

“Yeah, Gene Haas and Joe Custer started Haas back in 2002.  They put a great program together and when Tony came on board, he added a whole other level of capabilities to the program.  It’s allowed us to get a lot more people, get a lot more    what is the word I’m looking for?  We have a lot more people to do a lot more things to be more specialized at what we’re looking at and refining things.

“I think the biggest thing that’s come about with that is we’re able to dive down into the details of the program.  With the cars the way they are now, there’s not huge gains to be made.  There are small gains to be made in a lot of areas.  So it takes a group of very strong people that can go and try to find all those little things.

“To Tony Gibson’s point, to have a bunch of racers that that’s all they want to do.  They want to race.  They want to beat everybody.  They want to find those little things that gets them that much better than the next team out there.”

Q.  Ryan, your whole team comes back intact.  You have a lot of new sponsors associated with the 39 this year.  Are you in the best position in terms of your career with Stewart-Haas than you’ve ever been before in the last couple of years there?

RYAN NEWMAN:

“From a sponsorship standpoint, without a doubt.  We’re really proud to partner up with these new sponsors.  Like I said in my opening, sponsors that haven’t been a part of NASCAR at all, like Quicken Loans and Outback has a little bit of history.

“But just from our standpoint, when you have great sponsors, you’re allowed to get the great people and do the great things.  Without a doubt, the sponsorship is a big part of that.

“So, yes, from that standpoint, no doubt.  From a team standpoint, it’s great to have all our group back.  We had a great run to get into the Chase.  Our Chase was a bit of a struggle for us as a team.  But those are the things that you get through them, work on them, build them, and make yourself stronger as a team and an organization for the next years.

“Tony can attest to this too, you can win a championship one year, doesn’t mean you’re going to win it the next year.  You have to work really hard.  Other teams, when you win, you build fire and desire within them.  So you have to have that same fire and desire within yourself to go back and do what we did as an organization last year.

Q.  Tony, the spotlight’s going to be bright on your team this year.  Not only are you the defending champion, but with the addition of Danica Patrick and with Ryan, how best is the team able to deal with that?  From the very beginning, there is a lot of attention given to your team.

TONY STEWART:

“Yeah, we’re not worried about that.  It’s a good thing with our partners on board.  It helps us from the marketing side and the sponsorship sides to make sure we’re fulfilling what our partners need.

“When it comes time to being at the racetrack and doing what we do on the track, this group of people up here are really good at focusing on the task at hand.  I think we’re all up for the challenge.  It’s a good way to start the year.  We came off of a great finish to the year last year, and we got a lot of new exciting partners on board this year, and a new teammate that’s going to be fun to work with.  And a teammate that’s always fun to work with over on this side.

“We’re excited.  We’re probably as excited to start the year as I can remember being in a long time.”

Q.  This is a special championship.  What did you do personally to celebrate it?

TONY STEWART:

“Stayed at the shop until the Wednesday of Christmas.  I didn’t really do anything, to be honest.  Like I said, with the addition of Steve and Greg and Danica, we wanted to make sure that we were kind of there to make sure that everybody was getting started off in the right direction.  I wasn’t really there for anything more than moral support.

“These guys are the guys that make it all happen, for sure.  But honestly, I didn’t really do much of anything.  I went and raced a couple of times through the winter here, but for the most part, it’s been business as usual.” 

Q.  Can you assess the different dynamics in the shop with the addition of Danica, and Zippy, and Steve Addington, and then the fact that Tony won the championship last year, the mood of the team and the dynamics in the shop?

MATT BORLAND:

“I think in general, the dynamics are very positive, very excited.  Like Tony was saying, everybody’s looking forward to Daytona, looking forward to a great new season.  As well, there are so many influx of new ideas this year, that we’re able to look at so many different things and find hopefully some more gains that will elevate us even better than we were last year.

“It’s been very positive.  All the people on the team are pumped up and excited.  It’s a great deal right now.”

Q.  Tony, you won your third championship last year, five of 10 Chase races, and in a driver / crew chief relationship that you ended up changing, how much pressure does that put on the guy to your left when he walks in the front door? 

TONY STEWART:

“You’re asking the wrong guy.  You need to ask him.  I feel just fine.”

STEVE ADDINGTON:

“I do too.”

TONY STEWART:

“I think he’s thinking he’s on vacation now.  Just saying.  It’s kind of like what Tony Gibson was saying earlier.  We’re just low key, down to earth racers and hard core racer that’s want to race.  That is the attitude that Steve has coming in here.

“And as far as from my side, I’m not putting any pressure on him.  I’m looking forward to going out and racing again.  We both know there is going to be a period of getting to learn each other, and just little things that we’ll have to get sorted out to where we get into that weekly routine.

“Daytona’s not going to be… that ten day period’s not going to get it done.  It’s going to take more of that.  It’s going to take getting through Phoenix and some of those races to really get in tune with each other.  But he’s been easy to work with so far.

“We’ve been able to work with him directly at Gibbs.  So we kind of know him a little bit.  I think it’s going to be pretty laid back, and we’re going to have a lot of fun.  I don’t think it’s a big stress situation for either one of us right now.”

MODERATOR:

“Steve, do you want to chime in on that as well?”

STEVE ADDINGTON:

“No, look at what the organization did.  One guy’s not going to make the big difference.  I’ve got to keep the communication with him going as far as the race car’s concerned, and having that supporting cast, the people that are around you through the organization makes you successful.  That’s what I’m looking forward to.

“Everybody that I’ve run into or worked with in the organization, I’ve worked with them at some point or beside them at some point that they’ve welcomed me with open arms.  Asking me everything that I need to go racing with them, and that’s it.  You’ve got the supporting cast there that’s going to be successful.”

Q.  Tony, could you explain to fans how life changes and how life doesn’t change after becoming a champion for the first, second, and third time?

TONY STEWART:

“It hasn’t changed at all, honestly.  I think the first time it changes a little bit because you’ve accomplished that goal.  But after the first one, it really doesn’t change your life so much the second and third one.  Like I said, it’s kind of been business as usual.  We’ve enjoyed the whole off season with the team, and it’s been fun being at the shop to see how excited the guys are.  Guys that three years ago had never won a race, and now they’re celebrating their first championship together.

“It’s been fun to be at the shop around those guys and see how excited they are to have Danica come on board and Zippy and Steve.  It’s been fun to watch everybody have fun in the off season.  You’ve got these two guys to the right that are always keeping you on your toes and making it fun, too.

“So we’ve just got a great group of people that have made it fun, and it really hasn’t changed my life any.  Like I said, I probably took less time this off season to go enjoy myself than any other time.  But I’ve had fun doing what I’ve been doing.”

Q.  Tony Gibson, the last 30 years we’ve had two owner/drivers win the championship, Tony and Alan Kulwicki.  You worked with both of those drivers.  Can you talk about what similarities there are between them and what differences there are?

TONY GIBSON:

“I think the differences may be the engineering side of it.  Kulwicki was more like Newman on the engineering side of it.  But he loved the race.  He loved all about racing, and all about winning.  In his heart it was win, and the grass roots of racing whether it was in Wisconsin doing the late model stuff or in a Cup car.

“Stewart has that same desire.  He has in his heart all he wants to do is race.  Every time he’ll text you he’s at a racetrack somewhere racing, and that’s all he wants to do.  So the difference is probably maybe on the schooling.  I don’t know where you went to school at.”

TONY STEWART: 

“High school.”

TONY GIBSON: 

“He went to high school.

“When it comes to strapping the belts down and putting a helmet on and taking the green, it’s all with your desire to win.  Him and Alan, as far as I’m concerned, had the same desire to win and that’s why they’re both champions.

Q.  Tony, will you divide up your time now any differently between the Cup side and the short track team now that you’ve got more people?  You’ve got more people to supervise.  Are you asking more people to supervise to give you more time for your other ventures? 

TONY STEWART:

“No, it’s pretty much business as usual.  We’re adding more to the program, so you want to make sure that you’re keeping that time to make sure that everybody’s where they need to be and making sure that everybody is comfortable with what we’ve got.  So as far as the time that I divide running the short track stuff versus what we’re doing here, it’s pretty much the same balance.”

Q.  Tony, the economy has been down the last couple of years, but it seems to be doing a bit of a rebound.  You guys have been doing well signing on new sponsors.  Can you talk about your efforts signing new sponsors and the economy of your team?

TONY STEWART:

“I’ll be honest, I’m really, really proud of our marketing team.  Mike Verlander has done a great job introducing some new partners in the sport.  I think it’s one thing from day one when we brought Tornados on board with Ryan’s car, and now Quicken Loans and Aspen Dental to bring new partners like this into the sport and introduce them to NASCAR is something that I take a lot of pride in.

“Like I said, it’s our marketing stuff that’s done it.  I can’t take the credit for it, but I’m really proud of them.  It’s been a tough economy, as we know.  But to show these new companies that there is this value in NASCAR is something that we’re proud of.  I think Tornados has had a great experience .  I think it’s been the same way for Quicken so far.

“We finished up the year last year with them, and I think they enjoyed the first trip in the sport.  Looking forward to having Aspen Dental on board.

“I’m really excited about it.  It’s the best position sponsorship-wise that our company has been in, and we still have races to sell.  But it’s the best position that we’ve been in since I partnered up with Gene three years ago.  So we’re really excited about it.

“I think it’s a sign that hopefully things are starting to turn around and work their way back up now.”

Q.  For Tony, Zippy, and Danica, what is a reasonable expectation or goals for this season?  Danica, when you answer, if you could also address the Nationwide Series.

DANICA PATRICK:

“I think that first starting out with the Nationwide stuff, very much it depends on the individual weekend itself.  There are still some tracks that I haven’t raced at before, so probably a little bit different expectations for those.  But for the most part, solid top-10.  Getting into the top-five more consistently through the year would be a goal, and I’d like to get to victory lane.

“As far as the Cup stuff, I think that it would be good if they answered as well on this.  But I’d like to know what I should expect.  But I think that at Daytona, the cars are very fast as you guys can see, and as we saw already at the test.  So I feel good about that race.  I feel good about… I mean, I was lucky enough to get to run with Tony in the Nationwide race last summer, and that went pretty good.  So I feel good about Daytona.

“I think there is a real chance if luck falls our way to perhaps win.  I think that’s a real chance.  I mean, a guy like Trevor Bayne last year showed that.

“So those are the expectations for the first race, but then beyond that.  I don’t know.  Top-20 or so, I guess, would maybe be a good goal.  I feel like longer races are good.  I like long races.  I feel like I learn, I get more comfortable out there and we keep tweaking on the car and making it a little better on each pit stop, so I’m hoping that plays into my favor with the length of these races.”

GREG ZIPADELLI:

“For myself, it’s just good solid days.  Give her as much track time as we can, and support, and just trying to teach her as much as we can about this sport and this series for the following year.”

TONY STEWART:

“I’m excited about it.  From my standpoint, I crashed everything I drove from the Nationwide cars, and it – on the Cup side – it got better obviously.  But looking at it, these ten races for her this year, for me it’s just finishing the races and getting the track time.

“In the short amount of time that I’ve worked with her, she’s so good at processing information and what she learns on the racetrack.  She can explain it to you right away and very accurate.  I think her feedback is excellent.

“Just getting the time on the racetrack and, I guess are from my standpoint, I’m not worried about the finishes at the end of the day.  It’s just finishing the race, getting the laps and getting that experience in the car.  Five hundred mile races are long races, especially in the Cup series when you’re dealing with a 3,400 pound car.  It’s a learning process.

“I think the success at the end of the year won’t be judged by where the finishing position is at the end of the day as much as what she’s taken away from race weekend.  So that’s what my goal is for her.”

THE MODERATOR:

“A couple other story lines that are definitely worth asking these folks in their one –on-one sessions.  Danica Patrick in the Super Bowl.  While the New England Patriots and New York Giants are making a return to the Super Bowl in two weeks, so does Danica.  This will be the eighth straight year GoDaddy has run a Super Bowl ad campaign, and the sixth in which Danica has starred.

“So all told, Danica has appeared in ten GoDaddy Super Bowl ads dating back to 2007, giving her the title of most commercials of any celebrity in the history of the event.

“Not to be lost on television, Tony Stewart spent part of his off season doing a little acting himself.  He made a guest appearance on ABC’s ‘Last Man Standing’ with Tim Allen.  That episode is slated to air Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. Eastern.

“Tony is also running the season opening NASCAR Nationwide Series race.  He’ll be in the No. 33 Oreo 100th anniversary Chevrolet Impala.  He’ll be looking for his fifth straight win in that event, and his seventh in the last eight season opening NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Daytona.

“Again, from a sports business story, I know we’ve touched about it a little bit, in addition to all the sponsors that have returned to Ryan Newman in the No. 39, new to the sport, Quicken Loans, Aspen Dental, Outback Steakhouse coming back to NASCAR, all affiliated with Ryan and that No. 39 team.”

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Jan. 23 in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Danica Skipping Indy, Will Run Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway In May

Instead, Patrick revealed during the opening stop of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway that she will be behind the wheel of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 27.

“I’ve wanted to race stock cars for a little while here and it’s happening,” Patrick said. “We’ve added another challenge with the Coke 600, or Coke 6,000 as I’ve been told.”

The decision, Patrick said, was mainly a business decision. Patrick has raced in the past seven Indianapolis 500s, earning a best finish of third in 2009 while driving for Andretti Green Racing.

“I hope to do it in the future, the Indy 500 that is. Maybe it’ll be a double,” Patrick said, referring to the Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500 double that her Sprint Cup team owner Tony Stewart, John Andretti and Robby Gordon have done in the past.

Patrick is scheduled to run up to 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events this year for Stewart-Haas Racing in addition to the full NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports.

Pressure is On Tony Stewart and Steve Addington in 2012
Members of the media got their first look at the new driver/crew chief combination of Tony Stewart and Steve Addington Monday and the pair already look like they’ve been working together for years.

But still, the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Stewart admits they have a lot to learn about each other.

“We’re just a bunch of low-key, down to Earth racers, hardcore racers that just want to race. That is the attitude Steve has,” Stewart said. “I’m not putting any pressure on him (Addington). I’m looking forward to going out and racing with him.

Steve Addington, the new crew chief of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

If Addington was concerned about any potential learning curve, he certainly didn’t show it.

“One guy isn’t going to make a big difference,” said Addington, who moved to Stewart-Haas Racing from Penske Racing. “I’ve gotta keep the communication with him going as far as the race car is concerned. Having that supporting cast, the people that are around you and throughout the organization, that is what makes you successful.”

Another new piece of the puzzle at Stewart-Haas Racing is Greg Zipadelli, Stewart’s former crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing. Zipadelli joins Stewart-Haas Racing as the organizations new competition director and will also serve as Patrick’s crew chief during her 10-race venture into Sprint Cup.

Stewart Eyes Seventh Daytona Nationwide Win
Tony Stewart will attempt to win his seventh NASCAR Nationwide Series race on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 25. This year Stewart will drive the No. 33 Oreo 100th Anniversary Chevrolet fielded by Richard Childress Racing. Stewart has won the last four NASCAR Nationwide season openers at Daytona and hopes to add a fifth-straight victory next month.

Aspen-Dental to Sponsor Newman; Outback Steakhouse, Quicken Loans Join SHR 
Stewart-Haas Racing announced Monday that it reached a multi-year agreement with Aspen Dental, one of the largest networks of dental-care providers in the United States, as a new sponsor for Ryan Newman’s No. 39 Chevrolet.

The Syracuse-based dental care provider will be the primary sponsor for Newman in 2012 for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Daytona in July and New Hampshire in September and will serve an associate sponsor at other events.

Stewart-Haas Racing announced in late 2011 that it would add Outback Steakhouse and Quicken Loans to its stable of sponsors for 2012.

New Crew Chiefs Settling In At Joe Gibbs Racing

Darian Grubb, the new crew chief of Denny Hamlin's No. 11 FedEx Toyota, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Darian Grubb, who won the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship with Tony Stewart, was hired to replace Mike Ford as crew chief for Denny Hamlin on the No. 11 FedEx Toyota.

“I’m really excited to join Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 11 FedEx team,” Grubb said Monday. “We’re having lots of fun, we’re having lots of meetings. We’re kind of setting the course for what we want to do. We want to go out there and be competitive.”

Elsewhere, crew chief Jason Ratcliff was promoted from the JGR NASCAR Nationwide Series operation to replace Greg Zipadelli as crew chief of the No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota driven by Joey Logano.

“J.D. (Gibbs) gave me the opportunity about seven years ago to come over and work on the Nationwide program,” said Ratcliff. “It has been great for seven years and I knew it would have to be a really special deal to move beyond that.

“They’ve given me an opportunity that fits well with a great driver, with great sponsors like Home Depot and Dollar General, and a team that is eager to go out and win races,” Ratcliff added.

The one driver at Joe Gibbs Racing that didn’t get a new crew chief is Kyle Busch, who will again partner with Dave Rogers for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Quotes of the Day
Tony Gibson, crew chief for Ryan Newman in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, on working for the last two owner-driver champions (Tony Stewart and Alan Kulwicki) in Sprint Cup competition: “He (Kulwicki) loved to race. It was all about racing and all about winning. … Stewart has that same desire. In his heart all he wants to do is race.”

Darian Grubb, on transitioning from working at Stewart-Haas Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing: “The hardest part of the transition so far has been getting my three-year-old son to say Denny Hamlin is his favorite driver.”

Source: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Press Release

Crew Chief Steve Addington - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Nov. 28, 2011) –

The Spartanburg, S.C., native is only the third crew chief Stewart has had during his 13-year Sprint Cup career, and it comes just a week after Stewart captured the 2011 Sprint Cup title.

“I know Steve well and I know how he goes about setting up a racecar,” said Stewart, who worked with Addington from 2005 through 2008 during his time at Joe Gibbs Racing. “My comfort level with him is already strong. He balances the technical part of our sport with the real-world experiences we get at the track, and that will allow for a smooth transition as we prepare to defend our title in 2012.”

Addington has served as crew chief for Bobby Labonte (2005), J.J. Yeley (2006-2007), Kyle Busch (2008-race No. 33 of 2009) and Kurt Busch (2010-2011) during his ongoing Sprint Cup career. Twelve wins were scored with Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing and four wins were notched with older brother Kurt during his most recent tenure at Penske Racing.

Prior to rising to the elite Sprint Cup ranks, Addington spent 15 seasons as a crew chief in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, 11 of which came with driver Jason Keller where the duo won 10 races, 11 poles and scored 69 top-five and 122 top-10 finishes.

“Tony and I are a lot alike and we’re able to push each other,” Addington said. “I saw how he worked when we were at Gibbs together and I’m not surprised at all at the success he’s created at Stewart-Haas Racing. He expects a lot and he knows a lot. His talent behind the wheel is obvious, but his ability to motivate and get everyone to believe that whatever goal they set is attainable is something every crew chief wants, and I plan to make the most of it.”

Addington has proven he can win with all kinds of drivers at all kinds of tracks. From the quiet and low-key drivers of Keller and Mike Bliss, whom Addington worked with in the Nationwide Series, to the competitive personalities of Kyle and Kurt Busch, Addington has steered his pilots to victory, and he’s done so at every conceivable type of racetrack – superspeedways, road courses, intermediates and short tracks.

“Steve has proven himself everywhere he’s been,” Stewart added. “Our expectation when we unload each weekend is to win, and that’s Steve’s expectation, too. Getting there is never easy, but we’ve both been around long enough to know what it takes to be successful.”

Addington replaces Darian Grubb, who served as Stewart’s crew chief since the inception of SHR in 2009.

“Darian was a very important part of the success we’ve had at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Stewart said. “I’m very proud of everything he helped accomplish, especially this year when we all rallied to win the championship. He’s a great person and I know he’ll continue to be successful in this sport.”

About Stewart-Haas Racing:

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owned by three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world. The team fields two entries in the elite Sprint Cup Series – the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart and the No. 39 U.S. Army/Quicken Loans/Tornados/ Outback Steakhouse/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala for 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman. Based in Kannapolis, N.C., Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 140,000-square-foot facility with more than 160 employees. For more information, please visit us on the Web at www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing and on Twitter at @StewartHaasRcng.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

DODGE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

· Dodge has three wins at TMS (Kurt Busch – 2009, Kasey Kahne – 2006 and Ryan Newman – 2003).
· Dodge earned three consecutive poles at TMS (Ryan Newman made it a sweep in 2005 and Kasey Kahne started from the pole in the spring race in 2006).
· Dodge has the only Sprint Cup win from the pole at the 1.5-mile track (Kasey Kahne – 2006).

THE DODGE BOYS

· Dodge has 212 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories.
· Dodge has five victories this season, three by Brad Keselowski (Kansas, Pocono and Bristol) and two by Kurt Busch (Infineon, Dover). Dodge’s most recent win came at Dover. Busch led five times for 90 of the 400 laps.
· Dodge teams have recorded 52 victories since the manufacturer’s return to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 after being out of the sport since 1977.

CHASE FAST FACTS

· Dodge’s Brad Keselowski qualified third and finished 17th at Martinsville last weekend. He is fourth in the Chase standings, 27 points behind the leader.
· Dodge’s Kurt Busch qualified eighth and finished 14th at Martinsville. He remains eighth in the NSCS driver standings, 58 points behind the leader.
· Brad Keselowski’s average finish in the seven Chase races in 2011 is 9.57.
· Kurt Busch’s average finish in the seven Chase races is 15.0.
· The last time two Penske Racing Dodges qualified for the Chase was 2005 (Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman).
· Dodge has not won a championship since the Chase format was introduced in 2004. Kurt Busch won the 2004 title before moving to Penske Racing in 2006.
· Dodge drivers have won four Sprint Cup championships: David Pearson (1966), Bobby Isaac (1970), Richard Petty (1974, 1975).

TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY STATS OF THE WEEK

· Kurt Busch won the 2009 Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. It was the largest margin of victory (25.686 seconds) since the inception of timing and scoring in 1993. He has finished inside the top five in four of his last five TMS starts.
· Brad Keselowski earned his best Texas Motor Speedway finish of 14th at the spring event in 2008. He led 32 laps in this year’s spring event and finished 18th.

2011 CHASE to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings

(After 33 of 36 Events)
1. Carl Edwards 2,273 7. Kyle Busch -57
2. Tony Stewart -8 8. Kurt Busch -58
3. Kevin Harvick -21 9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -73
4. Brad Keselowski -27 10. Jeff Gordon -76
5. Matt Kenseth -36 11. Denny Hamlin -80
6. Jimmie Johnson -43 12. Ryan Newman -89

DODGE IN THE CHASE: TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

· 2004: Texas Motor Speedway was not a part of the Chase. Two Dodge drivers were in that first Chase – Ryan Newman and Jeremy Mayfield.
· 2005: Dodge was represented by three drivers in the Chase – Ryan Newman, Rusty Wallace and Jeremy Mayfield. Newman started from the pole and finished 25th. Wallace ended up 26th and Mayfield 35th.
· 2006: Kasey Kahne was the lone Dodge driver in the Chase. He qualified fourth, led twice, but finished 33rd with engine issues.
· 2007: Kurt Busch started sixth, led twice and finished eighth in his Penske Dodge.
· 2008: There were no Dodges in the 2008 Chase field.
· 2009: Kurt Busch, started third and led 89 laps en route to victory at TMS, his first and only win at the speedway. Kasey Kahne, the second Dodge driver in the Chase, started second and finished 33rd.
· 2010: Kurt Busch, the only Dodge driver in the Chase, qualified sixth and finished 24th.

TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY STATS OF THE WEEK

· Kurt Busch won the 2009 Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. It was the largest margin of victory (25.686 seconds) since the inception of timing and scoring in 1993. He has finished inside the top five in four of his last five TMS starts.
· Brad Keselowski earned his best Texas Motor Speedway finish of 14th at the spring event in 2008. He led 32 laps in this year’s spring event and finished 18th.

2011 SPRINT CUP SERIES SEASON BEST

· Kurt Busch Start: 1st (Kansas1, Pocono1 & Michigan1)
Finish: 1st (Infineon, Dover2)
· Brad Keselowski Start: 1st (Charlotte1)
Finish: 1st (Kansas1, Pocono2, Bristol2)
· Robby Gordon Start: 30th (Daytona1)
Finish: 16th (Daytona1)

FROM THE DODGE ENGINEER:

“It’s seems like culture shock to go from 95 mph average laps at Martinsville one week to nearly 195 mph average laps at Texas the next week, but the series does it twice a year, every year. Engineering problems like managing brake heat at Martinsville certainly won’t be an issue at Texas where drivers are at wide-open throttle for about 22 of the 30 seconds it takes to make one lap. And even with that much wide-open throttle time in a lap at Texas, engineers still won’t be working on wide-open throttle issues. They will be focused on how they can whittle down those other eight seconds where the driver can’t go flat out. Handling in the very fast corners of Texas will trump everything else and the race will be won there.” Howard Comstock, Dodge Engineering

DODGE MOTORSPORTS QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“We put ourselves in position to have a great day at Martinsville on Sunday, but that wasn’t in the cards. That’s what happens late in a race on a short track. We took a hit in the points, but this team has been the underdog all year long. We’re not going to stop doing the things that put us in this position. Twenty-seven points is not insurmountable. We’re going to need a little help, but there are guys that are due to have something go wrong over these last three races. At the end of the day, we have speed in our cars and that will win out more often than not.” Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

DODGE DRIVER QUOTES

“I made the comment to my guys before Sunday’s race at Martinsville that we’re on a mission to get back up there solidly in the top-five in the points by the end of the season. We got caught up in the crash at Talladega and that cost us our shot at the championship. I feel like we are a top-five caliber team and we deserve to finish up there in the top-five. We just have to get out there and execute like we know we are capable of doing and achieve that goal.”
Kurt Busch, No. 22 AAA Dodge Charger R/T

“I don’t have to tell you how much we are looking forward to this weekend’s race. We’ll have one of Kurt’s best cars – already a race-winner – at one of Kurt’s favorite race tracks. It doesn’t get any better than that. We have three races left and I feel like we can go win all three of them. Texas is first in line and we’re coming in there with a lot of confidence that we can get it done. With us fielding the AAA Dodge in the AAA Texas 500, there’ll be a heckuva party there in Victory Lane when Kurt takes the checkered flag, that’s for sure.”
Steve Addington, crew chief No. 22 AAA Dodge Charger R/T

“Texas really is a unique racetrack and a unique layout. From above it looks like any normal 1.5-mile track, but the transitions into and off of the corners are quite a bit different than Charlotte, Las Vegas or any of the other mile-and-a-halfs. There is a lot of banking into the corners, which means you can carry a lot of speed in and to the center of the turns, but you lose that speed on exit as the track flattens out. It’s difficult because normally you can carry the same amount of grip and speed on both corner entry and corner exit. You have to adjust accordingly and sometimes that’s hard to do at 180 miles per hour. It’s easy to find yourself in trouble, especially off of Turn 2.”
Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

“Texas is a place with a lot of unique characteristics. The track has bumps in Turn 2 and has aged to where grip becomes a big factor late into a run. We want to set the car up to run the bottom of the track, but yet, still have the flexibility to run various lines through the corners. This is a new car for us this weekend – a new specification that we’ve developed at Penske Racing. We’ve rolled out several new cars during the Chase and have been very happy with their performance. Brad has shown that he knows how to get around these 1.5-mile tracks and I think we’ll have a solid weekend at Texas.”
Paul Wolfe, crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

DODGE IN THE CHASE

· Dodge is making its seventh appearance in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and has six wins in Chase races.
· Kurt Busch is making his fourth Chase appearance driving a Dodge and sixth overall.
· Brad Keselowski is making his first appearance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Keselowski is the sixth different Dodge driver to make the Chase (Jeremy Mayfield, Ryan Newman, Rusty Wallace, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch).
· The last time two Penske Racing Dodges qualified for the Chase to the Sprint Cup was in 2005 with Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman.
· Dodge has not won a championship since the Chase format was introduced in 2004. Kurt Busch won the 2004 title with another team before moving to Penske in 2006.

2011 Chase to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings
1. Kyle Busch 2012 7. Kurt Busch -9
2. Kevin Harvick -0 8. Ryan Newman -9
3. Jeff Gordon -3 9. Tony Stewart -12
4. Matt Kenseth -6 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -12
5. Carl Edwards -9 11. Brad Keselowski -12
6. Jimmie Johnson -9 12. Denny Hamlin -12

THE DODGE BOYS

· Dodge has 211 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories.
· Dodge has four victories this season, three by Brad Keselowski (Kansas, Pocono and Bristol) and one by Kurt Busch (Infineon). Dodge’s most recent win came at Bristol Motor Speedway. Keselowski led 89 of the 500 laps en route to victory.
· Dodge teams have posted 51 victories 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 its return in 2001 including seven wins twice (2002 and 2006).

DODGE AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY

· Dodge has recorded one win at the 1.5-mile, D-shaped Chicagoland Speedway oval (Ryan Newman – 2003).
· Dodge has earned one pole at Chicagoland Speedway (Ryan Newman – 2002).

2011 DODGE SPRINT CUP REWIND

· Race 1: Kurt Busch won the Bud Shootout and a Gatorade Duel during Speedweeks.
· Races 12-15: Dodge earned four consecutive poles.
· Race 13: Brad Keselowski won at Kansas; first Dodge win of the season.
· Race 16: Busch dominated at Infineon for first win of the season and first road-course victory of his career.
· Race 21: Keselowski, racing with a broken left ankle, earned his second win of the season at Pocono Raceway.
· Race 23: Keselowski moved up to 12th in Cup driver standings.
· Race 24: Keselowski won his third race of the season. Moved up to 11th in points. Current No. 1 wild card driver.
· Race 25: Busch and Keselowski clinched spots in the Chase.
· Race 26: Busch seeded 7th, Keselowski 11th for Chase.

DID YOU KNOW?

· Dodge’s Brad Keselowski has set Sprint Cup career bests this season in wins (3), top fives (6) and top 10s (10).
· Dodge’s Kurt Busch won the first-ever Chase race, the 2004 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

2011 SPRINT CUP SERIES SEASON BEST

· Kurt Busch Start: 1st (Kansas, Pocono & Michigan)
Finish: 1st (Infineon)
· Brad Keselowski Start: 1st (Charlotte)
Finish: 1st (Kansas, Pocono, Bristol)
· Robby Gordon Start: 30th (Daytona)
Finish: 16th (Daytona)

KURT BUSCH – INSIDE THE CHASE NUMBERS

· Qualified for the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup – seeded seventh.
· Competing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the sixth time: 2004 – Champion, 2005 – 10th, 2007 – seventh, 2009 – fourth and 2010 – 10th
· Has competed in 68 Chase races since 2004, 50 of those have been in a Dodge.
· Career Chase stats: Two wins, three poles, 16 top-five and 34 top-10 finishes.
· Busch has recorded eight career wins at the 10 tracks hosting Chase races (Loudon – 3, Martinsville – 1, Homestead – 1. Texas – 1 and Charlotte – 1).

FROM THE DODGE ENGINEER: HOWARD COMSTOCK

“Chicagoland Speedway has hosted a mid-July, Saturday night, Sprint Cup race for the last 3 years and now we’re visiting there for, not only the first race of the Chase, but a mid-September, Sunday afternoon, event. That’s a lot different than what we’ve been accustomed to, so engineers from every organization in the series will be busy this week taking the last several years of notes and applying some kind of offset for the radically different conditions we’ll see in Chicago this week. Cooler air temperatures in September will mean better grip levels in the track surface and more horsepower from the engines. But how will a now-afternoon event offset those two advantages? That’s some of what our engineers will be working on this week.”

DODGE MOTORSPORTS QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It’s a pride thing. To get both Penske Dodges into this Chase is really huge for the organization, huge for Dodge. It’s huge for the guys that work back in that fab shop, work in that paint shop, and work in every little department we have. They take pride in working on these cars during the week. We get to come out here and work on ‘em. Everybody sees us, but they don’t see those guys putting in that effort back at the shop.”
Steve Addington, crew chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge

DODGE QUOTES

“We always get to answer questions that maybe we’re behind the eight-ball by only having two (Penske) Dodges out there but we put both of ‘em in the Chase. Both guys now have a shot at the championship so it’s been a great, solid season for us.”
Kurt Busch (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T)

“Well, I feel like a one-year old that got his first box of crayons, you know, just amazed and happy to have ‘em. It’s great. Everything is fresh, new and a lot of positive momentum. No matter what happens in the Chase, it’s still an honor to be in it.”
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T)

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment to get both of our Penske Racing Dodges in the Chase this year. I am proud of the entire organization, as it was a true team effort in getting to this point. I would also like to thank Shell, Pennzoil, Miller Lite, Dodge and all of our terrific partners for their support. We are looking forward to getting to Chicago and competing for a championship.”
Roger Penske (Chairman, Penske Corporation)

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

STEVE ADDINGTON (crew chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING THE CHASE?

HOW MUCH DID THIS RACE TRACK CHANGE SINCE WHEN YOU WERE ON IT ON SATURDAY? “It was unbelievable. The change the track went through today was incredible. How the car changed and the phases that it went through was really incredible. We just kept working on it trying to make it better as the race went on. I think that our race car got pretty good after the halfway point of the race. I have to thank everybody that supports us. Dodge gives us incredible support and everything that we ask out of them. We really appreciate those guys doing all the work behind the scenes and working with our engineering group to give us what we need to go racing. A great effort by everyone involved.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) “A great day for Penske and the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge team today. It was a great run, a Chase-type effort. To come home fourth, Tony (Stewart) was coming out of nowhere. We somewhat surprised ourselves. We made great adjustments as the race went on. Good adjustments during the race and solid a pit stops during the race. A great run for our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. It’s great to be locked into the Chase. Just all of our sponsors, AAA, Lennox, Snap-On, and Coca-Cola. A good, solid season. Now it’s go time. We’ve got Richmond as a buffer, but we’ve got 10 weeks ahead of us that are the most important 10 weeks of the season.”

NOW THAT YOU’RE LOCKED IN, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? “Richmond was fun race last May, it was well documented. I can’t have people not stop talking about it. Maybe we can bounce back and get that behind us and go and attack Chicago, one of my favorite race tracks, and go and get in the groove of the Chase. Every position counts. Everyone needs to click on all eight cylinders on our team. Just our Dodge’s right now, Keselowski’s in. We’re in. We’re a two-team effort for our Dodge’s and here we are with our Dodge Chargers running with the big boys. We’re right in this mix. I feel really proud of my guys today.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T): “We were just a little off all weekend. The run next to last I felt like we were close. We were a second or third-place car there and just kind of got stuck behind some track position. I think we were running fourth or fifth and got back off on the last pit stop. All in all it’s good to come out of a race where we felt like we were off all weekend and get a sixth out of it, that’s what we need to do. That’s what we need to do going into the Chase, bring home cars without scratches on ‘em and get solid finishes when we’re not at our best. I’m proud of my guys and everyone on the Miller Lite Dodge team.”

A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO YOU GUYS WERE TRYING TO BE A TOP 15 TEAM EACH WEEK. NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU’RE A CHASE CHAMPTIONSHIP CONTENDER. HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU THAT YOU CAN WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “Well today was a huge confidence booster because we took a bad day and got a good finish out of it. That’s exactly what you’ve got to do in the Chase and today was a huge confidence booster, as big as any of the other races.”

YOU HAD A SOLID RUN TODAY. “Yeah we were just a little bit off all day. It seemed like we got really close the next to last run and drove up to fourth there and then that last run got back off and ended up sixth. It was just really good to have solid finish like we did in sixth. I wanted another top-five and it would have been great but I’m just really proud of my guys.”

DO YOU FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT YOUR CHASE CHANCES TODAY? “Yeah really good. I think this locked us in today. We’ve got something to look forward to. I think days like today are what you’ve got to have. You’ve got to have days where [when] you’re not as fast as you want to be and you’re off all weekend but you still get a solid finish out of it. It’s going to be weekends like this, like we had today with the 2 team, that make our break you in the Chase. That’s a good feeling.”

CAN YOU PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AND YOUR CAREER TO HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “It’s amazing. I was thinking about it this week. I’ve lived my whole life wanting to have a shot at a Cup championship and here I am. I’ve got a legitimate shot at it. I’ve got a team that’s firing on all eight, so to speak, and now a Chase birth here today. It’s a very amazing feeling. Just want to make sure that I’m ready to go for that Chase. We felt confident about it [clinching a spot in the Chase] but still you can blow up our first lap the next two races or do something dumb and put it in the fence. The actual clinch is still a good feeling.”

WHEN DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU WERE CHASE MATERIAL? “You know it’s hard to say. I felt like we had strong runs that we just weren’t able to execute. It’s got to be the last few weeks. I’d hate to say it’s been anywhere than that.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ABLE TO USE YOUR BONUS POINTS IN THE CHASE? YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO PUT YOURSELF IN EVEN BETTER POSITION. “I think we’ve got to make up 23 points on the 14 [Tony Stewart]. I haven’t seen where the 88 is in points. I’m sure we gained a bunch on him because I don’t see him on the board so it’ll be interesting. It’s going to be tough on us. We’re still 20-some points back but we’ll just have to see how Richmond plays out. Richmond was not very kind to us in the spring. But a lot of these tracks we’ve been successful at we’ve been successful because we’re going back to ‘em for the second time. And we’re coming back to Richmond for the second time so I have a fair amount of confidence going there.”

HOW DIFFICULT WAS THIS RACE FOR YOU TODAY? “The starting and stopping makes it hell on everybody and it’s no different in the seat. You just want to go, like c’mon, make this thing happen. There were a couple of times I was ready to race in the rain just to get going. That’s the way it is but glad that we’re all able to survive out a long week. Really happy and proud to get this race done for all the work everybody has put in from the track to the teams to the fans that came back.”

DESPITE THE CHALLENGING CONDITIONS YOU MADE YOUR CAR BETTER DURING THE RACE. “We did a great job all up until the last stop. We were backwards on the last stop. Like I said that’s what you’ve got to do to be a Chase caliber team or at least a championship contending team in the Chase. You’ve got to take your days when you’re a 10th to 15th-place car, made good adjustments and get solid finishes. We still ended up sixth but that’s not a bad day.”

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Crew Chief Steve Addington - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

STEVE ADDINGTON (Crew Chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T):

BECAUSE OF THE RAIN HERE THIS AFTERNOON, DO YOU PUT A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SETUP UNDER THE CAR FOR THE RACE? “We just have to adjust our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge to it. We’ve set the car up to where if we go racing tonight we should be good. We’ll just have to adjust. We’ve built some adjustment into it and that’s knocking spring rubbers in, pulling spring rubbers out, doing whatever we have to. Adjusting wedge and track bar stuff. That’s just something we’ll have to do as track conditions change on us and we do that every week.”

YOU HAVE PREPARED TO RACE AT NIGHT BUT IF YOU RACE IN DAYTIME, IS THAT A VARIABLE THAT IS EQUAL FOR EVERYONE? “With where we practiced the other evening and our car was pretty good and then we practiced in the heat of the day with 25 degrees hotter track temp. Atlanta is real sensitive to that so it’s a deal where you have to adjust to it. Your car is not going to be as good in the daytime. It’s going to be a freer racetrack. We’ve got adjustability in the car. We’ll have to start the race and make it to that first run and then adjust on it from there.”

IF YOU ARE FORCED TO RACE ON MONDAY, WILL THAT THROW A WRINKLE INTO YOUR PREPARATION FOR RICHMOND? “Well no, I don’t think so. I think that would be the best case scenario is get it in but tomorrow looks worse than today. We’ll send a guy back if we have to in order to take care of that side of it for us and then everything will be all right.”

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Finsihed 1st

HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THE ANKLE INJURY TODAY TO WIN? “It’s not me, its good people. It’s having a Paul Wolfe (crew chief) and a team that digs. There are so many people to thank for being in victory lane, from Miller Lite to Sprint to the fans. I’m no hero. The heroes are the guys that died in Afghanistan this weekend and I want to spend time thinking about them. They were my inspiration for this weekend and the things that those guys do. I’m glad that we could win today, but those are the heroes. I just drive race cars for a living.”

NOW YOU’RE ELIGIBLE TO WIN THE SPRINT SUMMER SHOWDOWN? “That’s pretty cool. I’d like to win that money, but I’d much rather get these guys in the Chase. I would throw away the money if I could promise them we’d be in the Chase and have a good run at the championship. Runs like this are great and show that we can do it. I’ve got a good teammate in Kurt, he helped me out. It takes people like that and people on this team working together. It’s really turned around Penske Racing. It’s made it something that I’m really proud to be a part of and I’m looking forward to years of success here.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THOSE CLOSING LAPS? “You’re trying to fight yourself. We had a fast Miller Lite Dodge Charger today and I was really good coming off of Turn 3. Paul worked on this car and made it better all day. I knew that if we got out front on that last restart, we’d be tough to catch. I had a mirror full of the 18 car; our Dodge was just a little bit better today.”

(DURING RAIN DELAY)
HOW WAS YOUR RUN TODAY? “It was pretty good. I’m a little tired in the car. That’s alright. We’ll keep fighting. We were able to drive up to eighth; that was pretty good. We have decent speed in the Miller Lite Dodge Charger. We pitted right before the yellow came out, so we’re all curious to see…hopefully, we’ll get back to green. If we do, that should cycle us out to the front and we’re excited about that.”

YOU SLID THROUGH YOUR PIT BOX EARLY IN THE RACE. HOW MUCH IS THAT BRACE THAT YOU’RE WEARING AFFECTING YOU INSIDE THE CAR? “It’s a huge factor because you have to modulate the brakes as you come into your pit stall. You brake real hard and then you come off, and I can’t just modulate them. Once they lock up, I just can’t stop. I just slid through.”

HOW IS THE PAIN? “It doesn’t feel good, but I’ll be alright.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 3rd
“We were fast on a fresh race track and then we’d fade. I was racing Jimmie (Johnson) hard there at the end. I was racing, flat out. You want to race, let’s race. I didn’t know we were supposed to pull over when it came down to five to go. I raced him hard. I raced him smart. I raced him clean and he wants to come over here and bitch about it. Hey, he came off the turn and did at jab to my left; I did a jab back to the right. Why can’t we race each other like this and put on show for the fans and not have a problem with it? I don’t know.”

YOU LED A LOT OF LAPS, IT LOOKS LIKE THE CAR WAS STRONGER THAN EVER AFTER THE RAIN DELAY. “Today was definitely a hard-fought battle. Early on, we were able to benefit from our good qualifying position and run up front, exchanged the lead back and forth with (Joey) Logano and (Denny) Hamlin. Running right there, third, fourth or fifth and just clicking away laps. We always start off good when the track is fresh and then we just started to slide more and more when the track rubbers-in.

“We were struggling; just kind of hanging on to a top-10 spot and the rain came. We pitted right before the rain. At the time, I thought my crew chief was crazy. That would have trapped us 26th if we didn’t get it back underway. But luckily we did. And it looked like the Penske guys were the smartest guys when it came to a rain delay, because we came out 1-2 after the restart.

“Our car just took off on fresh race track that wasn’t rubbered in, and then the race track rubbered up really quick those last 60, 70, 80 alps and we were hanging on to it in the end, brought it home third. A good hard-fought battle for us, rooting for those two in front of me, my teammate and my younger brother, to wreck each other, but not to wreck each other. Of course I wanted both of them to win and I wanted to win, anybody but the 48. And us three, we came home up front.”

STEVE ADDINGTON (crew chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T)
“I had made up my mind that we were going to try and win the race, but we had to get our track position back. We lost it there on the two-tire call with us and the 20 car. The 20 retained track position, we didn’t. We had to do something and take a chance. I’ve been real conservative; don’t take a lot of chances I guess. I thought I could gamble on it and could live with the outcome. When it started raining, Paul (Wolfe, crew chief for Brad Keselowski) and I, both of us started yelling hit pit road. It was a gamble, but we thought the rain would stop and we could finish the race. It worked out for us. I’m glad for the whole Penske organization, two cars in the top three here at Pocono. From where we were last year to finish first and third here, we’ve come a long ways.”

(DURING RAIN DELAY) “There were three or four of us that put two (tires) on (during green flag cycle between laps 82 and 88) and the rest put four on. We got beat right there. The 20 car maintained track position, got out in front of us and was able to hold everybody off. Once we get back out there, we’ll be fine. We pitted and the caution came out for rain, so we’re OK. We’ll see how things shake out.”

ROBBY GORDON (No. 7 SPEED Energy Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 35th
“We had planned on racing the whole race. The ignition wire coming out of the fire wall to the engine came undone or it overheated the ignition boxes. It was probably the wire, because they wiggled it and got it to work. At the same time, we changed the ignition boxes. We went back out, but when you’re 20 laps down, it doesn’t make sense to keep running. We have a new Dodge Charger for Watkins Glen, a brand new race car. We’re looking forward to next week, just hope nothing falls off the car and we can run the whole race.”

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 14th

“It’s a tough deal getting collected in that wreck. Regan (Smith) and I were making our move and then I just saw smoke and cars spinning in front of us. I was just about to miss it on the high groove, but got clipped and that nearly ripped the entire driver-side door off. We had to come in under caution and make some repairs; that cost us all of our track position. To restart 20-something and come home with a 14th-place finish is amazing. Not to mention that I did it flying through the grass sideways! A decent point’s night for us. You just never know how these things are going to end.”

STEVE ADDINGTON (crew chief, No 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger)
“This is some strange racing. After we got collected late in that big wreck, I was going to stay out despite having half a door. But then NASCAR called us in under caution and made us fix the driver side door. We dropped back to restart 26th or so on the restart and it’s amazing that we ended up 14th. Kurt drove a great race. We got hooked-up with the 78 (Regan Smith) and just rode around all night. So much of this kind of racing is out of your control. You just try and put yourself in position to have a shot at winning at the end. We just got caught up in the wrecks. Our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge was fast. We had a great car. We’ll take a 14th and head to Kentucky.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 15th
“Eventful is a great word for what went on out there those last few laps. I’m happy to bring home a decent finish with the Miller Lite Dodge in one piece. We got a little off there about two-thirds of the way through the race and fell behind. We just didn’t get the opportunity to get that track position back. It was a decent finish for us. We wanted a little more. We’ll just work a little harder to get it.

“I had a pretty good push from (Greg) Biffle and we came to the front, but he dropped a cylinder and that hurt us. It’s just one of those days, but to get out of here with a top 15, we’re proud of that.”

ROBBY GORDON (No. 7 SPEED Energy Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 34th
“We got busted on a pit stop and that hurt us. And, we didn’t get the drafting help we expected. We should have finished at least 27th, but ended up 34th. We’re still in the top 35, so that’s a plus for our team. With a little drafting help, I think we could have finished a little better.”

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Finished Second

“It’s great to run this good with the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. Congratulations to Jeff Gordon. He ran strong. He ran well. We gave it everything we could with our Dodge. It’s all about teamwork when you have to work from a back-up car. I thought we were better after about lap 15 on a run, but we just couldn’t close it there at the end.

“We’re excited with this finish. We put up a good fight with our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. We gave it all we had. I’m proud to finish second. My guys worked hard to get that. To bring this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge home in second is a good feeling. Even though it’s a backup, it was a strong car today. We were working it hard today. I’m thankful to have good equipment and thank Roger Penske and the Dodge team. We were good enough to win today.”

KURT BUSCH IN MEDIA CENTER

TALK ABOUT THE RACE AND THOSE LAST FEW LAPS. “It was a great, hard-fought battle for us in the 22 car today. Just a nice, steady run. We were able to have smooth pit stops, not the greatest, but smooth. We had a great-handling car at certain points of the race, a little tight here, a little loose there. Just a great genuine day for our team to run in the top five all day.

“It’s pleasing to see that result. I’m exhausted. It was a great, hard-fought battle with Jeff Gordon at the end. It started about 130 laps in, about 70 to go, where we were able to take the lead, stretch it out. Then there was a caution. The 24 beat us out of the pits. It was a great battle.

“I thought we could gain on him after 15 laps into the run. We were able to do that most of the day. We were able to do that again at the end, but we just couldn’t close the gap far enough. The old ‘Golden Boy’ had it in him today. He ran strong. It was a very genuine battle that we had.

“Neither one of us slipped those final few laps. It was just one of those, I’ve giving it all I got and I can’t close the gap. Interesting day with shifting. Shifting quite a bit today, keeping track of the temperatures, the revs on the engine, fuel mileage as well, and a lot of balance inside the car.”

“TALK ABOUT THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF WHAT JEFF GORDON DID TODAY, TIES HIM FOR ALL-TIME WINS WITH (DARRELL) WALTRIP AND (B0BBY) ALLISON. “It’s impressive to see what he’s done over his career, not just in this decade, not in the 2000s, back all the way to the 90s. He’s a true legend in our sport, a four-time champion.

“When I came in as a rookie, I set the bar to try to compete with him, to race against him the best I could. We’ve had our good and tough battles on the track. Today, I wanted more. I wanted to get up there and race with him hard, show him that he’s going to have to work harder to get these wins in the latter part of his career. But he’s Jeff Gordon, he’s that good. The team is solid.

“It’s amazing to see that accomplishment, that he’s done that here in the current age. It seems like all the guys that have got those 200, 105, and 84 wins, those all came in the mid portion of how our NASCAR series developed, not the early portions of the ‘50s and ‘60s, but ‘70s, ‘80s and 90s.”

AFTER LAST WEEK WHEN YOU HAD TO PIT LATE, YOU STILL SAID AFTER THE RACE IT WAS GOOD TO HAVE A CAR THAT RAN UP FRONT MOST OF THE DAY. WHEN YOU PUT THAT RACE AND THIS RACE TOGETHER, IS IT FAIR TO SAY YOU THINK YOU’VE TURNED THE CORNER? “They’re a great two weeks. I feel like we’ve got what we need to continue to move forward. It’s not all there. We still need to have A-pluses in all areas of our team, whether it’s the motor department, aerodynamics, pit crew, crew chief-driver communications. To run for the win the last two weeks in a row and have two poles, it’s pretty solid.”

CARL EDWARDS CAME IN WITH A 40-POINT LEAD. GIVEN HIS DNF TODAY, HOW IS IT GOING TO HELP THE REST OF THE TEAM FALL INTO PLACE? “How did he have problems? Engine issues? That’s one concern all of us had in the back of our minds today with the extra shifting. You could leave it in third gear longer. It was a concern all day long.

“When the points leader has problems, everybody’s just chomping at the bit, licking their lips, going, wow, look at this, I’m right back in this. When you’re having good runs like we are, my little brother, just plugging away, that helps you feel more solid when you get to the month of August after you get through the Brickyard, making that summer run to the Chase.

“Right now, it’s all about consistency. I’d like to break through and get a win just to help us feel more confident in our Chase position. When the point’s leader has trouble, everybody benefits from that.”

STEVE ADDINGTON (Crew Chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T)
“I think we had a car that could have won the race today. I messed up on the call on that last pit stop. I didn’t want the 24 team to hear me tell the spotter that we wanted Kurt on pit road this lap, but the 4 car shot underneath and it jumbled everything up. We ended up making the stop the same lap as the 24. If we had stopped a lap earlier than the 24 and got out in front of him, we would have won the race. I want everybody to know how far this team came from Friday to today. We led laps and run up front all day long, no farther back than fourth. I’m proud of them.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 23rd
“I think we had a top-five car there at the end when it mattered. We had a broken shock, got it fixed and then it broke again. It’s just unfortunate. We were a really, really strong car and didn’t capitalize on it today. We did what we could, but there are some things you just can’t overcome.”

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

IN THE MEDIA CENTER:
“Quite a bit of emotions today, especially after having to burst out the backup car after yesterday’s mishap. To go out there today, if it was raining, we would be starting last. And now, luckily the weather held out and we’re on the pole. An amazing swing of events. An honest thank you to my guys, especially the ones back at the shop preparing the cars. To pull a backup out that’s a pole-winning car, that’s something you really wouldn’t hear about back in the day. It would be all-right, we’re going to have to struggle through the weekend; it’s not the best piece (car). It’s great that we have that quality control in our system. We haven’t changed a lot of things since Richmond. It’s just been some procedures, some processes and maybe just looking at the data a little bit differently. It’s great to come back out and be on the pole again. As a race car driver, I was really, really, really worried with the number 13, I thought I was going to get stuck on the 13th pole for a long while, but number 14 already, we’re moving on.”

IS THERE A NEW METHODOLOGY FOR QUALIFYING WITH YOUR TEAM? “It’s a matter of knowing where the edge is, but not stepping over it. Yesterday, honestly, I missed my shift point and it got me into trouble. I was trying different things, changing the rear gear, changing the transmission, and just being in a different zone of elements of changes. Normally, the last three years, we haven’t messed with gears at all. It was cool to do that and mess with it and it bit me. Today, we went right back after it and I was aggressive and I used the same procedure as I did yesterday at practice where I wrecked to get the pole today.”

OUTSIDE OF CREW MEMBER CHANGES, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE THE LAST FEW WEEKS IN YOUR CARS? “Again, I think that it gets back to looking at our data differently and doing it in a sense of I took the apple tree and just shook it as hard as I could at Richmond. We saw which apples fell and which ones were still there. There’s some processes, procedures, a couple of different personnel changes. Quite honestly, it was, ‘Hey, do we want to make this Chase? We got to make some changes’. We’ll look at how we can re-evaluate what we’re doing because heading into the direction that we were, we were just scrapping those top 10s or maybe running 15th and that’s not going to get it done when you want to win a championship.”

STEVE ADDINGTON (Crew Chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T)
“This 22 crew, the 2 car guys, everybody back at the shop, the fab guys here, what an effort. When we unloaded the backup car, we had made so many changes during practice with the primary car we didn’t get a lot of track time with the backup. I want to thank everybody on this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. The work they did to get this car ready was awesome. To lay down a lap like that is pretty impressive. And that guy that sits behind the steering wheel isn’t too damn bad either.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Qualified 20th
“There was something wrong with the throttle linkage. It was definitely stuck. I don’t know if there was a rock in it or what, I don’t know. It was pretty hairy entering Turn One here. Then you add down shifting, it’s even hairier. And then you add the throttle sticking and it’s really, really hairy. We’re just lucky to not bring one back on the hook. It’s a shame. I think this car was fast enough to put down a really good lap, certainly a top-five or top-10 lap. All in all, it was a good effort. I don’t think anyone did anything wrong. I think it just got a piece of rubber, a rock in it that caused it to stick.”

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAD ENOUGH FUEL? “We knew that we could make it to one green-white-checker flag; we didn’t think that we could make it to a second.”

CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THE LAST RESTART? “We got lucky. People were spinning their tires and struggling to get fuel to their carburetor.”

DID YOU SEE THAT THE 4 CAR RAN OUT OF GAS ON THE RESTART? “There was chaos up above on the restart and I know my teammate got into it. It’s tough. Brad Keselowski had a good run today in that Miller Lite Dodge.”

STEVE ADDINGTON Crew Chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)
“I seen fuel mileage wins here before and I’ve finished runner-up with it. Everybody did a good job on this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge tonight. We still have a ways to go to get our cars where we need them to get competitive with those Fords. We’re headed in the right direction. Everybody stayed focused. The driver stayed focus and we got a good finish out of it.”

HOW SOON DID YOU KNOW THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A FUEL MILEAGE GAME? “We pitted around lap 297 with the 2 car, topped-off with gas and took two tires and that was the game plan and it worked out.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) Finished 19th
“It’s disappointing to run as well as we did and have that happen at the end. Disappointing. The Miller Lite Dodge was fast all night. We started on the pole. We ran in the top 10 most of the night. The crew did a great job. It was a total team effort. Unfortunately, we ended up three miles short of a top-five finish.”

PAUL WOLFE ( Crew Chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)
“It was a strong run all night. We started from the pole and the encouraging part was we were able to maintain in the top 10 all night. It’s a long race, but we kept working on the car and had ourselves in position at the end for a good finish. We knew everyone was close on fuel; it got all jammed up on that last restart. I’m real proud of the team and how far we’ve come with this Miller Lite Dodge since Vegas, our first mile-and-half race this year. That race was a disaster. We’ve come a long ways, but we’ve still got a long ways to go. Definitely a strong run tonight.”

MIKE NELSON (Vice-President – Competition, Penske Racing)
“It was a good day for Penske Racing. Our Dodge Chargers were good all race. We got a little off on track position, but was able to get it back with some good calls. A good solid effort. We definitely heading in the right direction after some of the tough weeks we’ve had. I feel really bad for the Miller Lite Team, for Brad, Paul and the whole crew. They had a great car. Kurt, Steve (Addington, crew chief) the 22 team had a great race tonight.”

ROBBY GORDON (No. 7 SPEED Energy / Harris Teeter / Sam’s Mart Dodge Charger) Finished 38th
“A tough night. We lost a (front) brake master cylinder that sent us to the garage early. It’s frustrating. I’m not sure what happened. We changed out a new one, made some other changes with bars and springs and went out to run some laps. It was important for us to get out there and earn some owner points in this SPEED Energy/Harris Teeter/Sam’s Mart Dodge Charger. Basically, it became a test session for us the rest of the night.”

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 10^th

“Just a hard-fought battle all night.  We qualified 10th, finished 10th.  We led laps when we were off-sequence, but overall a hard fought battle to get the car dialed-in once again.  We struggle to make adjustments as we go.  We got something towards the end to make something of it.  Overall, we got off-sequence which might have helped preserve that top 10.  It’s tough.  We want to compete for top fives and wins and we’re only getting top 10s right now.”

STEVE ADDINGTON (crew chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T)

“A little rough tonight.  I didn’t think we would be that much off to start the race.  It seemed like when we adjusted on the car, we would get different results.  It’s a bit of a mystery.  We had to use some different strategy and we really shouldn’t have to do that.  We should be up front challenging for wins.  We just need to get a handle on this thing right now.  I’m proud of everyone on this team who worked so hard on the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge.  We did what we had to do to manufacturer a top-10 finish.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 18^th

“We worked our tail off today; got ourselves some track position early in the race, made the most of it and led some laps.  That felt really, really good.  We just weren’t good enough to stay up there, but we weren’t bad tonight.  We were a 10^th- to 15^th-place car.  We didn’t catch any bad breaks, but we didn’t catch any good breaks.  We needed to do a little bit better on pit road; we lost some spots there we couldn’t get back.  It was a strong effort.  I thought Kurt (Busch) and I were pretty even.  He out executed me a little bit and got himself a 10^th.  That’s about where we should have been.  That’s progress from where we’ve been, but we’ve still got a ways to go.”

ROBBY GORDON (No. 7 Fast Five/SPEED Energy Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 31^st

“The crazy thing is, we were as good as the 29 (Kevin Harvick) and he finished 20^th.  We just don’t make the most out of our races.  We ran with him all night long.  Having to back up on one of the pit stop hurt us; that’s my fault.  All in all, we worked hard.  I thought we were going to be a top-15 car.  It fired off like that, but all of a sudden, the car just went wicked loose.  We never got it fixed.”

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 2, 2011) –

Track: Martinsville Speedway (Race 6 of 36 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series)
Race: Goody’s Fast Relief 500
Track Length: .526-mile (500 laps/263 miles)

Trivia Question: Only two Virginia tracks currently host NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.  How many other Virginia tracks have hosted Cup events over the years? (Answer below)

STEVE ADDINGTON (Crew Chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T)

Key at Martinsville: “Patience!  Patience!  Patience!”

Tires: “That’s an unknown.  Everybody was having tire issues yesterday.  I didn’t talk to anyone in the garage area yesterday that didn’t have an issue with wear on the right front or right rear or with both rear tires.  It’s going to be an interesting Sunday.  I don’t think you will see any two-tire stops, not with the way the tires are wearing.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the truck race today.”

Air to Brakes (with new Dodge nose): There’s plenty of air for brake cooling with the new Dodge nose.  You take all the air you can get at Martinsville because the 500 laps are so hard on the brakes.”

Importance of the Spotter: It’s big here because of the tight racing; it’s bumper cars for 500 laps.  The spotter lets the driver know where he’s getting beat, what line others are running as well as what happening right around him.  The spotter is very important here.”

Answer to trivia question: In addition to Martinsville and Richmond, seven other Virginia tracks have hosted Sprint Cup events, but are no longer on the schedule.  Martinsville (124) and Richmond (109) make up the largest share of the 270 races in the state.  South Boston Speedway hosted 10 events, Langley Field Speedway nine and Old Dominion Speedway seven.  The four other tracks had a total of 11 races.

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release

Dodge Motorsports

KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Pennzoil Ultra Dodge Charger R/T) Finished Ninth

“We wanted to win this thing for sure.  I came up just a little bit short in my hometown.  I think I may have pushed a bit too hard early driving the car as hard as I did.  After I got loose in Turn 3 and spun the car, I just settled into the race and tried to start picking off as many spots as I could.  I’m not sure we had the winning car, but we were good enough to be top 10 and get as many points as I could.  Man, once you get stuck back in the pack here, everybody is running the same speed and it’s just really hard to gain spots.  The only way that you can do so is on pit road and have the confidence that your guys are going to do their job (in the pits)  This place is just fast and you’re on the edge every lap of the race.”

STEVE ADDINGTON (crew chief, No. 22 Pennzoil Ultra Dodge Charger)
“I’m really proud of this race team considering how we started the weekend.  We made big changes from the time that we unloaded up to the race.  We really didn’t have to make big changes during the race, maybe change the track bar a little bit and some wedge, which was about it.  I just want to thank everyone’s effort here at the race track.  They busted their tails to give us a great race car and it showed this afternoon.”

TALK ABOUT THE CALL TO STAY OUT AND LEAD A LAP LATE IN THE RACE?
“I told Kurt that I thought we were off a bit yesterday and reminded him that we just need to have a solid day today and get as  much as we can out of the race.  I think our race car was better than ninth-place, but we’ll take it.  We’ll keep fighting.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 26th
“We missed something all day.  I’m not sure what.  Kurt (Busch) was a little bit better, but neither of our Dodges were where we wanted them to be.  We’ll go back to the drawing board.  These rough race tracks seem to be our Achilles Heel last year and so far this year, it’s the same.  We tried a lot of different things and just never hit on anything.”

ROBBY GORDON (No. 7 SPEED Energy Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 31st
“We were supposed to be good to go to the finish (on fuel), but ran out and turned a 27th-place finish into a 31st.  The 27th would have been a decent day as bad as our race car was.  We just don’t have a handle on it.  We haven’t caught on to what it takes with the new nose.  When you run with the leaders, you can almost run their speed; when you run with the guys in the back, you run their speed.  It’s all relevant to the cars you have around you.”

- Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports, Press Release