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2013 Bristol: Penske Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview
THE NEWS AND NOTES
· DEFENDING WINNER: While he doesn’t pick favorite racetracks, Brad Keselowski has quickly made Bristol Motor Speedway one of his best. He is the defending winner of the Food City 500, which marked his second-consecutive win at the half-mile. He is one of 12 drivers in Bristol history to win consecutive races.
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· STRONG START: Throughout his brief – albeit championship – career, Keselowski has not been known for his strong starts to the season. The summer months have traditionally been when picks up steam. However, with three-consecutive top-five finishes and laps led in the first three events, Keselowski is off to the best start of his career. He is the only driver to start the season with a top-five finish in every race and sits second in the series standings.
· CONTINUING DOMINANCE: Keselowski’s two wins at BMS have helped legendary car owner, Roger Penske, move into a tie with Jack Roush for the most wins at Bristol by an active car owner with 10.
· MILLER APPEARANCE: Keselowski will appear at the Food City store located in Blountville, Tenn. from 6-8 PM ET on Thursday, March 14.
· IT’S BRISTOL BABY: While a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway has eluded Joey Logano over the years, the 22-year-old considers Bristol one of his favorite tracks. Logano earned his first-career pole at Bristol back in 2010, as he became the youngest pole winner in Sprint Cup Series history. In fact, in eight career events at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile,” Logano has only started outside of the top 10 on two occasions. Logano has also led 143 career laps at Bristol, more than any other track. He has also recorded one win and six top-10s in eight Nationwide Series races at the track.
· FOOD CITY FUN: Logano will take part in the Food City Race Night at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night. First, Logano will participate in a Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Mission Able Press Conference Friday night at 6pm. Following the press announcement, Logano will take on fans in a Wii Boxing tourny.
· QUALITY OVER QUANTITY: In the season-to-date loop data, Logano sits fourth in “quality passes” over the first three races. Logano only trails Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin in the number of quality passes, which is defined as passing a car running in the Top 15 while under a green flag.
THE Q & A
BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD
AFTER THE START YOU’VE HAD, HOW MUCH ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING TO BRISTOL THIS WEEKEND?
“I could not be prouder of everyone on the Miller Lite Ford team for the start we’ve had to the season. Some of those tracks have not been our best, but now we are getting to some that are. Bristol this weekend is a place that I picked up on immediately. I always look forward to going there, which is half the battle. You can’t let it psyche you out before you walk through the gate.”
WHY DO YOU ENJOY BRISTOL SO MUCH?
“Bristol to me is a man’s racetrack and I respect that place so much. I think it takes a level of respect for it. From day one, the first day I walked in there, I respected it but I also wanted to win there. I wanted to prove to myself and others that I could be the man to win at a man’s racetrack. So it’s always been a challenge to me and it’s one that, for some reason, has taken a piece of me somewhere deep inside and made it rise to the next level.”
JOEY LOGANO, NO. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD
DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE 22 TEAM IS TURNING THE CORNER?
“Yeah, last week we had a super-fast car (in Vegas), but I made a mistake on pit road that cost us. We had a car that easily could have run top three to top five all day long. We were in traffic and still running faster than the leader a lot of the time. It was just my fault for getting us behind by speeding on pit road under green. So I feel like if we put all of the mistakes behind us, our Shell-Pennzoil team is going to be one of the teams to beat in the near future.”
WHAT MAKES BRISTOL “BRISTOL?”
“There has always been a special feeling about Bristol. It’s just so unique from everywhere else we go. You just don’t see a lot of places that look like it, from the small size to the high banks to the grandstands surrounding the place. It’s just different there, both as a fan and as a driver. Even though we aren’t running the speeds we do at a lot of other places, things happen faster at Bristol than almost anywhere else we go. And that makes it exciting. It’s unpredictable. And because of that, it’s always a fan favorite.”
PaddockTalk Perspective
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