Category: XFINITY Series

FORD FINISHING RESULTS

3RD     Carl Edwards

5TH     Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

6TH     Trevor Bayne

18th     Timmy Hill

42nd     Matt Frahm

43rd     Tim Andrews

Trevor Bayne, No. 16 AirHogs.com Ford Mustang (Finished 6th)  “That was pretty wild but that is what racing used to be. It used to be rubbing and grinding and trying to fight for one groove. That isn’t exactly the day we wanted. It is a top-six which is great if we were going for a championship but we are going for wins so it is okay to be a little disappointed there. I think we had a really good car we just never had the track position all day. We got on the outside on the second restart of the day and lost a ton of spots and fought all day to get them back and just never got all the way there. I think we were okay. The track didn’t change much, it was the same as practice and we expected it to be better for us but it really wasn’t. We should have chased it more in practice.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 6 Ford Drive One Ford Mustang (Finished 5th) DID YOU SEE THE 2 WAS INVOLVED IN THAT ACCIDENT?  “They told me he was involved. I still haven’t seen it. It made that last restart a little bit easier. It’s tough when they are still out there running and anything can happen at these racetracks. This place turned into being pretty racy. We were starting on the outside on that last restart and it worked out for us. I was definitely aware that the 2 got in that wreck and it felt pretty good.”

WHAT ABOUT THE GUYS DUCKING DOWN ON THE APRON?  “It is such a risk to go down on the apron. We have the splitters that you don’t want to knock off it and we were never really in a position to need to make up that much time. I tried to stay on the race track but I could definitely tell that it has a little bit of an advantage but I am not sure how much.”

DO YOU THINK IT WAS OKAY FOR GUYS TO DO THAT?  “We can do that at any race track and we do it on the front straightaway’s at Chicago and Las Vegas and places like that. That is the rule for every race track. We knew that rule coming into it and asked about it in the drivers meeting and they said only at the Superspeedways was that yellow line in effect.  It isn’t unfair because everyone can use it.”

IT IS LIKE 41 POINTS NOW. DOES THAT MEAN YOU CAN RACE NEXT WEEK? “Yeah, I mean we came out here to race and we were leading laps and running out front. I was a little cautious on those last restarts just for that fact that I didn’t want to get in trouble. I think we can get a little more aggressive on restarts next week and Homestead is one of my favorite places to go so I am looking forward to it.”

Carl Edwards, No. 60 World Financial Group Ford Mustang (Finished 3rd) POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE HOW DID EVERYTHING GO OUT THERE TODAY?  “Yeah, they were trying to convince me that I need to really focus on my Cup effort next week. That is a unique battle we are having, it is fun. Congratulations to Sam (Hornish), that is huge to be able to run that well. He has showed a lot of poise there and a lot of guts there to run the last few laps there. We are just having fun and racing hard. Brad (Keselowski) and I were racing hard and having a good race. I thought it was pretty good. I think we learned a little bit for tomorrow. It should be a fun race.”

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FOR TOMORROW?  “It did widen out a little more than I thought it was going to so that was interesting. You can definitely run two-wide around the whole race track. That was kind of news to me. I didn’t expect that. I learned a couple things about different spots on the track, where there is grip and stuff like that. I still think tomorrow is going to be so much different than today. The cars are different and the weather looks to be different. I think it will be its own race and the strategies that worked today may not work tomorrow as well.”

DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE A GOOD RACE?  “I do. I think the only thing that will make it difficult is that it is truly hard to pass. Once you get four or five car lengths back if it is a short run it is hard to pass. After 50 or 60 laps you might see some guys really dicing it up.”

WHAT ABOUT THE GUYS DIVING DOWN ON THE APRON?  “It is different. I think it is exciting to see. I didn’t do it but I saw other guys doing it. There were a lot of sparks flying and dust flying and all of that. It is definitely interesting.

DO YOU THINK WE WILL HAVE A SECOND GROOVE TOMORROW? IT LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT RAIN TOMORROW MORNING.  “I think we will. Brad utilized the heck out of the second groove there in three and four and I saw a couple guys doing that. I believe that if we go the full distance it really doesn’t matter how much rubber gets washed away. I don’t think they are forecasting much rain. I think they said less than a tenth of an inch. Even if it does rain it probably won’t be a hard rain and I think the groove will stay nice and wide.”

YOU SAID THERE ARE TWO GROOVES BUT IT IS HARD TO PASS. THAT SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE CONTRADICTION OR MAYBE NOT?  “Well, it is a pretty narrow two grooves and aero is a big enough factor here that guys can get loose if you are under someone and the track is a little treacherous. It is hard to pass. I think what I was saying about the difficulty in passing was that once you line up and you get in a line, if the guy in front of you is running the same groove as you it is a little tough when you are so aero dependent here and everyone is so closely matched to run him down and work him over. You need him to struggle a little bit.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr, the NASCAR Nationwide Series points leader by 17 points over second place Elliott Sadler comes to Phoenix International Raceway with two wins this year, both at Iowa Speedway. Stenhouse has two races to go with Sadler as the only driver that can mathematically challenge him for the Nationwide title. Stenhouse met with media at PIR prior to the first NNS practice.

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 6 Ford Mustang – ELLIOT SADLER IS LURKING ON YOUR 17 POINT LEAD. HOW ARE THINGS FOR YOU RIGHT NOW?  “He definitely is right there. We were hoping to be a little further ahead at this point but we will take where we are. We have 17 points and have a really fast Ford Drive One Mustang here this weekend and we are looking forward to Homestead. That is one of the places that I really enjoy. I always look forward to going back there. I feel like we are in a really good position right now for the final two races. We had to rally back there at Texas last week. We changed a set of tires and went from fifth to 11th. We changed them back to some new tires and went back forward. I think that the 2 car got a bad set there at the end. It worked out that we got our good set at the end. It is going to be tough. He is fast every week and we are gonna battle it out.”

IS THERE A SPECIFIC RACE THIS YEAR WHERE THE MOMENTUM CHANGED FOR YOU? “I don’t think so. It seems like anybody that has gotten the points lead hasn’t carried that momentum for a very long time. For us, luckily we have been able to carry it as long as we have here late in the year. I don’t think there is any one race track where we were like, ‘Oh, this is where we are going to start going forward from here.’ You always look back and some of the fuel mileage races that we lost points at, we go back and look at those and dwell on them for a little bit but it is a collective year. There is no race track that will just start you off I don’t think and finish you out for the year. I think the main thing we have done this year is that when we have those bad races we bounce back the next week with a top-five. I think that has been the key.”

YOU’VE BEEN ON THE TRACK, WHY IS THERE NO GRIP OUT THERE?  “At first I think the race track needed to get cleaned off and get a little rubber on it. Once we got going yesterday I thought the track was fine. It had plenty of grip. There were two grooves in one and two yesterday and three and four was a little narrow but it always is here. You can always run the second groove in one and two when it was the old race track but three and four, when you get out of the groove, it gets pretty slick. Yesterday I would run six or seven laps around the bottom and get a feel for the change we made and then make four or five laps around the top, trying to get a little rubber up there. I figure somebody’s gotta do it to get some rubber up there. That was my game plan, to make the groove as wide as we can. I think the track is coming in pretty good and when the cup cars get on the track they will widen it out and put a lot of rubber on it. It will turn out to be an okay weekend.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF RACING HERE AT PIR AND HOW WILL THE NEW SURFACE IMPACT YOUR RACE THIS WEEKEND?  “I’ve always enjoyed racing here. We’ve had all top-10 finishes since we started coming here with the Nationwide series. As much as I like the old race track, the new one is fun. It is smooth and I think it is going to be really fast. I do think that we will be able to pass come race time. I think the Cup race is really, after our race and the truck race; it will be widened out enough for them to put on a really good show. For our race, it is going to be kind of unknown how much passing we will be able to do. I know when you get around a couple slow cars and pass through three and four on the top it gets a little hairy. I think as the race goes on there will be more passing as we go on in the race.”

WILL THAT WIN AT IOWA WHEN YOU HELD OFF CARL EDWARDS STAND OUT FOR YOU WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT THIS SEASON?  “It was definitely a great moment but I think the one that stands out is probably the disappointing moment when we led 192 laps of 200 at Indy. The Iowa race will stand out for sure as one of the great races that we have had, but the one that always keeps sticking in the back of my mind when I think about the season is the one at Indy that we let get away.”

FORD RACING NOTES AND QUOTES                         Kobalt Tools 500 (Friday Advance), Page 4 November 11, 2011                       Phoenix International Raceway

RICKY STENHOUSE JR. CONTINUED …

IF THE POINTS LEAD IS APPROXIMATELY THE SAME WHEN YOU LEAVE HERE THIS WEEKEND. HOW WILL YOU RACE AT HOMESTEAD?  “I wish I knew the correct answer. Here lately I just try to go out and run our race as we are going to win. I feel like it is easier to do that and I think if we go out there to win we will be in the top-five or right around there. That is what we have to do to win the championship. If we can have two top five runs the championship will be ours. I feel pretty strong about it. We will just try to click off a top five and see if we can’t bring it home.”

YOU HAVE A CHAMPIONSHIP SITUATION TO TAKE CARE OF, BUT HAVE YOU TALKED TO JACK AT ALL ABOUT NEXT YEAR AND WHERE YOU FIT IN BEYOND THIS SEASON?  “The good thing is I fit in to the organization, I am just not sure what slot we are going to go in just yet. I know guys are working hard on trying to find sponsorship, not only for myself but for Trevor (Bayne) and Matt (Kenseth) as well. I think that right now Matt’s is probably the most priority since he is obviously going to be running Cup for sure full time. Hopefully they can get something locked down for him and then worry about our situation. They haven’t said if we are going to run full time Nationwide and some Cup of partial both or partial Nationwide. They haven’t said. I will be in a car, just not sure exactly what.”

WHAT WAS THE IMPORTANCE OF TREVOR FINALLY GETTING THAT NATIONWIDE SERIES VICTORY FOR HIM BUT AS A CLOSE FRIEND CAN YOU COMMENT ON HOW THAT WAS FOR HIM?  “It was huge. We’ve talked about it throughout the year and for him, not taking anything away, everybody wants to win that Daytona 500 but in the back of his mind he was like, ‘Man that is a speedway race and I really want to get a win on a drivers race track where you have to drive the car really hard, sometimes having it hung out.’ That is what he did. He got a great restart and then held off Carl (Edwards) and Denny (Hamlin) there at the end. Talking to him he seemed a lot more satisfied with that than anything he has this year. That was really good to get that confidence back in him.”

THIS RULE THAT DRIVERS CAN ONLY RUN FOR ONE CHAMPIONSHIP. DO YOU FEEL IT TAKES ANYTHING AWAY FROM YOUR RUN THIS YEAR?  “I don’t think so. We are sitting third in owners points and we are up there with the other guys. We are running with those other guys every week. At Iowa we beat Brad and Carl so I don’t think it takes anything away from it. We are working really hard to win this deal. It is not easy. I don’t think it takes away from it at all.”

AFTER LAST YEAR, THIS YEAR HAS BEEN PRETTY DARN GOOD. IS THERE A LIGHT BULB OR SWITCH OR SOMETHING THAT CHANGES? HOW DO YOU MAKE THE MENTAL TRANSITION FROM UP AND DOWN TO BEING IN THE RHYTHM OF THIS SPORT AND THIS JOB?  “I don’t think a light switch went off between last year and this year. I think it started about Daytona, July, of last year. Everything started clicking. I think our race cars got better, or engines got better. I feel like our team was strong. I feel like I probably let them down a lot of times. I think I learned more patience and to stay focused through the races better and better at every race. That carried over to this year. Up and down in this sport is how it has always been and it doesn’t matter if it is growing up racing sprint cars at the dirt track or up here in this league. The up and down is part of it but I think that it really makes me appreciate this year a lot more. I think if we were to be in this situation last year I wouldn’t have appreciated it as much as I do now.”

(11/11/11) Mooresville, N.C. – TRG Motorsports takes the No. 71 School Media Ford Fusion to Phoenix, AZ this weekend. The team is looking to earn a solid finish in Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway while also promoting our new sponsor School Media though healthy, educational and nutritional messages to students, administrators and communities across the country.

TRG Motorsports is looking to promote the positive difference for the future of education through School Media while also improving upon our spring effort at Phoenix through exposure on the No. 71. Our major message this weekend is to utilize educational and nutritional campaigns that will empower both teachers and students by providing those tools necessary for a successful and enriching life.

“We were doing well in the spring race when the wreck happened. It was frustrating, because I really like the track. It suits me because it isn’t your typical oval. I can’t wait to go back this weekend.  In addition to trying my best on getting the team back in the top-35, our sponsor School Media is very important to my personal message of healthy living through my vegan lifestyle.  I’m looking forward to promoting the message of positive difference for the future of education,” says Lally.

Greg Meyer, School Media representative commented:

“We are thrilled to team with TRG Motorsports and to be part of the NASCAR Sprint Cup series action at Phoenix International Raceway this Sunday.  Andy is the perfect spokesperson for School Media with his dedication to a vegan based lifestyle, it really promotes and strengthens the positive difference for the future of education. This partnership will allow us to reach NASCAR’s national audience and spread our healthy, educational and nutritional messages to students, administrators and communities across the country.  This is a great marketing platform to introduce our business to NASCAR fans nationally and compete at the sport’s highest level.  We look forward to Andy bringing School Media to the checkered flag Sunday.”

Team owner Kevin Buckler hopes for the best for his No. 71 team, currently only eleven points out of NASCAR’s top-35.

“We are really excited to welcome our new partner, School Media, to our team. We are miles ahead of where we were in the spring and I’m looking forward to seeing what Andy and the team can do this weekend. This will also be a great opportunity for our new sponsor School Media to not only have access to national on-track exposure for a great cause, but to spend some time getting to know NASCAR and what the most powerful marketing program on the planet, can do for their company.”

Coverage of the race will begin Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.

About School Media

School Media unlocks educational independence. School Media has developed an opportunity for you to control the funds your school relies upon for operation. Now, your dream of new books, computers, teachers, equipment and much more becomes a reality. Allocate the funds your district earns when and where you choose without waiting for permission or funding.    www.schoolmedias.com

About TRG Motorsports

TRG is a full-service motorsports company offering a total driver ladder approach.  This approach starts with track days, goes to club events, up into street stock series and culminates in the ultimate goal of professional motorsports.  With sports car focused facilities in Petaluma, California (Infineon Raceway) and Mooresville, North Carolina, the team can offer turn-key support as well as arrive-and-drive programs.

The company’s NASCAR operations are headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina.  The team fields a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry and has the capacity to run ARCA, Nationwide and the Camping World Truck Series.

The Racer’s Group was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of motor racing.  The team boasts Rolex Series GT championships in 2005 and 2006 and holds the record for the most wins in Grand-Am with 32.  The team’s resume is highlighted by five championships, four Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona victories and a Le Mans 24 Hour win.

Detailed team info can be viewed at www.trgmotorsports.com and www.theracersgroup.com.

Bruvado Imports has signed on to be primary sponsor of TriStar Motorsports and driver Mike Bliss for the Miami-Homestead NASCAR Nationwide race on November 19th, Bliss is currently 12th in point’s standings.

Bruvado Imports has had strong links with motorsports since its inception in 2001. Bruvado is going through a massive growth period and is using the sponsorship to test the waters in NASCAR and announce its national launch. TriStar is hoping to round out the season in the top 10, and improve their running position in 2012.

Mark Smith (Owner) “TriStar is pleased to have Bruvado Imports on board our No. 19 entry in Miami-Homestead. We appreciate the opportunity to represent them and are excited to be a part of their national launch and their first Nascar Nationwide appearance. We hope it will be a positive and rewarding endeavor for both companies.”

The deal brokered by Drive Motorsports International will also see Bruvado activating with a 5 stop show car tour leading up to the race and a huge Hospitality trailer onsite at the race in Miami. The show car tour will be used to give away tickets to fans and help generate awareness in the Miami area.

Mike DeFord, VP of Marketing, Bruvado Imports added: “Bruvado looks forward to its sponsorship with TriStar, Mike Bliss and the entire No. 19 team. In launching a new beer and spirit line of products our company is looking for unique opportunities with solid foundations. TriStar and Mike Bliss bring all of those elements to the table. It will be a big year for Bruvado both on and off the track with the launch of our “Party in the Box” products offering 5 Premium Mexican Lager beers and a 200ml. bottle containing 5 shots of tequila or bourbon in one convenient box with shot glasses included of course. We couldn’t be more thrilled to assist the TriStar Motorsports team in its efforts to finish in the top 10 for the season, as well as continue our dedicated commitment to use the sponsorship as the core platform to deliver our responsible drinking message to adult racing fans.”

For more information on Bruvado please visit www.bruvado.com

JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW No. 88 Suave Men Chevrolet / No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet

EVENT – Wypall 200 (200 laps / 200 miles) TRACK – Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile tri-oval) DATE – Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 TV / RADIO – ESPN2 (coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. EST) / MRN (broadcast begins at 3 p.m. EST)

Aric Almirola No. 88 Suave Men Chevrolet

“Phoenix is going be a challenge, but it’s going to be a challenge for everybody. We’re going to show up to a new racetrack. It’s newly repaved and reconfigured. They’ve made a lot of adjustments to the racing surface. I’m sure it’s going to be exciting for the drivers and for the fans.

“The plan for our 88 team is just to continue to improve over these final two races. It would be great to finish in the top-three in points, but right now the team’s focus is to get better. We’re not happy running where we’ve been running the past couple weeks. It’s important to this entire Suave Men team to finish the season on a strong note in preparation for 2012.”

Danica Patrick No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet

“I’ve said all along how much fun it is to drive in NASCAR. I have the most fun racing these cars and I have high hopes heading into this race. We’ve ran well at mile-and-a-halfs this year, but short track racing is a different animal. I need to make sure that I still keep expectation levels in check, so I’m not disappointed. This isn’t a time for me to start creating false expectations for myself and feeling like I haven’t lived up to it. This is the time to continue on the path I’ve been going and to set goals for myself.

“Phoenix is a little bit different for everybody now. For me, it’s probably not the worst thing in the world that everyone will have to start relearning the track. It will be my third time there. That’s always a comforting feeling. I think the short track stuff is coming along. I feel like I’ve had the most trouble with it, and struggled with it. I think it’s gone a lot better this year.”

JR MOTORSPORTS NOTEBOOK –

SHORT TRACK MUSCLE – Almirola flexed his short track muscle this season in the form of three top-five and six top-10 finishes at the 10 short track races to date. He is averaging a finish of 9.9 in those events. In short track races from July through September this season (Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, Iowa Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway), Almirola never finished worse than seventh.

ALMIROLA AT PHOENIX – In four Nationwide Series starts at the facility, Almirola’s best finish is sixth, coming last fall in the No. 88 Chevrolet. He also owns three starts in the Camping World Truck Series, securing two top-five finishes and leading 52 laps in those events.

PATRICK’S MEDIA AVAILABILITY – Danica Patrick will be available to members of the NASCAR media at 1 p.m. local time on Friday, Nov. 11 in the Phoenix International Raceway media center deadline room.

PATRICK AND SHORT TRACKS – Patrick owns two starts at Phoenix, finishing a best of 17th in this season’s spring event, marking the best short track finish of her Nationwide Series career. Her sixth-place effort at Dover International Speedway in the fall of 2010 became her top stock car finish at a short track. Additionally, she finished 15th in her only start at Phoenix in the IndyCar Series.

NO. 7 SEASON STATS – Every driver of the No. 7 this season has scored a top-10 finish. The list includes Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ron Fellows, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Patrick and Josh Wise. The No. 7 team holds six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 2011. The team occupies the 11th position in owner points, sitting 36 points outside the top-10.

NO. 88 SEASON STATS – The No. 88 team’s season tally now stands at seven top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. The No. 88 Chevrolet is tied for eighth in owner points. Almirola is currently tied for third in championship points with Justin Allgaier. The pair sits 82 points behind second place, Elliott Sadler.

ALMIROLA AUTOGRAPH SIGNINGS – Fans will have three opportunities to meet JR Motorsports driver Aric Almirola this weekend at Phoenix.

· Wed. Nov. 9 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time, Almirola will sign autographs at the Bashas’ grocery store #120 located 7586 W. Thunderbird Road in Peoria, Ariz.

· Sat. Nov. 12 from 9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. local time he’ll sign autographs at the Bashas’ grocery store at Phoenix International Raceway (located in the Cotton 2 RV section right outside Gate 4 and Gate 3).

· Sat. Nov. 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. local time, Almirola will sign autograph at the JR Nation merchandise hauler located the fan concourse area.

WATCH JRM RACING.COM’s VIDEO SERIES – In a continued effort to be at the forefront of web-based content through its website www.jrmracing.com, the team has added a multitude of videos into its video gallery. Click here to view race preview videos, the “JRM 360” series and more.

CONCORD, NC (Nov. 9, 2011) — World Financial Group, Inc. (WFG) has joined forces with NASCAR-series championship team Roush Fenway Racing to sponsor the No. 60 World Financial Group Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Nov. 12 at the Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. The No. 60 WFG Ford Mustang will be driven by the 2007 Nationwide Series Champion Carl Edwards.

“I am honored to be teamed back up with World Financial Group,” said Edwards. “They are a great group of people. We have had a lot of success with them in the past, especially at Phoenix International Raceway. We have won two races there wearing the World Financial Group colors and plan on getting them to victory lane again this year.”

Edwards, one of NASCAR’s brightest superstars, actively competes in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. A native of Columbia, Mo., Edwards has accumulated two NASCAR-sanctioned track championships, three Rookie-of-the-Year honors, and more than 75 feature wins while racing on both dirt and pavement tracks across the country within the first 10 years of his career.

World Financial Group, Inc. has a rich history with Roush Fenway Racing. WFG partnered with Roush Fenway as one of Carl Edwards’ first sponsors in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2004, and continued to sponsor Edwards and other Roush Fenway drivers in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Series’ through 2008.

About World Financial Group, Inc. World Financial Group, Inc. (WFG) is a financial services marketing company whose affiliates offer life insurance and a broad array of financial products and services. WFG’s independent associates strive to help individuals and families often overlooked by the financial services industry to plan for their financial futures, advocating the power of choice for clients through agreements with several of the financial and insurance industries’ leading companies.

World Financial Group, Inc. is an AEGON company. AEGON N.V. is an international life insurance, pension and investment group based in The Hague, The Netherlands, with businesses in more than 20 markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit WFG’s website at www.worldfinancialgroup.com

About Roush Fenway Racing Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating seven motorsports teams. Four in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; and three in the Nationwide Series with Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and Trevor Bayne. For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto www.RoushFenway.

DODGE AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

• Dodge has one Nationwide Series wins at Phoenix. Jamie McMurray led 47 laps in the 2004 fall event that was extended from 200 to 205 laps by a late-race caution. He finished .261 seconds ahead of second-place Kyle Busch.

• Dodge has six top-five and 15 top-10 finishes at PIR. The most recent top five was a third by Brad Keselowski in the 2010 spring race.

• Dodge has one pole at Phoenix (Kasey Kahne, 2005 spring race).

DODGE IN THE NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

• Dodge is fielding two entries in the Nationwide Series this season with Penske Racing. Sam Hornish Jr. joins Brad Keselowski for a limited schedule. Hornish will make his 12th Nationwide start of the year at Phoenix this weekend.

• Dodge has 39 wins in the Nationwide Series, seven coming in the 2010 season.

BRAD KESELOWSKI No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T

Career Stats: Starts: 166 Wins: 16 Top Fives: 71 Top 10s: 101 Poles: 11 Laps Led: 2,688

2011 Season Stats Starts: 27 Wins: 4 Top Fives: 12 Top 10s: 19 Poles: 3 Laps Led: 840

Phoenix International Raceway Stats: Starts: 9 Wins: 0 Top Fives: 4 Top 10s: 4 Laps Led: 68

• Has four top-five finishes in last five starts at Phoenix.

• Best finish at PIR is a third in 2010 spring event.

• Owns seven top-10 finishes in last eight Nationwide starts including five consecutive. • Has qualified eighth or better in last 11 races.

• Completed all but one lap in last 13 starts (2,504 of 2505 – 99.96 percent).

SAM HORNISH JR. No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger R/T

Career Stats: Starts: 31 Wins: 0 Top Fives: 1 Top 10s: 4 Poles: 0 Laps Led: 51

2011 Season Stats Starts: 11 Wins: 0 Top Fives: 1 Top 10s: 4 Poles: 0 Laps Led: 43

• Fifth at Chicagoland in September (race No. 28), a career-best finish.

• Two top-10 finishes in the last three Nationwide starts.

• Has qualified ninth or better in each of his last eight NNS starts.

• Made his first-ever NASCAR start in the 2006 fall Nationwide race at Phoenix.

• Will be making his third Phoenix start this weekend. Both previous NNS starts also came in the fall event.

• Led season-high 39 laps at Iowa (race No. 22).

BRAD KESELOWSKI ON PHOENIX INT’L RACEWAY “I’ve always looked forward to going out to PIR to race. I love the fact that Phoenix is its own unique venue and the community really embraces us twice a year. It’s been made even more unique with the new surface. We didn’t get a chance to test the Nationwide cars there yet, but I did take part in the Cup Series test there last month. They’ve built a great race track, one that will promote good racing once the surface ages a little. That process shouldn’t take long when the desert elements get a hold of it.”

SAM SAYS “Phoenix has always been a wild card place for me. Anytime we go there, I feel like we can qualify in the top 10 and finish in the top 10 as long as we don’t have any issues with the car. We’ve been working on our consistency these last couple of Nationwide Series races, so I’m hoping we can carry the momentum forward this weekend.” Sam Hornish Jr. (Driver, No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger R/T)

TREVOR BAYNE

Race:  Wypall 200 (200 laps 200 miles)

Team: No. 16 Air Hogs Ford Mustang

Crew Chief: Chad Norris

Chassis: RK-626-Last ran at Dover, October 2011, Finished sixth

Broadcast Information: Saturday, November 12, 2011- 3:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN2 and 3:00 p.m. on MRN radio affiliates and Sirius channel 90

FAST FACTS

TREVOR BAYNE will make his 28th start of the season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Phoenix International Raceway TREVOR BAYNE at Phoenix International Raceway… Bayne has two top-15 finishes in four starts in Nationwide Series competition

QUOTES

Trevor Bayne on racing at Phoenix: “I finally got my first career Nationwide Series win at Texas last weekend, so I am ready to ride that momentum into Phoenix this weekend. I feel like we have another fast car for this race and I am looking forward to competing against the best in the series.  As a team, our confidence is sky high right now and I am pretty sure we are going to stay aggressive with our strategy going into this race. It’s all about putting ourselves in position to win races and I think we have finally figured out how to do that on a consistent basis.”

Crew chief Chad Norris on racing at Phoenix: “Trevor heard my message loud and clear last week and raced with a sense of urgency at Texas. We need to continue to do that to finish the season on a high note.  I believe in Trevor and I believe in our team.  It was only a matter of time before we put it all together.  We are going to use our practice sessions wisely this weekend because of the new racing surface at Phoenix.  We have a few days to figure it out before we qualify and race on Saturday, so I am sure we will huddle up as a team and devise the best possible strategy.”