SRT Motorsports - Sprint Cup Advance - Sonoma

June 18, 2012 , Sonoma, Calif. -  DODGE AT SONOMA
Dodge has won three of the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Sonoma. Kurt Busch is the most recent winner after dominating last year’s race in his No. 22 Dodge. Busch led 76 of the 110 laps. Other Dodge winners at Sonoma include Juan Pablo Montoya (2007) and Kasey Kahne (2009).Dodge has started from the pole twice at the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course. (Busch – 2006 and Kahne – 2008).Dodge’s Robby Gordon returns to competition this weekend. He has a win, three top-fives and four top-10s at Sonoma. Gordon’s win came in 2003 prior to joining the Dodge ranks.

DODGE NEWS AND NOTES
Robby Gordon leads all current Dodge drivers in laps led at Sonoma – 158 (fifth most of all active Cup drivers). Brad Keselowski is one of only four drivers currently inside the Sprint Cup Series top 10 with multiple wins this season (Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart). His best finish at the California road course – 10th in 2011.A.J. Allmendinger’s career-best finish at Sonoma came in 2009 when he finished seventh.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Dodge Charger street car is the only rear-wheel-drive model in Sprint Cup Series competition that is available with a V-8 engine. SRT Motorsports includes all of Chrysler Group’s NASCAR racing efforts for Dodge and RAM.Dodge Motorsports can be followed on Twitter at @teamdodge.Penske Dodge haulers will log over 42 hours from Mooresville, N.C. to Sonoma for this week’s race. The No. 22 transporter will be one of some 50 haulers participating in a parade over the Tower Bridge and around the State Capitol in Sacramento to greet the Northern California race fans en route to Sonoma.

THE DODGE BOYS
Dodge drivers have recorded 214 wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.Dodge teams have posted 54 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 has two wins this season, both by Brad Keselowski.

WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGES DOES RACING AT SONOMA RACEWAY PRESENT TO BRAD AND THE RACE TEAM?
“Sonoma for us, we’re excited to get back out there. We had a good showing there last year and Brad (Keselowski) continues to get better on these style of race tracks. For us it’s about keeping brakes on the car and keeping a good forward driver drive is pretty big at Sonoma. It’s not quite as fast of a road course as Watkins Glen. I feel like it’s a little bit more about handling and aero. of Sprints a driver’s-style track and about being able to put the power down.
Paul Wolfe, crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
5 – Number ofSprint Cup Series events at Sonoma that have been won from the pole – the last coming in 2004 (Jeff Gordon).
7 – Number of different winners in the last seven races at Sonoma.
1,100 – Drivers that complete all 110 laps on the 1.99-mile road course will have made 1,100 turns when the checkered flag falls.
3,000 – Approximate number of sheep that call the raceway their home throughout the year providing natural land care to help maintain the facility’s grasses and fire lanes.

DODGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I’ve seen Brad make great strides in his road course racing. He’s very much a student of the game and he constantly looks for ways to improve. I feel confident that we’ve put together a good car for this weekend – one that he can race up front with. This usually turns into a fuel mileage race, but you still have to have a car that can race with people at the end. Brakes play a big part in that. Road course racing is very hard on brakes so you have to constantly remind your driver to not abuse them. I love road course racing. The two races that we have each year give you a nice break in the action and it mixes it up a little bit.”
Paul Wolfe, crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

DODGE QUOTES:
“It took a while, but I’ve become a big fan of road course racing over the last couple of years. As a racecar driver, it’s not easy when you have to step out of your comfort zone and road course racing was definitely uncomfortable to me. Now it’s something I take a lot of pride in. Versatility, in this sport or any sport, is a good thing. The two drivers that came before me in the Miller Lite Dodge were good road course racers and I hope to be able to continue to carry on that tradition. We’ve been close before, but a road course win would rank right up there with the best wins of my career.”
Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge

“As always, the key for Sonoma is keeping all four wheels on the track. You need your car set up to be able to make your move underneath entering Turn 11 because that is the major passing point on the track. The biggest thing is that you have to have forward drive off all the way through the ‘esses’ andthat’s certainly what we’ll be hoping to have working for us this weekend.”
A.J. Allmendinger, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge