SRT Motorsports - Weekend Motorsports Preview - July 6

July 4, 2012 , Daytona Beach, Fla. -   
DAYTONA BEACH (Thursday, July 5, 2012) – The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season reaches its halfway point this weekend with the annual trek back to the site of the season opener -- Daytona International Speedway.

With only nine races remaining until the cutoff to this year’s Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship, all eyes are on Brad Keselowski. The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger had a convincing performance en route to victory at Kentucky Speedway last weekend. It was his third win of the season, most in the Sprint Cup Series this season.

Despite his three wins, Keselowski is currently 10th in the season standings as the series converges on the “World Center of Racing” for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400. However, with his win last weekend Keselowski extended his lead over 11th-place Carl Edwards to 34 points – an important fact considering that the top 10 drivers after Richmond are awarded three bonus points for each victory. If the Chase were to start this weekend, the Penske Racing driver and his Dodge Charger would be seeded No. 1 for the final 10 race Chase that will determine the championship.

“The three wins are nice, and it means that we are pretty safe in regards to making the Chase, but we are focused on staying in the top 10 so that we can use the bonus points,” said Keselowski. “That’s the way I look at the points right now. To me, we are leading the points because we are in the top 10 with the most wins. I want to be the guy with the most wins and inside the top 10. I want to look forward to making sure that we stay inside the top 10. Hopefully we can climb up a few more spots to be safe. But wins and being in the top 10, that’s all that matters.”

Warm, humid summer conditions will collide with bumper-to-bumper restrictor plate racing at over 200 mph. Team engineers are faced with the issue of solving the speed versus cooling issue.

“If you remember, the Daytona 500 in February had to be postponed until Monday night because of rain,” said SRT engineer Howard Comstock. “That has provided engineers a very important preview of how this race may run. Air temperatures will be higher this week than in February but all-important track temperatures may be closer to the conditions we saw in the Daytona 500. That’s a very important element."

Dodge is seeking its 16th win at the 2.5-mile tri-oval and first since Ryan Newman drove his Charger to victory lane in the 2008 Daytona 500.

What You Need To Know
The Races:  Coke Zero 400 (Race 18 of 36)
The Place:  Daytona Int’l Speedway
The Date:  Saturday, July 7
The Time:  7:30 p.m. (ET)
The Track::  2.5-mile track
The Distance:  160 laps/400 miles
TV:  TNT, 6:30 p.m. (ET)
Radio:  MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90

NASCAR Nationwide Series
Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 12 Würth Dodge Challenger R/T) has recorded three-consecutive top 10 finishes (eight overall) in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season and remains only 31 points behind the series leader Elliott Sadler. The top three drivers in the standings have combined for six wins in the first 15 Nationwide Series races this season.

Hornish was involved in a late-race incident in the season opener at Daytona in February and finished 20th. To make the trip to victory lane in Friday night’s 250-mile event, he knows his Dodge Challenger must stay clear of contact throughout the 100-lap event.

“We need a little bit of luck at Daytona and Talladega towards the end of the race and hopefully we’ll have a little bit of that on Friday night,” Hornish said. “I love going to those restrictor plate tracks. It’s about momentum. I like Daytona the way it was when it was really bumpy and you had to drive the car a little bit more. I like that type of racing. It’s about momentum. The July Daytona race is always much different than what the February one is. Everybody just has less patience.”

What You Need To Know
The Races:  Subway Jalapeno 250 (Race 15 of 33)
The Place:  Daytona Int’l Speedway
The Date:  Friday, July 6
The Time:  7:30 p.m. (ET)
The Track:  2.5-mile track
The Distance:  100 laps/250 miles
TV:  ESPN, 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Radio:  MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Drivers get a break until July 14 when Iowa Speedway hosts the series for the American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway.

SRT Viper Cup Series
The SRT Viper Cup Series presented by Pennzoil Ultra is back in action this weekend, visiting Virginia International Raceway. It’s the third stop on the 2012 schedule.

Ben Keating has been relentless in his quest for a second consecutive SRT Viper Cup Series championship. He’s unbeaten after stops at Road Atlanta and Road America – four wins. Drivers get a pair of chances this weekend to derail Keating’s march to the championship at the 3.27-mile, 17-turn course. Two races are on the schedule -- a 25-minute timed event on Saturday and a 35-minute timed event on Sunday. Teams qualify for starting spots in Saturday’s race while Sunday’s field is set in reverse order of the finish from the previous day.

There’s good news and bad news for his challengers. The bad news – VIR is his favorite race track. The bad news – he won’t arrive until Saturday morning and will miss the six 30-minute practice sessions scheduled Friday.

“The weekend is going to be interesting for me as I won’t be at the track on Friday,” said Keating. “Racing other people that have had a full day of practice is going to be a little different ballgame. I’ll get up to speed by Sunday for sure. I don’t know if I can get it done with one practice session on Saturday before qualifying and the race.”

Keating holds a 99-point lead over Jim Booth with David Mazyck in third, 110 points back. The series features the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR-X – the special-edition model of America’s ultimate sports car. The series, formerly the Dodge Viper Cup Series, is entering its third year of competition. The event is sanctioned by the North America Road Racing Association (NARRA). After this weekend’s visit to VIR, the series travels to Monticello (N.Y.) Motor Club and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International to complete the 10-race series.

Dodge Weekend Motorsports on TV
(All Times Eastern)
Thursday, July 5
2:30 p.m. – Nationwide Practice at Daytona (SPEED)
4:00 p.m. – Sprint Cup Practice at Daytona (SPEED)
5:30 p.m. – Nationwide Final Practice (SPEED)
6:30 p.m. – Sprint Cup Final Practice (SPEED)

Friday, July 6
2:00 p.m. – Nationwide Qualifying (ESPN2)
4:00 p.m. – Sprint Cup Qualifying (SPEED)
7:00 p.m. – Nationwide Countdown (ESPN)
7:30 p.m. – Nationwide “Subway Jalapeno 250” (ESPN)

Saturday, July 7
4:30 p.m. – NASCAR RaceDay (SPEED)
6:30 p.m. – NASCAR Countdown to Green (TNT)
7:30 p.m. – Sprint Cup Series “Coke Zero 400” (TNT)
11:00 p.m. -- NASCAR Victory Lane (SPEED)

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