Weekend Preview: Kurt Busch Seeks Elusive Restrictor-Plate Win at Daytona

RELEASE

DAYTONA, Fla., (July 1, 2009) – The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to the ‘World Center of Racing’ for this weekend’s Coke Zero 400 at historic Daytona International Speedway. The 2.5-mile, high-banked superspeedway is the 18th stop on the 36-race, regular-season schedule. Seven Chargers are entered in quest of Dodge’s third win of the season and 16th overall at DIS.

With only nine races remaining in the ‘Race to the Chase’, this weekend’s restrictor-plate racing throws a wild card into the deck that’s sure to be stacked with excitement. Heading into the event, all eyes continue to be on the top 12 positions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings. Only 71 points separates eighth to 14th and a mere 17 points separates 10th to 14th. Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch currently sits fourth while Richard Petty Motorsports’ Kasey Kahne is 13th, only one point shy of the final Chase spot.

This weekend also celebrates the 25th anniversary of “The King” Richard Petty’s 200th win. Petty won the 1984 Coca-Cola 400 at DIS.

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) may be the best Cup driver who has never won a restrictor-plate race. In 17 career starts at Daytona, Busch has amassed an amazing eight top-fives and nine top 10s without earning a trip to victory lane. Busch has scored top-10 finishes in the last four races at Daytona (3rd, 2nd, 4th and 10th), the longest current streak.

“I think the biggest thing I always have going for me is that I truly enjoy the plate races,” Busch said. “I think that I am in the minority when I say that. I know how much the fans love it. I know it’s hard for most people to understand, but the more I’m right in the middle of the lead pack, the more comfortable I am in the car. I feel like I learn something each time I’m in that position, especially how to survive and get a good finish out of it.” Read More »

Dodge Challenger: America’s Ideal Sporty Car, Survey Says

More good news for the Dodge Challenger team…Challenger has been named the Best in Class Ideal Vehicle in the Sporty Car Segment by AutoPacific. According the the firm, an Ideal Vehicle award is given to a vehicle that fully fulfills the desires of the buyer. AutoPacific asked owners to indicate their desire to change their vehicle in 15 different categories ranging from power and acceleration to safety features and storage. The buyers who say they wouldn’t change a thing are driving their “ideal” vehicle.

Glad everyone is enjoying them so much. More to come…

Weekend Results: Kurt Busch Third at New Hampshire

RELEASE

LOUDON, N.H. (Sunday, June 28, 2009) – Last year, Kurt Busch won the rain-shortened LENOX Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The event was halted after 284 laps, 16 short of the scheduled distance. Busch used fuel strategy to get the lead, but needed a final pit stop for a splash of fuel if the race went the full 300 laps. He did have enough to make it 284 and picked up the win.

Sunday’s event had a similar finish. Rain ended the race once again before the 301 laps had been completed. The end came on lap 273, 28 short of the scheduled distance. Busch was in contention for the win, but lost out on fuel strategy as rookie Joey Logano didn’t need the late-race stop for fuel thanks to the early end.

Busch finished third in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger. He raced in the top five most of the afternoon and led on two occasions for 28 laps. He was making a charge on runner-up Jeff Gordon just as the rain brought out the 11th caution of the day.

“It was a solid day for us,” Busch said. “We made some good adjustments in the pits. My biggest downside was restarts, slipping the tires and getting forward bite going through the gears. I just couldn’t get the car to stay low. When the time came to push really hard, the car was there. Last year, to drive into Victory Lane and do it in a rain-shortened race and then today where we were fast enough to win and not get the win, that’s how this sport evens itself out. You have your good and your bad luck and overall it was a good day for our Miller Lite Dodge.” Read More »

Weekend Preview: Defending Champ Kurt Busch Looks for Repeat at Loudon

RELEASE

LOUDON, N.H., (June 25, 2008) – The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to the 1.058-mile oval of New Hampshire Motor Speedway for Sunday’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301. The event kicks off the “Race to the Chase,” the 10-race stretch that ends at Richmond in September where the 12-driver field for the 2009 Chase for the Championship will be determined. Those 12 drivers will compete for the season championship and the Sprint Cup over the final 10 races of the season.

Dodge has three Sprint Cup wins at New Hampshire while earning the pole in six of the last 11 races including the track qualifying record set in 2003. All seven Dodge drivers are assured berths in Sunday’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301.

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) is the defending winner of Sunday’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301. Thanks to good fuel mileage and a timely final pit stop, Busch was the leader when rain forced NASCAR officials to call the race after 284 laps, 16 short of the scheduled 300 circuits. Busch and the Pat Tryson-led Penske Racing team celebrated in an empty garage building amid a lightning-spiked downpour.

Busch currently sits fourth in the Sprint Cup driver point standings, 280 points behind leader Tony Stewart. He has one win — at Atlanta Motor Speedway — plus four top-five and eight top-10 finishes.

“To this day, there are still a lot of people who don’t realize the whole story when it came to our Miller Lite Dodge Team winning that race, Busch said. “In our eyes, it will always be a fuel mileage win. I don’t think that the record was ever set straight about what all came down there during the June race last year. Read More »

Weekend Results: Kasey Kahne Powers Dodge to Victory at Infineon Raceway

RELEASE

SONOMA, Calif., (Sunday, June 21, 2009) – Kasey Kahne drove his Budweiser Dodge Charger to his 10th career victory and first on a road-course at Sunday’s Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. The win was the second of the season for Dodge in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition.

Dodge placed four cars inside the top-15 including all three Richard Petty Motorsports entries. In addition to Kahne, RPM’s AJ Allmendinger finished seventh and Elliott Sadler was 10th. Kurt Busch rounded out the strong showing by the Dodge Boys, finishing 15th.

The race at the 1.99-mile, 12-turn facility was the first of two-road course races on the 2009 Cup schedule. The early stages of the 110-lap race developed into a fuel mileage and pit strategy battle. That changed in the final 20 circuits as the field was slowed by five caution flags.

Kahne, who started fifth, had to fight off five double-file restarts including a two-lap green-white checkered flag finish holding off a hard-charging Tony Stewart for the event win. On each restart, Kahne was a picture of perfection. Not once was Stewart able to offer a serious challenge for the lead on the double-file restarts.

The race win was the first of the season for Richard Petty Motorsports (Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Petty Enterprises merged at the beginning of the season to form a four-car team under the RPM banner) and the first time that ‘King’ Richard Petty has visited victory lane since the spring event at Martinsville in 1999. Read More »

Weekend Preview: Dodge Contingent Heads West for Road-Racing Challenge

RELEASE

SONOMA, Calif., (June 18, 2008) – The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels west to Infineon Raceway this weekend for the first road-course test of the season. Sunday’s race on the 1.99-mile, 10-turn road course in the California wine country will be the 16th of 36 point races that make up the 2009 schedule. The Save Mart 350 is the first of two road-course events on this season’s schedule.

With only 10 races remaining in the Race to the Chase, the grind of NASCAR’s summer schedule has kicked into high gear. Sunday’s starting field of 43 cars will ‘turn right’ for the first time this year. Drivers completing all 110 laps will have made a minimum of 1,100 turns (left and right) by the time the checkered flag falls. The key for success is keeping the car on the racing surface. Getting off the asphalt is often an adventure and definitely detrimental to a top-10 finish.

Dodge has earned one Infineon win since returning to Cup racing full-time in 2001. Juan Pablo Montoya drove a Dodge to victory in 2007.

Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge) remains within striking distance of the top-12. He is 91 points behind Jeff Burton who currently holds the 12th spot. After the 26th race, the top 12 drivers in the point standings will compete for the season championship and Sprint Cup in the final 10 races. Kahne earned his first career Infineon pole at last year’s event, but knows that success on road courses isn’t how you start, but how you finish.

“Road course racing has been tough for me,” Kahne said. “We’ve qualified well and run some good laps at times. We just don’t finish the races where we want to finish the races. That’s a big part of the whole year and being in the Chase is running well at those tracks. I need to step it up on the road courses for sure and do more than just qualify well. We need to race up front.” Read More »

Weekend Results: Kurt Busch Records Another Top 10; Finishes Eighth At MIS

RELEASE

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 14, 2009) – The long, sweeping turns of Michigan International Speedway played host to Sunday’s LifeLock 400, the 15th of 36 scheduled point races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular-season schedule. Three Dodge’s started inside the top 10 on the very fast and wide two-mile oval in the Irish Hills. And in typical MIS fashion, fuel mileage was the determining factor for the Dodge Boys and the entire 43 car field.

Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) looked to be on his way to a top-five finish until fuel mileage woes indicated that the former two-time event champion would be two laps short on fuel in the 200-lap race. While running sixth on lap 199 and conserving as much fuel as possible, Busch ran empty in Turn 4. That dropped him two spots. He finished eight. Busch never ran outside the top 10 the entire race.

“A solid day for our Miller Lite Dodge today,” Busch said. “We made changes all day and felt like the changes that we made for the last run really made our car competitive. Otherwise, we would have slid outside of the top 10. On that last run, we had to switch into fuel-conservation mode because we knew that we were about two laps shy on fuel, but we made it. Overall, we have to be pleased with our effort. We just didn’t have a contending car to win the race. We’ll take an eight-place finish today.” Read More »

Weekend Preview: Surging Sam Hornish Jr. Eyes Spot Inside NASCAR’s Top 20

RELEASE

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 11, 2009) – The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for this weekend’s LifeLock 400. Set in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan, Sunday’s event will mark the 80th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the two-mile oval.

All seven Dodge drivers are assured berths in Sunday’s LifeLock 400, the 15th of 36 point races that make up the 2009 Sprint Cup Series. Dodge has won five of the last 11 and six of the last 15 races at MIS.

Roger Penske‘s drivers have won six times at MIS which ties him with Robert Yates for fourth best all-time among owners. Former Penske driver Rusty Wallace won three times at Michigan while Ryan Newman, who drove for Penske from 2000-08, is a two-time winner. Current Penske driver Kurt Busch won at MIS in 2007.

Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) continues his charge toward the top 20. Since Dover four weeks ago, Hornish has advanced eight positions in the NSCS driver standings. Hornish earned his third top-10 of the season last weekend at Pocono and currently sits 23rd in points. During last year’s June race at MIS, Hornish led two laps, the first of his NSCS career.

“Michigan International Speedway is a place I’ve always loved racing at in any type of car and it’s one of Roger’s old tracks, said Hornish. “We led there legitimately last year for the first time and it was an exciting race for this Mobil 1 Dodge team. We are all looking forward to putting on a good show in front of my home crowd (Hornish is from Defiance, Ohio) on Sunday.” Read More »

Release: New Chrysler Emerges as a Stronger, More Competitive Global Company

PRESS RELEASE:

Chrysler Group LLC and Fiat Finalize Global Strategic Alliance; New Chrysler Emerges as a Stronger, More Competitive Global Company

• C. Robert Kidder to be named Chairman of U.S. Automaker
• Sergio Marchionne to Serve as Chief Executive Officer

Auburn Hills, Mich. / Turin, Italy  -

Chrysler Group LLC and Fiat Group announced today that they have finalized their previously announced global strategic alliance, forming a “new” Chrysler that has the resources, technology and worldwide distribution network required to compete effectively on a global scale. The new Chrysler will begin operations immediately.

As part of the alliance, Fiat will contribute to Chrysler its world-class technology, platforms and powertrains for small- and medium-sized cars, allowing the company to offer an expanded product line including environmentally friendly vehicles increasingly in demand by consumers. Chrysler will also benefit from Fiat’s management expertise in business turnaround and access to Fiat’s international distribution network with particular focus on Latin America and Russia.

“This is a very significant day, not only for Chrysler and its dedicated employees, who have persevered through a great deal of uncertainty during the past year, but for the global automotive industry as a whole,” said Sergio Marchionne, who today was named Chief Executive Officer of Chrysler Group LLC. “From the very beginning, we have been adamant that this alliance must be a constructive and important step towards solving the problems impacting our industry. We now look forward to establishing a new paradigm for how automotive companies can operate profitably going forward.”

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Weekend Results: Hornish Earns Top-10; Kahne Strong Again

RELEASE

LONG POND, Pa., (June 7, 2009) – The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series headed to the Pocono Mountains of eastern Pennsylvania for this weekend’s Pocono 500. The 14th of 36 races on the Sprint Cup’s regular-season point’s schedule, Pocono is one of the most physically demanding and mentally stressful tracks on the Cup circuit.

With rain washing away the 90-minute practice session and qualifying on Friday, Cup teams were relegated to two Saturday practice sessions to dial in their race cars for a long, grueling 200-lap marathon on the tricky 2.5-mile, triangular-shaped asphalt surface.

Hard-charging Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) led the seven-car Dodge contingent, earning his third top-10 finish of the season. Despite not breaking into the top 12 until lap 130, the Ohio native used patience and fuel strategy to maneuver his way up through the field.

“We started off the race pretty good, but then we lost the handle on the car a bit,” Hornish said. “We got it back, got some grip and track position, and then we had to come in late to top-off (for fuel) and try to make it to the end (of the race).”
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