Monthly Archives: June 2012

By Fan4Racing


Will Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Dark Knight Rises – Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet be the car to take him to victory lane at Michigan International Speedway?

Dale Jr stands by his Dark Knight Rises car Photo – PRNews/PepsiCo

Hope springs eternal for fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr, and with consistent performance so far in 2012, it seems his four-year winless drought may soon be over. Even Dale Jr. feels they’re getting close to a win.


“I feel like we’re getting really close. We’ve been really competing well and have been competitive every weekend and at every track. And that feels really good to say.” Dale Jr continues, “…We ran great last week. We had a strong car. So, the team is really excited. We’re just kind of going to each race track every weekend and seeing what kind of car we can put out on the starting grid on Sunday. I feel like if we keep going, we’re going to win some races. We’ve just got to keep working.”


This weekend at Michigan actually marks the four-year anniversary of Earnhardt Jr’s last visit to victory lane. To break his winless streak at the track of his last win would be a great transition for the team, but may prove to be a bit nerve-wracking for the driver if history repeats itself. Commenting about what stands out for Dale Jr. from his win four years ago, he said…


“Oh, probably just the nerves the last few laps and all those caution laps and knowing we had a green-white-checkered and not sure we had enough gas to make it.”


The high speeds seen at the Michigan track could impact fuel mileage again during the race on Sunday, which won’t help Earnhardt Jr’s nerves if he’s again in position to win the race.  But speeds in excess of 200-mph don’t seem to be an issue for Dale Jr.


“The speeds don’t feel that fast. I feel like my car is going 180, but it says on the chart it’s going 200 or whatever. It just feels like it’s always felt here. It kind of just feels like qualifying, but there’s a lot of grip and the car is pretty comfortable.”


Dale Jr is promoting the new Batman movie – The Dark Knight Rises – this weekend, and contrary to what some may think would be pretty cool, the batmobile known as ‘The Tumbler’ is not the car Earnhardt Jr is driving in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan.

The new Batmobile – The Tumbler Photo – AP File Photo

“We’re just out here promoting the new Batman movie with Diet Mountain Dew. And that’s the ‘Tumbler,’ the new Batman mobile. It looks pretty cool. I’m interested in going up there and taking a better look at it myself. But it’s pretty exciting. I think it’s a great cross-promotion for Hollywood and NASCAR and hopefully they enjoy it and I’m sure we will.”


With Batman Black featured on his car – not a color Dale Jr. normally sports in the summer – perhaps he’ll change his hot weather color preferences if he does win. The “Dew Crew” is certainly hoping the Dark Knight Rises theme will take them to victory lane. 


“…I normally wear white suits because of the heat in the summertime…” says Dale Earnhardt Jr. “I never remember driving a black car before, so we’ll see how it goes.” 


Although, Dale Jr wants to celebrate in victory lane soon, he’s says it’s not the winless streak that keeps him sleepless in Kannapolis.


“There are other things about finishes and weekends and what happens to you on the race track that can bother way worse … to keep you up at night,”  Junior says. “If you just have a bad day or make a mistake that can ruin a race for your team or whatever; if you’re that guy and make that mistake on that day, it’s difficult to go home and shake it off. So those kinds of deals are tough, but just the lack of winning and not getting in victory lane makes you really hungry and it makes you starve for it. Other than that it doesn’t really keep me up at night.”


Dale Earnhardt Jr’s goals go way beyond just winning a race in his near future – his eye is focused on a bigger goal of a championship in his sight and he wants a title added to his legendary name. 

The Sprint Cup Trophy awarded in Vegas Photo – Chris Graythen/Getty Images

“I want to try to win a championship. That’s what you run the whole season for and our team has really, really good speed now. We ran well last year in the Chase, but we weren’t in the battle for the championship. We did well; we did better than I think a lot of people anticipated us doing in the Chase. And so, we’ve put together a lot of great and consistent races and we’re second in points right now.” Dale Jr continues with, “And so if we can put together this type of performance in the Chase, I don’t see why we can’t consider ourselves with an opportunity to challenge for the championship. And we’ve got to go into that with great confidence. So I want to keep plugging away and tying to stay healthy as a team.” 


Timing just seems right for Dale Jr. to transition his winless streak with a win at the track that gave him his last victory and as a fitting Father’s Day tribute to his famous dad. Indeed, a win would be a nice transition toward a path leading to a championship and seems to be the desired goal for NASCAR’s most popular driver and what he wants most. 


So, even though Junior fans have been in-waiting four years to see their favorite guy in victory lane, it makes sense they also want to savor a championship even more! 

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Photo – Getty Images

By Jason Schultz

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NOTE: No publishing or redistribution of any content is allowed
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By Fan4Racing


How cool is it that Brad Keselowski is coming home to Michigan for Father’s Day weekend?

Brad Keselowski at Michigan Photo – Getty Images

In his teleconference this week, Keselowski reminds us how connected he feels to his home state and being around his family, still living near Michigan International Speedway. 


Brad’s racing roots begin with his grandfather, John Keselowski, who raced motorcycles and snowmobiles and continue with his father, Bob Keselowski, a 1997 race winner in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. Brad’s dad has also raced in NASCAR’s Grand National and ARCA series, winning the championship in 1989. Bob still ranks in the top 10 on ARCA’s all-time winners list. Brad’s uncle Ron Keselowski, competed in the Sprint Cup Series in the early ’70s. Brian Keselowski is Brad’s older brother and competes in NASCAR’s ARCA series. The two brothers grew up in Rochester Hills, Michigan around their dad and uncle’s successful racing careers.


Growing up in a racing family, it’s natural that Brad and his brother spent a lot of time at some of the region’s race tracks in and around Michigan. Toledo Speedway holds a lot of great memories for Brad, which led to a question during the teleconference about how the track may have fostered his development as a driver and what it means to come back to this area, his backyard and drive at MIS?


“Oh, I still have very fond memories of Toledo for sure. It’s one of my favorite tracks from growing up, and I attribute it a lot to my success as I’ve grown up and ran well at tracks like Bristol because of its similarities. So I miss running there, for sure.


“One day, I would like to do that again and have a shot at going down and running a couple of the big races they have got. I think they still have the Glass City 200 that they run there. I wish it wasn’t on a current Cup weekend or one year I might go down and run it. That track was very formative for me. I remember I think being five or six years old and being snuck into the pits in the trunk of an old car. Some of my early racing memories took place there and will always have a place near and dear in my heart. It’s a great track and I’m glad to be back in that vicinity, back in Michigan. Obviously, Toledo is in Ohio but it’s right on the border there, so we spent a lot of time in that area. It means a lot to be able to come back and race, and race with competitive teams like I have at Penske Racing. I feel very fortunate to be where I’m at in the sport right now, and it makes it all seem worth it, the sacrifices that you have to make as a kid to be a professional race car driver, whether that’s skipping the prom or not doing those other things with friends and taking that time to become the best race car driver you can, or the best racer, in case you don’t make it as a race car driver, being able to come back to Michigan with some success in the profession that I’ve chosen, is very rewarding and makes it all seem worth it, so it’s very gratifying personally.”

Bob Keselowski Photo – Wikipedia

Being part of a successful racing family at the various tracks in the region certainly influenced Brad’s career choice of becoming a professional racer. 


When asked about his dad’s influence on his career and to share a couple of quick stories, Brad said, “Ironically, that’s where I was before I walked into this teleconference; I was spending some time with him. I was able to rent out a small little shop for him to work on some cars that he’s pursuing. He’s building this car to go to the bottom of the salt flats and he’s going to take my uncle. My dad and my uncle are both in their 60s now, and it’s my dad’s dream to go to Bonneville and run 235 in a Cup car. So he’s been building this car to go do it. I went down there and watched him; told a few stories. It’s interesting, because when I walk into a shop, I see all of the tools I grew up using, and of course they all look the same. It just brings back so many memories of what it was like growing up in Michigan with my dad, he was more than just my dad. He was a mentor and a boss.


“So it’s funny, looking back now, and how things have changed, how my life has grown and certainly he was a large part of the base that makes up who I am from the code that he taught me early on in life of work ethic, which I certainly didn’t inherit all of his work ethic. His work ethic is amazing, but the basics of it, I feel like I did; to the approach of where you don’t expect anyone to do anything for you, on the racetrack or off. Your success is in your own hands, and if you’re not successful, you don’t point fingers. You point it at yourself and say I need to work harder and I need to work smarter. I think I learned a lot of that approach to the sport from him, and like I said, that’s part of the fundamentals of my success.


“So I owe a lot that to my dad, and I have a lot of good stories; I could go on for a long time, I want to spare you guys from that. But certainly being stuffed in the back of that car into a racetrack, may not one he wants me to tell but it’s one that sticks out, and there’s a lot of those moments.


“…I look back at them and I think of how lucky I am to be where I’m at right now in this sport, and how he was certainly the leader in putting me in this position.”

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