Keselowski and Hornish cannot wait to get to Kansas

Dodge has two wins in the previous 12 races at Kansas. Ryan Newman claimed victory in 2003 while Brad Keselowski won in 2011 after starting 25th, the farthest back in the field a race winner has started at the 1.5-mile track.

Brad Keselowski, Penske Racing Dodge

Photo by: Getty Images

Only once in the eight-year history of the Chase for the Sprint Cup format has the race winner at Kansas gone on to win the Sprint Cup (Jimmie Johnson, 2008).

QUOTE OF THE WEEK "We raced on a mile-and-half track at Charlotte last week and we're racing on a mile-and-half track when we go to Kansas this week. How similar are they? If you compared the pole speed (175.993 mph) during our spring visit to Kansas to the pole speed (193.708 mph) at Charlotte last week, you’d say they're very different. But that was before the total repave of Kansas Speedway this summer. The fall Kansas race date was even pushed back two weeks to give the track enough time to get the job done. So we're going to see a very fresh and very fast Kansas surface. The speeds are likely to be closer to what we saw in Charlotte last week than what we saw at Kansas in the spring. Engineers are going to have to carry two sets of notes this week until they can figure out what the new Kansas will be more like – old Kansas or old Charlotte." Howard Comstock, SRT Motorsports Engineering

DODGE QUOTES “I know I speak for everyone on the Miller Lite Dodge team when I say we can’t wait to get to Kansas to prove that our finish at Charlotte was an anomaly, a blip on the radar. And going to a track where we’ve won before gives us a little extra confidence, although it is a new surface that we’ll be breaking in. We were able to take part in the tire test there a few weeks ago and they did an outstanding job with the repave. It’s smooth and fast, and while it may be one-groove for a few races, I think we’ll see it become a very competitive place. I would definitely like to be the first driver to win on the new surface.” Brad Keselowski, No 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger

“We definitely learned a lot about the new surface at Kansas when we did the tire test in August, so we should be able to roll of the truck with some decent speed in the Miller Lite Dodge. It’s going to be a very fast place, for sure. I don’t think many people are going to venture outside the groove, so passing may be difficult for the first couple of races. That means qualifying will be very important and that’s something we will work on during the practice sessions. We’ve shown speed in our cars throughout the Chase and I expect that to carry over to what is, basically, a brand new racetrack at Kansas.” Paul Wolfe, crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger

“I have seen the new layout firsthand and was definitely impressed with the job they have done. I think my biggest question is what effect the changes will make. It may be very little. From what I have heard, the new surface will definitely make it a faster track. That’s a given. I’ve heard predictions of qualifying laps in the high 28-second range (a 28.90 lap would equate to 186.854 mph). That’s what we are expecting to see. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger

Source: SRT Motorsports