SRT Motorsports Weekend Preview - Oct. 18

October 17, 2012 , AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -  Kansas Speedway has undergone major changes since the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series visited the 1.5-mile speedway earlier this year. If Talladega was the “wild card” race in the Chase, then Kansas could certainly be referred to as the “great unknown”.

Two major changes will greet teams -- a new asphalt surface and reconfigured turns with variable banking of 17-20 degrees.

"We raced on a mile-and-half track at Charlotte last week and we're racing on a mile-and-half track at Kansas this weekend,” said SRT engineer Howard Comstock. “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 until they figure out what the new Kansas will be more like – old Kansas or old Charlotte.”

This year’s championship is developing into a three-driver race as only seven points separate series’ leader Brad Keselowski and five-time champion Jimmie Johnson. Denny Hamlin is just 15 markers at the halfway mark of the 10-race Chase.

Keselowski’s first of eight Sprint Cup victories for Penske Racing came at Kansas in May 2011. Dodge was dominant in the event. Former Penske teammate Kurt Busch started from the pole and led 152 of the 267 laps but saw his masterful performance overshadowed by the No. 2 Miller’s Lite Dodge’s mastery of fuel mileage.

“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,” said Wolfe. “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.”

2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings
1. Brad Keselowski 2214
2. Jimmie Johnson -7
3. Denny Hamlin -15
4. Clint Bowyer -28
5. Kasey Kahne -35
6. Greg Biffle -43
7. Martin Truex Jr. -49
8. Tony Stewart -50
9. Jeff Gordon -50
10. Kevin Harvick -56
11. Matt Kenseth -67
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -86

Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) will rely on extra track time and the testing notes of teammate Brad Keselowski to dial in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger this weekend. Hornish started 10th and finished 19th in the No. 12 SKF Dodge at Kansas Speedway earlier this season.

“The scenario this week presents a challenge that I am really looking forward to,” said Hornish. “I have so much confidence in what we can accomplish there. Everyone is coming in there confronting the same hurdles. We can’t wait to see how we can stack up come qualifying and race time.”

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES (NNS)
Ryan Blaney (No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger) will make his fifth career NNS start in the No. 22 Dodge and first at Kansas Speedway. The impressive 18-year old son of Cup veteran Dave Blaney is seeking his sixth top-10 finish in 11 Nationwide Series races this season.

“With this being my first event at Kansas, I don’t really know what to expect,” said Blaney. “We have an advantage though with the track being freshly repaved so everyone will be on the same starting spot. I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the Discount Tire Dodge. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve gotten to work with the team and I’m looking forward to coming back. We didn’t have the best finish in Dover a few weeks back, so I’m hoping to change that and bring home a solid result.”

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES (NCWTS)
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is silent this weekend and returns to action next week at Martinsville for the Kroger 200.

AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES (ALMS)
The American Le Mans Series heads to Georgia for Saturday’s 15th annual Petit Le Mans, a 1,000-mile or 10-hour endurance race at picturesque 2.54-mile Road Atlanta.

Two SRT Viper GTS-Rs are entered in the GT Class. Factory-backed Vipers swept the podium in their first Petit start in 1999 when the ORECA-based snakes dominated the day, giving Dodge its first endurance win at Road Atlanta.

IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay joins teammates Dominik Farnbacher and Kuno Wittmer in the No. 91 Hewett Packard Viper GTS-R for the first time this season.

“Road Atlanta is a true test for next year’s first race,” Wittmer said. “It will give us good data as we prepare to run the full 2013 schedule. With the progress we’ve made, we’re now entering a phase where we can actually compete for positions. Our Vipers have shown great reliability in the first three races. The team is working together; there’s great harmony.”

Former 24 Hours of Daytona winner Jonathon Bomarito will be paired with Tommy Kendall and Marc Goosens in the No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra Viper GTS-R.

“This will be the first race for Ryan and Jonathan,” said SRT Motorsports engineer Gary Johnson said. “They’ve had some practice in the car before the race but as far as putting a lot of miles on the car, they haven’t had that much of an opportunity. This will give them a good chance to get comfortable with the car.

“Another thing that we’re looking at is the amount of pit stops that we will have to make. Our crew has really done a lot of work in bringing our pit stop time down to a competitive level. Obviously, with the number of pit stops that you’re going to have to make, that can make a big difference.”

SRT VIPER CUP SERIES
Ben Keating takes virtually an insurmountable lead into the final weekend of the 2012 Viper Cup Series this weekend at Watkins Glen International.

Keating, a five-time winner this season, leads Jim Booth by 126 points with two rounds remaining. Keating, the defending series champion, started the season with four consecutive wins to build a comfortable point lead. Louis-Phillipe Montour is third in the standings, 26 behind Booth.

What is Keating’s strategy to defend his championship? “I approach it like any other weekend,” he said. “I need about 30 points to clinch the championship. I think as long as I finish 75 percent of the laps on both days, even if I got last place on both days, I think I could clinch. That’s not my strategy. My strategy is going to be to go out and win.

“If I can win on Saturday or come close, I should gain enough points to clinch. I’m going to go for a win on Saturday and then my finish on Saturday will determine what my strategy is on Sunday. If I clinch on Saturday, then I’m going to go out and race for a win on Sunday. If something happens on Saturday, then I’m going to race conservatively for a championship on Sunday.”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Next Race: Hollywood Casino 400
The Place: Kansas Speedway
The Date: Sunday, Oct. 21
The Time: 2:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN, 1 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps)

NASCAR Nationwide Series
Next Race: Kansas Lottery 300
The Place: Kansas Speedway
The Date: Saturday, Oct. 20
The Time: 3:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN, 3 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Distance: 300 miles (200 laps)

American Le Mans Series
Next Race: Petit Le Mans
The Place: Road Atlanta
The Date: Saturday, Oct. 20
The Time: 11:30 a.m. (ET)
TV: Sunday, Oct. 21, ABC, 1 p.m. (ET)
Saturday, Oct. 20, ESPN3, 11:15 a.m. (ET)
Distance: 1,000 miles or 10 hours

Dodge Weekend Motorsports on TV
(All Times Eastern)
Friday, October 19
2:00 p.m. – Nationwide Practice at Kansas (ESPN2)
3:30 p.m. – Nationwide Final Practice (ESPN2)
5:00 p.m. – Sprint Cup Qualifying (ESPN2)

Saturday, October 20
11:00 a.m. – Sprint Cup Practice (ESPN2)
12:00 p.m. – Nationwide Qualifying (SPEED)
3:00 p.m. – NASCAR Countdown (ESPN2)
3:30 p.m. – Nationwide “Kansas Lottery 300” at Kansas (ESPN2)
3:45 p.m. – Green Flag “Kansas Lottery 300” (ESPN2)

Sunday, October 21
1:00 p.m. – NASCAR Countdown (ESPN)
1:00 a.m. – ALMS Petit Le Mans (ABC)
2:00 p.m. – Sprint Cup “Hollywood Casino 400” at Kansas (ESPN)
2:16 p.m. – Green Flag “Hollywood Casino” (ESPN)

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