Carlisle-Sponsored Driver Keselowski Wins Chase Opener at Chicagoland Speedway

Carlisle-Sponsored Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Racing No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS), picked up his fourth win of the season at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, September 16, 2012. Winning the Geico 400 (the first race in the 2012 Chase for the Championship) marked the first Chase victory for Keselowski in his second appearance in NASCAR’s playoffs and his eigth career Cup Series win.

Keselowski began the 267-lap race from the 13^th position after his time of 29.793 seconds, or 181.507 miles per hour, around the 1.5-mile oval during the Friday qualifying session. He was able to claim the race lead for the first time at lap 47, before coming down pit road to the attention of his Miller Lite crew on the next lap. Following a pit stop that included four fresh tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, Keselowski found himself running in the sixth position when the pit stops cycled through at lap 50.

With the adjustments having a positive effect on the handling of the Miller Lite Dodge, Keselowski again made his way towards the front of the field. It was clear that the race would be won on pit road. The Miller Lite pit crew was up to the task as they got their driver out of the pits in front of Johnson, who had previously held a sizeable lead, on the last stop of the day at lap 230. Keselowski did the rest as he masterfully worked through traffic to beat the five-time champion to the line by over three seconds.

Always acknowledging the strong team around him, Keselowski said, “I’m just proud of the effort of everyone on the Miller Lite Dodge team and proud of what we were able to do today…We’re feeling good about today but know that we have a lot of work to do.”