No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Race Facts
Brickyard 400 --- Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Driver: Kasey Kahne
Team Director: Tommy Baldwin
Team Owner: Ray Evernham
Chassis: No. 55
Car Info: Finished second at Texas,
Vegas and Michigan
KASEY KAHNE QUOTES
“We tested pretty well at Indy and look to go back there with a lot better package. We’re taking a different car than we tested with. I’ve always enjoyed high-speed tracks and it seems we race a little better at the bigger tracks. We’ve had two good races in a row; we’re kind of on a roll. Indy is one of the biggest races of the year. I’m looking forward to that.”
“We still need to finish races every weekend. We need to finish in the top 10, qualify well and try for the wins. I won’t give up until the end. We just have to keep going and keep doing the same thing we’ve been doing in recent weeks and stay out of crashes. If we do that, we’ll be fine.”
STATS & FACTS
No. 9’s SUCCESS AT THE BRICKYARD
This will be Kahne’s first career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start at Indianapolis. However, the No. 9 Dew Crew has enjoyed success at Indy, accumulating one win (2002), two top fives and three top 10s in three starts at the Brickyard.
ADDING UP THE POINTS
After racing at Pocono, Kahne moved up two positions to 12th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series points standings. He is now only 69 points out of the top 10 and 255 points out of the top five. After 20 races, Kahne maintains a commanding 57-point lead in the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year standings.
A NEW LOOK FOR SUMMER
The No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge will continue to run its new paint scheme this weekend in Pocono. The new scheme will run through the August 28th race in Bristol in support of Dodge’s
Summer Sales Drive.
GETTING OUT FRONT
Kahne’s 349 laps led are more than five times the combined amount of laps led by the five other 2004 Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year candidates. Kahne’s six top-five finishes this year rank first among all rookies – his closest competitor having only one.
LAST WEEKEND AT POCONO
Kahne qualified in the 20th position and had the No. 9 Dodge on the move from the start. He was 10th by lap 49 with the Dew Crew gaining three more positions on a quick pit stop under yellow on lap 53. He was fifth by lap 74, and was up to third when he was caught up in an accident on lap 108. Tommy Baldwin and his crew needed two pit stops to get the Dodge back out in the 29th position. The repairs were on the money with Kahne gaining nine positions over the next 10 laps. Baldwin called for a two-tire stop on lap 122, which enabled them to gain another eight positions, up to 12th. He worked his way to fourth when the No. 9 Dodge came to the pits for a final stop under yellow on lap 162. Kahne restarted in the fourth position and moved up to third by lap 175, holding the position until the finish.
FAST ON FRIDAYS
Kahne earned his fourth pole (Las Vegas, Darlington, California and Pocono) and his second track qualifying record (Las Vegas, Pocono) at Pocono in June.
Evernham Motorsports has set three track qualifying records this season (Kahne – Las Vegas and Pocono (a), Mayfield – Dover).
Kahne, with four poles in 2004 is well on his way to challenging Ryan Newman’s record six poles in a rookie season.
Kahne tied Art Watts (1957) for the quickest any driver has reached four career poles – 14 races.
