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Team Penske Ready For More Success In 2015

 Team Penske drivers and officials pose for photographers during day 3 of the Charlotte Motor Speedway NASCAR Media Tour at the Charlotte Convention Center.  [Credit: Bob Leverone/NASCAR via Getty Images]

 

Charlotte, NC—Team Penske presented their outlook on the upcoming 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season to media members on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour presented by Technocom and the concept of continuity was a common theme.

Touting the cooperation among his teams which feature Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano returning to driving the #2 and #22 Fords respectively, owner Roger Penske zeroed in on that concept as the main reason for the organizations success last season.

“When I think about 2014 it was really a year we will remember because it is probably the most successful season we’ve had on both the NASCAR side and the IndyCar side with a total of 22 wins,” Penske stated, “To me the key thing was the continuity between the drivers, crew chiefs, and teams. We need that as we go forward. I think we are strong as we go to 2015.”

“The team work paid off and the way Joey and Brad worked together and the crew chiefs and the rest of the team were just outstanding,” Penske continued, “That teamwork is going to be the foundation and base for us in 2015.”

“I remember when I walked in the door at Team Penske in 2009 and they had the three cars, the 2, the 22, and the 77 and I remember seeing three cars parked separate from each other and all the teams were different,” said Brad Keselowski now entering his sixth season at Team Penske, “And now here we are having all the teams working together very closely and we’ve certainly had more wins in a long time as a team and probably the best relationships inside the company probably ever. I’m just thrilled to be a part of that.”

“That continuity is huge. You can’t get stuck on the past but we can be proud of it and we can build a platform off of it,” continued Keselowski, “I think we focus on what we have and what we have are strong relationships and we might not have 8 cars but we have 3 of the best. We have three of the best teams and I think we have an advantage with that. That was part of our success last year and it will be part of our success for years to come.”

Teammate Joey Logano agreed stating, “It’s key that all of the #22 team is at the same level and we all work really well together across all of Team Penske. How close the teams work together is very important and that is a big deal for us to be fast at the race track.”

The introduction of a new rules package for this season along with a ban on private testing has left many wondering how the on-track action will pan out this season and Keselowski said he shares in that uncertainty.

“Entering 2015 the rules package for the intermediate and short tracks has changed which is normal but now we compliment that with testing changes and the continued advancement of aerodynamics within the sport,” Keselowski stated,” I think there is a lot of uncertainty of what you are going to see for the majority of the season. We share in that. We were fortunate to have a tire test recently at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and it showed again a lot of uncertainty about how it is going to play out because the cars are so much different in a race format than they are in a testing format. I wish I could really explain to everyone predictions on what the car will be like or the racing will be like in 2015 but honestly I don’t know. I think we’ll all find out when we put the cars together at the first intermediate or short track races.”

“There are also a lot of changes on pit road this year with the NASCAR rules switching to an automated system of enforcement, “Keselowski continued, “I’m not really sure I understand how that’s going to work but I know if I just do my job right on pit road I don’t have to worry about it so honestly I haven’t thought that much about that.”

If anyone expects Keselowski to mellow somewhat this season after being involved in several on track skirmishes and post race incidents a year ago, they would be mistaken as Keselowski made it clear he doesn’t plan to alter his driving style anytime soon.

“I’m very motivated this year and I can’t say anything that happened last year changed that motivation, “Keselowski explained, “I do a pretty good job at staying broke with all the things I’ve got going on so I need to win. I need the money and I like winning a lot too and that’s important to me. It’s a shame last year didn’t all come together but I’m still proud of the year we had.”

“I don’t really say a lot to fans that don’t support me because usually that doesn’t work,” Keselowski continued, “I think some people like aggressive drivers some don’t. It’s kind of like a vanilla-chocolate comparison. But I’m doing what I think is right and if I do that I’ll be happy and that’s all that matters.”

Logano said that based on his 2014 performance where he fell just short of the Sprint Cup championship in the final event of the season, he expects to compete for the title again in 2015.

“I feel confident we’re ready and we’ll just take things one step at a time,” the third year Penske driver stated, “Goal number one is get to the Chase, goal number two is get through all the rounds and make it to Homestead, and goal number three is win the championship. You just have to take it one step at a time to get there.”

“The last couple of years (crew chief) Todd (Gordon) and I have sat down with our team and even do reviews with ourselves,” Logano stated again stressing the strong communication within his team. “We ask ourselves where do you think I could be better as a driver or where do you think you could be better as a crew chief? We communicate that stuff and there may be something I wasn’t thinking of and there may be something he wasn’t thinking of and eventually you get it all out in the open and that’s the way we’ve been since the beginning.”

One aspect of last season Logano would like to clear the air on was the in his view undeserved bad rap hung on his pit crew after a poor final stop in the season finale at Homestead.

“The whole year combined my pit crew was the fourth best pit crew and I hate to see the rap that they got after that one stop,” Logano stated, “Could it have been the most important stop of the year? Yes. Did it prevent us from winning the championship? I don’t know, maybe or maybe not. But it doesn’t take away from the year they had as a pit crew or the year we had as a team winning races and leading laps.”

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