JACK DANIEL'S RACING QUOTEBOARD
RICK KELLY - #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore:
"In Melbourne it has been raining and not much more than 10 degrees for the last couple of weeks, so I think our entire team is very excited to be heading to Darwin to enjoy the warm weather," said Rick Kelly.
"It's one of my favourite events of the year and one that I always try to get to a little bit early, or stay a little bit later, which Todd and I will be doing this year when we go fishing with some of our friends from Jack Daniel's after the event.
"I'm happy to be heading to Darwin off the back of the results from Winton, which was definitely a step forward for us in terms of being the first pole for the team. We are all quite excited about Darwin.
"It's an event we've put in a lot of work for and we're going to attack it pretty hard. Last year we were unlucky not to finish second there and we just lost out on a late Safety Car. The car speed in qualifying is something that we still need to work on and we've put a lot of work in on that area of our cars."
On the use of soft tyres in Sunday's race ...
"If there was no Safety Car to worry about, no doubt you would use it at the start to get track position and then swap to hard tyres," said Rick Kelly.
"I think if you are going to qualify in the top half of the field then you get pressured into using them at the start of the race - not too many people don't start on them if you're in the top 15.
"The problem with that is there can be a Safety Car late in the race and people that are not that competitive can stay out and hope for that, because it's not highly likely but it is possible, so if you're not competitive you wait for a yellow, chuck your softs on when it happens and you can come through and win.
"That's something that I don't like about one set of softs for the race because it can hand the race win to someone in that circumstance. So for us we just need to read it as best we can. That uncertainty you just can't plan for."
TODD KELLY - #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore:
"It was a little bit of a turning point for us at Winton with Rick's pole and we've had a great test day since then as well," said Todd Kelly.
"From Darwin, right through to the end of the year, we have some tracks where I've gone well in the past and places where we ran well last year, so both for me personally and for the team as a whole we are aiming to achieve better results in the second half of the season.
"While the cancellation of the Perth race was very unfortunate, we've been able to use that time to do a heap of work in the break between Winton and Darwin.
"We've certainly had a little bit more time to make things happen, which is why we've got some of new things on all of our cars for Darwin.
"Rick and I have even been able to fit in a ski race, which we didn't think we would be able to do when we planned out the calendar at the start of the year.
"It's good to get some good weather at this time of year. I like the heat a lot more than the cold and it drives me mad being in Melbourne in winter, so as soon as I get off the plane in Darwin I'm a lot happier person.
"The Hidden Valley track is great and Darwin is just a great place. We are doing a fishing trip with Jack Daniel's after the weekend and that's going to be a lot of fun. It's one of those places that you really look forward to going to and it's a good circuit to race on as well."
KEY FACTS:
- Kelly brothers have winning history in Darwin ...
* Todd Kelly was the overall round winner of the Hidden Valley event in both 2004 and 2005
* In both 2004 and 2005 the Kelly family won two of the three races held, with Todd and Rick scoring one win each in 2004 and Todd taking two races wins in 2005
* Rick Kelly enters the SKYCITY Triple Crown having scored the fifth pole position of his career on Sunday at Winton Motor Raceway, the first Armor All Pole Award for the Kelly Racing operation
* Rick Kelly has also scored a pole position in Darwin, topping qualifying at the 2.87-kilometre circuit in 2007
* Todd Kelly has qualified second in the grid in Darwin on three occasions and was in the top five in both qualifying sessions in his #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore last season
- Soft tyres back to 'Wildcard' status in Darwin ...
* The soft-compound Dunlop 'option' tyre will return to 'Wildcard Status' at the SKYCITY Triple Crown in Darwin
* After races at the two previous events at Queensland Raceway and Winton Motor Raceway were conducted solely on the soft tyre, at Hidden Valley Raceway teams will be given just one set of option tyres per car, which have to be used during the Sunday race
V8 Supercar Championship Series Points Standings
After Race 12 of 26
1. James Courtney 1467
2. Jamie Whincup 1353
3. Craig Lowndes 1245
4. Shane van Gisbergen 1164
5. Garth Tander 1116
6. Lee Holdsworth 1110
7. Rick Kelly 1079
8. Mark Winterbottom 1056
9. Michael Caruso 1035
10. Steven Johnson 932
19. Todd Kelly 594
HIDDEN VALLEY RACEWAY DETAILS:
Circuit: Hidden Valley Raceway
Location: Darwin, Northern Territory
Circuit Length: 2.87 kilometres
Average Speed: 149 km/h
Maximum Speed: 271 km/h
Format: 120km race Saturday and 200km race Sunday
2009 Attendance: 43,119 (three days)
2009 Saturday Pole Position: Jason Richards
2009 Saturday Race Winner: Jamie Whincup
2009 Sunday Pole Position: Garth Tander
2009 Sunday Race Winner: Michael Caruso
JACK DANIEL'S RACING DRIVERS AT HIDDEN VALLEY:
Todd Kelly - #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore:
2009 Saturday Qualifying: Fifth
2009 Saturday Race: Fifth
2009 Sunday Qualifying: Fourth
2009 Sunday Race: 28th
Debut: 2001
Events: Nine
Races: 26
Best Qualifying: Second (2004, 2005 and 2007)
Top 10 in Qualifying: Seven
Best Race Finish: First (Race 3 – 2004, Race 1 – 2005 and Race 2 - 2005)
Top 10 Finish in Race: 15
Rick Kelly - #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore:
2009 Saturday Qualifying: 18th
2009 Saturday Race: 15th
2009 Sunday Qualifying: Ninth
2009 Sunday Race: Fourth
Debut: 2002
Events: Eight
Races: 23
Best Qualifying: First (2007)
Top 10 in Qualifying: Four
Best Race Finish: First (Race 2 – 2004)
Top 10 Finish in Race: 16
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Times below are Australian Central Standard Time (GMT + 9.5 hours)
Friday 18 June 2010
10:30am – 11:00am: Practice 1 (Rookies & Lower 50%)
11:40am – 12:10pm: Practice 2 (Rookies & Lower 50%)
12:50pm – 1:20pm: Practice 3
2:00pm – 2:30pm: Practice 4
Saturday 19 June 2010
11:20am – 11:40am: Qualifying
12:20pm: Top 10 Shootout
3:35pm: Race 1 (Series Race 13) – 42 laps
Sunday 20 June 2010
12:00pm –12:20pm: Qualifying
2:35pm: Race 2 (Series Race 14) – 69 laps
AUS TELEVISION SCHEDULE – SEVEN NETWORK
Times subject to amendment – please check local guides
Saturday 19 June 2010
2:30pm – 5:30pm (V8 Supercars Race 1)
Sunday 20 June 2010
1:30pm – 5:00pm in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane (V8 Supercars Race 2)
3:15pm – 5:30pm in Adelaide (V8 Supercars Race 2)
11:30am – 3:00pm in Perth (V8 Supercars Race 2)
Sunday 20 June 2010 (Replay on Fox Sports 3)
11:00pm – 12:30am (V8 Supercars Race 11 Highlights)
Monday 21 June 2010 (Replay on Fox Sports 1)
11:30am – 2:00pm (V8 Supercars Race 12 Highlights)
