Keselowski Finishes 26th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
June 27, 2010
During qualifying for the race on Friday, Keselowski recorded the 14th-fastest lap as he turned a time of 29.028 seconds for an average speed of 131.211 miles per hour around the Magic Mile.
Keselowski started Sunday's race strong and quickly improved his position to 10th place early on. As the race progressed, however, the car's handling began to fade on the longer runs. By lap 24, Keselowski radioed that the car was running tight in the center of the corners. By lap 30, the AAA/Penske Dodge had fallen back to the 30th position.
Crew chief Jay Guy and the No. 12 team made adjustments to the car during each pit-stop throughout the race, and Keselowski reported the changes did improve the car's performance.
As the race wore on, Keselowski tried different lines and attempted various driving techniques in an effort to find speed and consistency. Unfortunately, Keselowski was unable to drastically improve his position, despite the team's best efforts. The No. 12 car took the checkered flag in the 26th position.
The AAA/Penske Dodge pit crew did an outstanding job on pit road over the course of the event as they completed each scheduled stop in less than 14 seconds.
"We weren't super strong today with our AAA/Penske Dodge," said Keselowski. "That long run really made it tough to gain any track position. I'm proud of the way that we held on during that long run and kept digging and digging. We weren't that far off today; we just couldn't seem to hit on what we needed to make the car really good. We put in a good effort and fought all day and got the most out of it that we could. I'm proud of my guys. I wish that I could have raced up inside the top-20, we just fell short."
With Sunday's result, Keselowski fell one position to 25th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings.
Next weekend, the Cup Series heads south to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola. The race will be televised live on TNT on Saturday night, July 3 beginning at 7:30 p.m.