News

AVONDALE, Ariz. (November 14, 2010 ) – Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 12 Penske Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Cup Series, finished 42nd in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) on Sunday afternoon. Keselowski displayed one of the fastest cars on the track before he suffered a blown right front tire on lap 59 that resulted in heavy contact with the outside wall. The Penske Dodge crew attempted to make the necessary repairs to get Keselowski back on track but the damage to the No. 12 car was just too severe.

Keselowski started the race from the 30th position after a lap of 26.811 seconds, or 134.273 miles per hour, during Friday’s time trials. As the race began, Keselowski quickly began to show that he had a car that could contend for a top finish. As the car’s tires began to wear and the first fuel run of the day came close to an end, Keselowski started posting the fastest lap times on the track. However, while attempting to race his way inside the top-20, the right front tire on the Penske Dodge gave way while entering the first turn. Keselowski made hard contact with the outside wall, which effectively brought a premature end to his day.

Following Sunday’s result, Keselowski and the Penske Dodge Charger team remain 25th in both the driver and owner Cup Series point standings.

Penske Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. finished in ninth and 32nd place, respectively, in the Kobalt Tools 500.

“Just a tough deal for this Penske Dodge team today,” said Keselowski. “This was a brand new car that the guys built and I hate to see us get into the wall like that so early in the race. We felt that we had a really solid race car heading into today. Obviously, it didn’t go the way that we wanted.”

The No. 12 team will head to Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend for the Ford 400 season finale event. The race will be seen live on Sunday, November 21 on ESPN, beginning at 1 p.m. EST. The event will also be heard live on the Motor Racing Network, as well as Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128.

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Brad Keselowski Kobalt Tools 500 Race Statistics
Start: 30
Finish: 42
Laps: 58/312
Laps Led: 0
Status: Running
Points Position: 25