Keselowski Finishes 21st at Sonoma Raceway
June 24, 2013
THE RACE
The Toyota-Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (10-turn, 1.99-mile road course, Sonoma, Calif.) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Sunday, June 23, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Start Position: 18
Finish Position: 21
Status: Running
Current Driver's Points Position: 9
THE RACE REVIEW
· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team started the race from the 18th position on Sunday following a short rain shower that briefly delayed the green flag.
· From the first lap it was evident that Keselowski had a very fast Miller Lite Ford Fusion through certain parts of the Sonoma road course but the car struggled with forward bite in other parts of the track.
· After Keselowski brought his car down pit road for service on lap 24, a caution flag was displayed for another small rain shower. As other competitors made their pit stops, Keselowski remained on the track to restart in the 10th position at lap 31.
· Keselowski assumed the race lead for the only time at lap 35. He held the top spot for seven laps before settling back in the top five.
· Crew chief Paul Wolfe called his driver down pit road for the final time on lap 69. After restarting the race in the 25th position, Keselowski was not able to climb back towards the front of the field before taking the checkered flag.
· With his 21st-place finish, Keselowski remains ninth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
IT SEEMED LIKE YOU WERE PRIMED FOR A GOOD FINISH EARLY. WHAT HAPPENED LATE IN THE RACE?
“Honestly we just didn’t have a lot of speed in the car all weekend. (Crew chief) Paul (Wolfe), as he normally does, made some great strategy calls in the middle of the race to get us some track position. The Miller Lite Ford was an absolute rocket ship through the ‘esses,’ but marginal at best in the other corners. Turn 7 was a real problem spot for us. We just didn’t have it today.”
WILL KENTUCKY BE A GOOD TRACK FOR YOU?
“Absolutely it is the perfect track for us right now. I can’t wait to get to Kentucky next weekend. We’ve been very competitive there in the first two Cup races. It’s a track that really suits me because it is so rough and I tend to do well on those. We definitely need a spark to get us going. I like the tracks we have coming up, but Kentucky is a great one for us to breakthrough with a win.”
The Toyota-Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway (10-turn, 1.99-mile road course, Sonoma, Calif.) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Sunday, June 23, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Start Position: 18
Finish Position: 21
Status: Running
Current Driver's Points Position: 9
THE RACE REVIEW
· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team started the race from the 18th position on Sunday following a short rain shower that briefly delayed the green flag.
· From the first lap it was evident that Keselowski had a very fast Miller Lite Ford Fusion through certain parts of the Sonoma road course but the car struggled with forward bite in other parts of the track.
· After Keselowski brought his car down pit road for service on lap 24, a caution flag was displayed for another small rain shower. As other competitors made their pit stops, Keselowski remained on the track to restart in the 10th position at lap 31.
· Keselowski assumed the race lead for the only time at lap 35. He held the top spot for seven laps before settling back in the top five.
· Crew chief Paul Wolfe called his driver down pit road for the final time on lap 69. After restarting the race in the 25th position, Keselowski was not able to climb back towards the front of the field before taking the checkered flag.
· With his 21st-place finish, Keselowski remains ninth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
IT SEEMED LIKE YOU WERE PRIMED FOR A GOOD FINISH EARLY. WHAT HAPPENED LATE IN THE RACE?
“Honestly we just didn’t have a lot of speed in the car all weekend. (Crew chief) Paul (Wolfe), as he normally does, made some great strategy calls in the middle of the race to get us some track position. The Miller Lite Ford was an absolute rocket ship through the ‘esses,’ but marginal at best in the other corners. Turn 7 was a real problem spot for us. We just didn’t have it today.”
WILL KENTUCKY BE A GOOD TRACK FOR YOU?
“Absolutely it is the perfect track for us right now. I can’t wait to get to Kentucky next weekend. We’ve been very competitive there in the first two Cup races. It’s a track that really suits me because it is so rough and I tend to do well on those. We definitely need a spark to get us going. I like the tracks we have coming up, but Kentucky is a great one for us to breakthrough with a win.”