Keselowski Crosses the Line in 12th Place at Michigan
August 19, 2013
THE RACE
Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway (two-mile oval, Brooklyn, MI)
Sunday, August 18, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Driven By Brad Keselowski
Start Position: 9
Finish Position: 12
Status: Running
Current Driver's Points Position: 8
THE RACE REVIEW
· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion team began Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) from the ninth position.
· As the race began, Keselowski quickly made his way into the top five by lap 7 as his Miller Lite Ford ran well, especially while entering and exiting the turns.
· Keselowski maintained a position inside the top-three cars through the first half of the race.
· After the third pit stop of the day, Keselowski radioed that the car’s handling was too loose and he couldn’t properly arc the corner like he needed. As he entered pit road under a lap 135 caution period, crew chief Paul Wolfe called for a two-tire stop with an air pressure adjustment to alleviate the handling problem.
· Keselowski grabbed the race lead after staying out on track during a lap 157 caution period. He led 16 laps before surrendering the lead on lap 174 for another quick two-tire pit stop and a precious few gallons of fuel.
· After he restarted from the 17th position, Keselowski was able to race his way back up to 12th before crossing the finish line in the race won by his Penske Racing teammate, Joey Logano.
· In all, Keselowski led twice on the day for 17 laps.
· The finish marked Keselowski’s fifth top-12 result in the last nine races and it equaled his 12th-place finish at his home track of Michigan back in June.
· In his last five races at MIS, Keselowski hasn’t finished lower than 13th place.
· With the finish, Keselowski remains eighth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings with three races remaining until the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
BRAD KESELOWSKI
WAS THERE ANY THOUGHT ON TRYING TO STRETCH YOUR FUEL AT THE END OF THE RACE?
“Not really. We would have needed another caution (flag) to come out and that didn’t happen. It’s really unfortunate when you work to put yourself in position to capitalize on your strategy and the yellow flags don’t fall your way. That can’t keep going that way. It’s like Blackjack, you aren’t going to keep turning 15 or 16 on every hand. Eventually you are going to turn a good hand. We just didn’t catch it today.”
CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT IT MEANS TO SEE JOEY LOGANO GET THE WIN?
“It makes the day much easier to swallow. Obviously, I wanted Joey as my teammate here at Penske Racing. I envisioned us both contending for wins on a regular basis. I think we are right there. I really feel we can win any of the next three races before the Chase.”
Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway (two-mile oval, Brooklyn, MI)
Sunday, August 18, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Driven By Brad Keselowski
Start Position: 9
Finish Position: 12
Status: Running
Current Driver's Points Position: 8
THE RACE REVIEW
· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion team began Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) from the ninth position.
· As the race began, Keselowski quickly made his way into the top five by lap 7 as his Miller Lite Ford ran well, especially while entering and exiting the turns.
· Keselowski maintained a position inside the top-three cars through the first half of the race.
· After the third pit stop of the day, Keselowski radioed that the car’s handling was too loose and he couldn’t properly arc the corner like he needed. As he entered pit road under a lap 135 caution period, crew chief Paul Wolfe called for a two-tire stop with an air pressure adjustment to alleviate the handling problem.
· Keselowski grabbed the race lead after staying out on track during a lap 157 caution period. He led 16 laps before surrendering the lead on lap 174 for another quick two-tire pit stop and a precious few gallons of fuel.
· After he restarted from the 17th position, Keselowski was able to race his way back up to 12th before crossing the finish line in the race won by his Penske Racing teammate, Joey Logano.
· In all, Keselowski led twice on the day for 17 laps.
· The finish marked Keselowski’s fifth top-12 result in the last nine races and it equaled his 12th-place finish at his home track of Michigan back in June.
· In his last five races at MIS, Keselowski hasn’t finished lower than 13th place.
· With the finish, Keselowski remains eighth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings with three races remaining until the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
BRAD KESELOWSKI
WAS THERE ANY THOUGHT ON TRYING TO STRETCH YOUR FUEL AT THE END OF THE RACE?
“Not really. We would have needed another caution (flag) to come out and that didn’t happen. It’s really unfortunate when you work to put yourself in position to capitalize on your strategy and the yellow flags don’t fall your way. That can’t keep going that way. It’s like Blackjack, you aren’t going to keep turning 15 or 16 on every hand. Eventually you are going to turn a good hand. We just didn’t catch it today.”
CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT IT MEANS TO SEE JOEY LOGANO GET THE WIN?
“It makes the day much easier to swallow. Obviously, I wanted Joey as my teammate here at Penske Racing. I envisioned us both contending for wins on a regular basis. I think we are right there. I really feel we can win any of the next three races before the Chase.”