Keselowski Finishes 17th in Hollywood Casino 400
October 7, 2013
THE RACE
Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile oval, Kansas City, KC)
Sunday, October 6, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Driven By Brad Keselowski
Starting Position: 4
Finish Position: 17
Status: Running
Driver's Points Position: 15
THE RACE REVIEW
· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion team started the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway from the fourth position based on his lap during the Friday afternoon qualifying session.
· The race began under cold, cloudy conditions that immediately affected the handling of the No. 2 Ford as the grip level on the Kansas surface was low and the handling of the car began to build loose on each run.
· Fearing he had used up his right-rear tire, Keselowski came to pit lane for a short stop at lap 38 for four fresh tires, along with track bar and air pressure adjustments. Unfortunately, a caution flag was displayed before pit stops could cycle through and he was caught running a lap down to the leaders. Keselowski took the “wave around” get his lap back, but had to start at the end of the field.
· As he began to work his way back through the field, Keselowski radioed to crew chief Paul Wolfe that his car needed to be tighter at the end of the run. Wolfe continued to work on the track bar and air pressure to give his driver the feel he was looking for in the car.
· As the handling improved on the Miller Lite Ford, Keselowski continued to move through the field. He eventually took the lead at lap 175 when he and Wolfe elected to stay on the racing surface instead of coming to pit road.
· Keselowski was able to hold the top spot – despite a number cautions and race restarts – until lap 224 when he radioed that he was out of fuel.
· He headed to pit lane and upon completion of his pit stop it took several seconds for the car to re-fire, which resulted in the loss of two laps as Keselowski sat on pit road.
· Thanks to another “wave around” at a lap 228 caution and earning the “Lucky Dog” free pass during a lap 244 caution, Keselowski was able to get back to lead-lap racing on the lap 249 restart. He was able to make his way up to the 17th position before crossing the finish line.
· With the result, Keselowski remained 15th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver’s point standings.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
BRAD KESELOWSKI
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE ADVERSITY YOU BATTLED THIS WEEKEND?
“We had a lot of gremlins here this weekend. We had a decent Miller Lite Ford Fusion. The 29 and 48 (cars) were probably the class of the field. One of them won, so I guess it worked out the way it was supposed to work. You know, it was a difficult up and down weekend. Unfortunately, we ended it on a negative note with running out of fuel and not having the gas we needed to finish the race.”
WHAT DOES A RACE WITH THAT MANY CAUTIONS DO TO YOUR RHYTHM?
“Oh yeah, we couldn’t get in a rhythm out there for sure. There were so many wrecks and so many yellows that we could never really get going out there. It was just a tough day for sure. The track was just really treacherous at times. But we were still able to put ourselves in a great position with the call to stay out and take the lead. If we hadn’t run out of fuel I think we could’ve been there at the end.”
Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile oval, Kansas City, KC)
Sunday, October 6, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Driven By Brad Keselowski
Starting Position: 4
Finish Position: 17
Status: Running
Driver's Points Position: 15
THE RACE REVIEW
· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion team started the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway from the fourth position based on his lap during the Friday afternoon qualifying session.
· The race began under cold, cloudy conditions that immediately affected the handling of the No. 2 Ford as the grip level on the Kansas surface was low and the handling of the car began to build loose on each run.
· Fearing he had used up his right-rear tire, Keselowski came to pit lane for a short stop at lap 38 for four fresh tires, along with track bar and air pressure adjustments. Unfortunately, a caution flag was displayed before pit stops could cycle through and he was caught running a lap down to the leaders. Keselowski took the “wave around” get his lap back, but had to start at the end of the field.
· As he began to work his way back through the field, Keselowski radioed to crew chief Paul Wolfe that his car needed to be tighter at the end of the run. Wolfe continued to work on the track bar and air pressure to give his driver the feel he was looking for in the car.
· As the handling improved on the Miller Lite Ford, Keselowski continued to move through the field. He eventually took the lead at lap 175 when he and Wolfe elected to stay on the racing surface instead of coming to pit road.
· Keselowski was able to hold the top spot – despite a number cautions and race restarts – until lap 224 when he radioed that he was out of fuel.
· He headed to pit lane and upon completion of his pit stop it took several seconds for the car to re-fire, which resulted in the loss of two laps as Keselowski sat on pit road.
· Thanks to another “wave around” at a lap 228 caution and earning the “Lucky Dog” free pass during a lap 244 caution, Keselowski was able to get back to lead-lap racing on the lap 249 restart. He was able to make his way up to the 17th position before crossing the finish line.
· With the result, Keselowski remained 15th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver’s point standings.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
BRAD KESELOWSKI
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE ADVERSITY YOU BATTLED THIS WEEKEND?
“We had a lot of gremlins here this weekend. We had a decent Miller Lite Ford Fusion. The 29 and 48 (cars) were probably the class of the field. One of them won, so I guess it worked out the way it was supposed to work. You know, it was a difficult up and down weekend. Unfortunately, we ended it on a negative note with running out of fuel and not having the gas we needed to finish the race.”
WHAT DOES A RACE WITH THAT MANY CAUTIONS DO TO YOUR RHYTHM?
“Oh yeah, we couldn’t get in a rhythm out there for sure. There were so many wrecks and so many yellows that we could never really get going out there. It was just a tough day for sure. The track was just really treacherous at times. But we were still able to put ourselves in a great position with the call to stay out and take the lead. If we hadn’t run out of fuel I think we could’ve been there at the end.”