News

THE RACE

The Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile speedway, Ft. Worth, Tex.)
Monday, April 7, 2014
 
THE RESULTS
 
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Starting Position: 2
Finish Position: 15
Driver's Points Position: 8

THE RACE REVIEW

· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion team qualified in the second starting position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duck Commander 500. The effort marked the fifth time this season that Keselowski has started on the front row.

· The race, scheduled to be run Sunday, was postponed due to rain and “weepers” at Texas Motor Speedway.

· The 500-mile race began under caution as the track surface was not completely dry at the designated 11:09 a.m. CT start time. During the parade laps, a jet blast from a track dryer blew under the No. 2 car and into the engine compartment which caused the hood to spring as it moved back a couple of inches.

· After a few laps, NASCAR allowed the team to bring the wounded Miller Lite Ford to the pit lane without being penalized any track position. Keselowski visited pit lane four times prior to the green flag to repair the sprung hood.

· The green flag was displayed at lap 10 with Keselowski positioned second in the running order. Over the opening laps of the race, Keselowski fell back to fifth place before returning to the top three as a competition caution flag was displayed at lap 48.

· The native of Rochester Hills, Mich., claimed the race lead at lap 77 and held that position until temporarily giving it up for a green-flag pit stop at lap 97.

· The Miller Lite Ford Fusion ran solidly in the top three for the majority of the event, scheduled for 334 laps.

· Keselowski led again for an extended period, between laps 184 and 225 and it looked as if Team Penske may secure 1-2 finish until a late-race caution was displayed.

· The lead cars all pitted during this caution period, which proved to be pivotal in the outcome for the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford. Keselowski was issued a pit road speed violation after the stop.

· The penalty resulted in the Miller Lite Ford having to drop to the back of the longest line for the race restart.

· The race, which went six laps beyond the scheduled distance, concluded with Team Penske driver Joey Logano taking the checkered flag as Keselowski came home in 15th place.

· Keselowski led three times on the afternoon in the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford for 85 laps in all.

· With the result, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team now occupy the eighth position in the Sprint Cup Series standings, positioned  41 points behind leader Jeff Gordon.
    

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD

YOU RAN A GREAT RACE BUT HAD A PIT LANE SPEEDING PENALTY LATE. HOW WAS YOUR AFTERNOON?

“First of all, congratulations to Joey and the Shell-Pennzoil/Hertz team. Joey was just awesome today. He had a great car and did a great job.  It was a very strange start, but this 2 team kept working on the car and got it fixed under that first green/yellow and got us to where we were in pretty race-able shape. We just needed a little bit more for the 22, but had a really good day going all the way until the end. That last caution was a shame. I was just trying to get a little too much on pit road and wanted to get us out front to be able to win the race and tried a little too hard.”

YOU SAID YOU WERE TRYING TO GET SOME BACK ON PIT ROAD?

  “Yeah, a normal pit road deal. We’re in it for wins. We’re not in it for finishing second. Second or 15th is the same for us, so you’ve got to go for the win.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK AT THE START? DID YOU SEE THE HOOD POP UP?  WERE YOU WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED?

“I was definitely wondering what happened. I knew it was the jet dryer that caused it, but it was one of those freak deals.”