News

THE RACE

Hollywood Casino 400
Kansas Speedway
Sunday, October 5, 2014

THE RESULTS

The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Driver:  Brad Keselowski
Starting Position: 6
Finish Position: 36
Driver's Points Position: 10
 

THE RACE REVIEW

· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team started Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Kansas Speedway from the outside of row three in the sixth position, based on the results of the Friday afternoon qualifying session.

· Over the opening laps, Keselowski moved up to fourth place by lap 11. He then slipped back to the sixth position at lap 22 as his Ford Fusion began to develop a loose-handling condition entering the corners while running in traffic.

· At lap 48 Keselowski was scored in first place as he stayed on the racing surface longer than the other lead-lap cars. He then made a green flag pit stop at lap 49. While on his out lap following the stop, Keselowski got caught between lapped traffic and cars on new tires and he lost a few spots. At lap 52, the 2014 five-time race winner, who led the point standings over the first three races of the Chase, was scored in 12th place.

· Driving the Miller Lite Ford, Keselowski steadily moved forward over the next segment of the race and at lap 100 he was back running in the sixth position.

· He ran inside the top six through lap 159 when the right front tire of the Miller Lite Ford unfortunately blew, which resulted in Keselowski making hard contact with the wall. The 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion was able to nurse the car back to pit lane where it was determined that a trip to the garage was necessary for repairs.

· The Miller Lite crew had to cut away bent front suspension and replace the right front upper control arm, as well as replace the right side of the splitter. The significant repairs were completed in impressive time by the Team Penske crew.

· The timeliness of the repairs were especially critical as the cars of fellow Chase drivers, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., were both in the garage for repairs as well. By getting the Miller Lite Ford back on track before the other two competitors, Keselowski was able to finish ahead of them in the final race results as well as the point standings in the first race of the Contender Round of the Chase.

· With a tough 36th-place result Keselowski fell to 10th in the Chase standings with two races remaining in the Contender Round. He now trails leader, teammate and winner of Sunday’s race, Joey Logano, by 39 points.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD

WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE?

“We blew the right front tire. I am not sure why. We didn’t have an aggressive setup or anything, we just blew the tire.”

DID YOYU HAVE ANY INDICATION BEFOREIT BLEW?

“No, it was just Russian roulette and it was our turn.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT NOW TO GET A GOOD RESULT AT CHARLOTTE?

“Yeah, the easiest approach is to go to Charlotte and win. The bad side of this Chase is we took a big points lead in here and gave it all back to zero. The good side of it is that you can still win your way out of it and we have two really good tracks for us ahead. If we can just win at one of them we will be fine. Maybe if we have two really good finishes we will be fine. That is the good side.”

SO MANY OTHER CONTENDERS HAD TROUBLE TODAY, IS THERE ANY RELIEF IN THAT?

“I don’t enjoy seeing anyone have to go through what we did and it looked like there were a handful that did. I feel like the losers are the people that want to see us race 100 percent and when you try to race 100 percent you blow a tire. Those are the people that lost today.”

WHAT WAS GAINED BY GETTING BACK OUT ON TRACK AFTER THE REPAIRS?

“Three points. Hopefully we can win one of the next two races and those three points don’t matter but it could come down to one point at Talladega and if it does my guys deserve a lot of credit for getting us back out on track.”