News

THE RACE

Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500
Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, October 26, 2014

 
THE RESULTS

The No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion
Driver:  Brad Keselowski
Starting Position: 6
Finish Position: 31
Driver's Points Position: 7

THE RACE REVIEW

· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Alliance Truck Part Ford team started Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsvillle from the sixth position based on the results of Friday afternoon’s qualifying session.

· Over the opening laps of Sunday’s 500-lap event, Keselowski held position and then fell back one spot to seventh place as he settled into the inside line.

· As the first stint advanced the No. 2 Ford was not turning well in the center of the corners and it lacked rear stability entering the turns. Keselowski eventually fell back to the 20th position as the team put together a plan to improve the handling of the Alliance Truck Parts Ford.

· The first pit stop of the day came at lap 77 and crew chief Paul Wolfe called for air pressure and chassis adjustments to address the performance of the No. 2 Ford Fusion.

· While the adjustments did result in a slight improvement to the Alliance Truck Parts machine, Keselowski reported that he still needed the car to be more stable on corner entry and exit. He drove his way up into the top 15 by lap 159.

· Keselowski was penalized for speeding as he left his pit box after a lap 162 stop. As a result of the penalty, he dropped back to the 23rd position.

· The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion went back to work and made his way into the top 10 by lap 292. He held steady among the top 10 competitors through lap 435 when something broke in the No. 2 car’s driveline. With no forward drive, the Alliance Truck Parts Ford was hit from behind by the No. 13 car driven by Casey Mears.

· Keselowski brought the No. 2 Ford to the pits just before the red flag was displayed to bring a stop to the action. When racing resumed under a yellow flag, the Team Penske crew pushed the car to the garage where they replaced the rear differential and repaired the left-rear quarter panel of the car.

· The No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford rejoined the action scored 28 laps behind the leaders as Keselowski went on to finish a disappointing 31st on Sunday.

· The tough result left Keselowski and the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts team scored seventh in the Eliminator Round Chase standings with two races remaining to earn a spot in the Championship Round.
    

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 ALLIANCE TRUCK PARTS FORD

THIS WAS A TOUGH WAY TO END THE DAY. WHAT HAPPENED?

“It’s not the day we want by any means, but the guys did a great job.  They put a gear in this car in 28 laps at Martinsville that’s pretty phenomenal, but it was just unfortunate the way the day played out.  We were doing the things we needed to do.  We were surviving.  We were going to probably have ourselves a fifth- or sixth-place day, which is certainly something we could be proud of and move forward with, but this kind of puts us in a position now where we need to win. This Chase lends itself to those moments and we’re a team that’s capable of them, so we’ll try to be as positive as we can and move forward with two more opportunities to do just that.”

DID YOU FEEL YOU WERE IN POSITION AND HAD BEEN DOING THE RIGHT THINGS THE FIRST PART OF THE RACE?  

“Yeah.  My car barely had a scratch on it and was in really good shape to probably run fifth or sixth, which would have been a very decent day for us. We didn’t quite have the speed we needed to win today and then something broke, which was unfortunate not just for us, but for the other guys that got tore up in it. It’s just one of those deals – there was nothing you could really do different.  I’m not really sure what happened.  Something in the back of the car broke and I don’t even know what yet, so it’s just one of those deals.”

IS THERE EXTRA CONFIDENCE KNOWING THIS TEAM HAS COME BACK AND WON TO ADVANCE BEFORE?

“Yeah, it’s still tough to do.  It’s not like we’re just gonna go and guarantee a win at Texas and Phoenix, but it’s also not impossible and we’ve got the team, if there is one, to pull it off.”