Keselowski Finishes Third in Ford EcoBoost 400
November 17, 2014
THE RACE
Ford EcoBoost 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sunday, November 16, 2014
THE RESULTS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Starting Position: 4
Finish Position: 3
Driver's Points Position:5
THE RACE REVIEW
· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team started Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway from the outside of the second row in the fourth position.
· As the green flag started the action, Keselowski slipped back a couple of positions as his Ford Fusion lacked turn through the center of the corners and drive coming off the turns as well.
· Crew chief Paul Wolfe and the No. 2 Miller Lite team made adjustments to their Ford Fusion over the course of the race to keep up with changing track conditions as it turned from day to night.
· By the 100 lap mark of the race, Keselowski, the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, was running 10th. He dropped as low as 23rd after he was caught on pit lane when an ill-timed yellow flag was displayed.
· Through the middle of the race, the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion began to pick up pace as the sun set and temperatures dropped in Homestead. At lap 200, the Rochester Hills, Mich., driver was scored in fourth place.
· Keselowski ran inside the top four for much of the final stages of the race. He advanced as high as second at lap 247, but a series of late-race cautions saw him get shuffled back as far as 10th in the running order.
· Keselowski fought his way back up to third as the checkered flag flew to end the 2014 season. The solid effort resulted in his single-season, career-best 17th top-five finish.
· Completing a memorable season, Keselowski finished fifth in the final championship standings and the No. 2 Ford team posted a series-high six victories to go along with five pole positions.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD
DID YOU FEEL THAT WAS A PRETTY SOLID RESULT TO END THE SEASON?
“It was a good night. To have another sound finish and bring home the white deuce with a third is not bad. We certainly wanted to be able to win, and (series champion and Sunday race winner) Kevin (Harvick) made a great move on that next-to-last restart and got through traffic and by us for the lead. That was pretty cool to see actually. It was a solid season for everyone here at Team Penske. We had six wins, and I think 17 top fives, the most top fives and wins in the series, and that is a lot to be proud of. It was a decent night. Not exceptional but a pretty good night. We ended up third with some ups and downs and got caught on pit road under a yellow. The team did a great job recovering from that. It was a solid to finish to what has been a great year for us.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE NEW CHASE FORMAT NOW THAT THE SEASON IS OVER?
“The fastest car all season won the championship. I think that is right. The most consistent car was probably Jeff. He finished sixth in points. We had the most wins and finished fifth. You can argue every case for a championship scenario but the reality is that we all knew what it took to win going in, and Kevin and his team did it.”