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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Report

Track:  Dover International Speedway

Race:   AAA 400

Date:   October 4, 2015

No. 2 Wurth Ford Fusion – Brad Keselowski

Start: 8th

Finish: 16th

Status: Running

Laps Completed: 400/400

Laps Led: 0

Points Position (behind leader):  8th (-37)

Recap: Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Wurth Ford Fusion team started eighth, finished 16th and advanced to the Contender Round of The Chase for the Sprint Cup on Sunday afternoon at Dover International Speedway. Keselowski and company started eighth based on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings after heavy rains cancelled qualifying on Friday.  As the race began, the No. 2 Wurth machine began to fall back as it was loose on entry and lacked turn in the center. Crew chief Paul Wolfe and crew adjusted on the ill-handling machine all afternoon, yet the lack of turn persisted throughout the race. The No. 2 Ford ran in the top-20 for the entirety of the event, going down one lap to the leaders at lap 183 and then receiving the “free pass” at lap 311 to get back on the lead lap. Over the closing laps, Keselowski gave it his best to bring the Wurth Ford home 16^th. The team’s tenacity was rewarded with the No. 2 Wurth Ford advancing to the Contender Round of the Chase.

Quote:  “We survived kind of ugly today, but I’d rather survive ugly than not survive pretty.  We’ll take it and move on and realize that everything we’ve done from this point in the season doesn’t really mean anything.  Everything is back to scratch and that’s probably a good thing for us this year.” 

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion – Joey Logano

Start:  4th

Finish: 10th

Status: Running

Laps Completed:  400/400

Laps Led:  0

Points Position (behind leader): 2nd (-14)

Recap:  Joey Logano struggled with the handling of his No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion on Sunday afternoon at Dover International Speedway, coming home with a 10^th-place finish in the AAA 400 and safely transferring into the second round of the Chase of the Sprint Cup. With heavy rains all weekend long, qualifying was rained out and the series started by points, putting Logano fourth on the grid for Sunday’s 400-lap race.  With just two abbreviated practices on Saturday, Logano and crew chief Todd Gordon didn’t know exactly what the handling of the Shell-Pennzoil Ford would be like when the green-flag flew.  As the race got going, Logano settled into the top-five but fought a loose car that lacked drive off the corner all day long.  Despite a number of changes by Gordon, Logano’s Ford Fusion didn’t improve much while the other cars around him were able to get a little better.  However, Logano was able to stay solidly inside the top-five most of the afternoon.  The Shell-Pennzoil pit crew did a great job, constantly gaining spots on pit road.  On the final green-flag run of the day, Logano’s car got really tight and the 25-year-old slipped from fifth to 10^th as the race drew to a close.  Despite the disappointing finish, Logano easily transferred onto the second round of the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup, which will begin next weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Quote:  “Our execution was perfect today.  We had some really good pit stops and then started on the outside and was able to really run better than what our car was.  The last two restarts I started on the bottom and got my butt handed to me, so the circumstance was it was really hard to pass. The cool temperatures probably aren’t good for this race track, but we get to reset now for this next round.  We want to be faster and we’ve got to be faster than that to win this thing.”