Keselowski Starts First, Finishes Fourth at Las Vegas
February 28, 2010
Keselowski Starts First, Finishes Fourth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (February 27, 2010) – Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Racing No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, finished fourth in the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. Keselowski picked up three spots after the final restart to grab the second-consecutive top-five finish for the new Dodge team.
Penske Racing teammates Justin Allgaier and Parker Kligerman finished seventh and 35th, respectively.
Keselowski led the field of 43 cars to the green flag by virtue of his track-record qualifying effort on Saturday morning. He toured the 1.5-mile oval in 29.122 seconds, or 185.427 miles per hour, for his first Coors Light Pole Award as a member of Penske Racing. Coupled with the NASCAR Cup Series pole captured by teammate Kurt Busch on Friday, this marked the fourth time in history that the organization has swept both NASCAR poles during a race weekend.
Rain moved into area just as the pre-race ceremonies were getting underway. As a result the start of the event was delayed for nearly two hours.
Keselowski played it safe at the start of the race to “feel” out the track after the drying process. As a result, the high line was able to get around him and he dropped back to fifth place. Once back in the pack, Keselowski radioed to crew chief Paul Wolfe that the Discount Tire Dodge was tight in traffic. Track bar and air pressure adjustments under a green flag pit stop at lap 60 proved to be too aggressive and the chassis condition became too loose.
A caution period at lap 85 gave Wolfe the right opportunity to adjust the race car to Keselowski’s liking. Another track back adjustment had the chassis set perfectly for the rest of the race. Rain once again interfered with the event, this time on lap 105 for a four-lap caution period. On lap 129, Keselowski radioed that “the car is awesome.” However, the track position game was just too much to overcome to take the checkered flag.
Keselowski and his No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger team have now climbed to the second position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings. He sits 41 points behind leader Carl Edwards.
“This was an awesome day for us,” said Keselowski. “We’re just trying to get better every week. Everyone on this Discount Tire Dodge Charger team has a lot to be proud of this weekend. There was a lot of speed in the car in qualifying and I learned a lot as a driver and have some ideas of what it’s going to take to get to the next level and win. To be finishing up front like we are right now with this new team is great.”
The No.22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger team will enjoy the two-week break in the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule before heading to Tennessee for the Scotts Turf Builder 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The race can be seen live on Saturday afternoon, March 20 on the ABC television network beginning at 2 p.m. ET. The event can also be heard live on PRN Radio, as well as Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128.
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Brad Keselowski Sam’s Town 300 Race Statistics
Start: 1
Finish: 4
Laps: 200/200
Laps Led: 1
Status: Running