Keselowski Scores Second-Place Finish at Texas
April 8, 2011
Photo courtesy of Autostock
FORT WORTH, Tex. (April 8, 2011) – Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS), finished second in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) on Friday evening. Keselowski hounded race eventual race winner, Carl Edwards, throughout the second half of the race before falling just short of victory. The finish represented a season-best result for Keselowski, the reigning NNS champion.
Keselowski started the race from the second position after posting a lap of 30.211 seconds, or 178.743 miles per hour, during the Friday morning qualifying session. As the race began, Keselowski reported to crew chief Todd Gordon that he was happy with the balance of the Discount Tire machine. However, as the run progressed, the car began to develop a severe tight-handling condition in the center of the TMS corners. Not wanting to risk a right-front tire failure, Gordon brought Keselowski down pit road earlier than he anticipated for fuel, four fresh tires and an air pressure adjustment. As other competitors began to make their green-flag pit stops, Keselowski was able to work his way back to the third position when pit stops cycled through.
The air pressure adjustment had a positive effect on the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger as Keselowski was able to maintain his position among the top-three cars. As the handling condition once again moved to the tight side, Gordon called for another air pressure adjustment during a yellow-flag pit stop on lap 70. From that point forward, the Discount Tire Dodge remained one of the fastest cars on the racetrack.
On a lap 94 restart, Keselowski was able to drive to the inside of Edwards to take his first lead of the race. Once at the front of the field, the Penske Racing driver was able to turn laps that were two-tenths-of-a-second faster than the rest of the field. As the handling condition began to fall off once again, Keselowski slipped back to the second spot, but he kept the leader squarely in his sights.
As the race neared completion, Keselowski radioed that the track had loosened up and he felt he needed an adjustment to the left rear wedge so that he could challenge for the lead one more time. Under a green-flag stop on lap 170, Gordon and the team obliged their driver and Keselowski set out to pick up his first win of the season. Though he was unable to make the pass on Edwards, Keselowski still brought home his best finish of the 2011 NNS season.
Following Friday's result, Keselowski and the Discount Tire Dodge Challenger team sit 13th in the Nationwide Series owner point standings.
"I thought that we were really close today," said Keselowski. "It was a good battle at the end. Carl had about six- or seven-lap newer tires and more importantly he had the clean air and the ability to put his car where he wanted to and he did a good job with that. I felt like I could almost get him and then I'd lose the nose with an aero push. That's just racing. I needed the track to widen up just a little bit more and maybe we could have moved around. I think we made some pretty big strides with our Nationwide program this weekend. I saw a little bit of it a couple weeks ago in California. I felt like if we could have beaten (Edwards) off of pit road, we might have been able to hold him off with clean air. Who knows; it was a good race."
Keselowski and the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge team will move to Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, April 16, for the Aaron's 312. Live coverage will begin at 3:00 pm EST on ESPN2. The race will also be heard on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128
Keselowski started the race from the second position after posting a lap of 30.211 seconds, or 178.743 miles per hour, during the Friday morning qualifying session. As the race began, Keselowski reported to crew chief Todd Gordon that he was happy with the balance of the Discount Tire machine. However, as the run progressed, the car began to develop a severe tight-handling condition in the center of the TMS corners. Not wanting to risk a right-front tire failure, Gordon brought Keselowski down pit road earlier than he anticipated for fuel, four fresh tires and an air pressure adjustment. As other competitors began to make their green-flag pit stops, Keselowski was able to work his way back to the third position when pit stops cycled through.
The air pressure adjustment had a positive effect on the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger as Keselowski was able to maintain his position among the top-three cars. As the handling condition once again moved to the tight side, Gordon called for another air pressure adjustment during a yellow-flag pit stop on lap 70. From that point forward, the Discount Tire Dodge remained one of the fastest cars on the racetrack.
On a lap 94 restart, Keselowski was able to drive to the inside of Edwards to take his first lead of the race. Once at the front of the field, the Penske Racing driver was able to turn laps that were two-tenths-of-a-second faster than the rest of the field. As the handling condition began to fall off once again, Keselowski slipped back to the second spot, but he kept the leader squarely in his sights.
As the race neared completion, Keselowski radioed that the track had loosened up and he felt he needed an adjustment to the left rear wedge so that he could challenge for the lead one more time. Under a green-flag stop on lap 170, Gordon and the team obliged their driver and Keselowski set out to pick up his first win of the season. Though he was unable to make the pass on Edwards, Keselowski still brought home his best finish of the 2011 NNS season.
Following Friday's result, Keselowski and the Discount Tire Dodge Challenger team sit 13th in the Nationwide Series owner point standings.
"I thought that we were really close today," said Keselowski. "It was a good battle at the end. Carl had about six- or seven-lap newer tires and more importantly he had the clean air and the ability to put his car where he wanted to and he did a good job with that. I felt like I could almost get him and then I'd lose the nose with an aero push. That's just racing. I needed the track to widen up just a little bit more and maybe we could have moved around. I think we made some pretty big strides with our Nationwide program this weekend. I saw a little bit of it a couple weeks ago in California. I felt like if we could have beaten (Edwards) off of pit road, we might have been able to hold him off with clean air. Who knows; it was a good race."
Keselowski and the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge team will move to Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, April 16, for the Aaron's 312. Live coverage will begin at 3:00 pm EST on ESPN2. The race will also be heard on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128