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THE RACE

The Toyota Care 250 at Richmond International Raceway (.75-mile, D-shaped oval, Richmond, Va.)

THE RESULTS

The No. 22 Discount Tire/SKF Ford Mustang

Start Position: 1
Finish Position: 1
Status: Running
Current Owner Points Position: 6

THE RACE REVIEW   

· Keselowski began the race from the pole position – the 14th of his NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) career – as he toured the oval in 21.317 seconds during the Friday afternoon time trials at Richmond International Raceway (RIR).

· Throughout most of the race, Keselowski was forced to deal with a handling condition that was slightly loose for his liking. However, he was able to keep his Discount Tire/SKF Ford Mustang inside the top five.

· Following a late-race pit stop for four tires and an air pressure adjustment, the car came to life for the former series champion.

· Keselowski was able to make his way around the No. 54 of Kyle Busch on the last restart of the race at lap 239 to retake the lead and cruise to his first victory of the 2013 season.

· The victory is the 21st of Keselowski’s NNS career. He is now tied for the 10th spot on the all-time NNS wins list with Dale Earnhardt, Harry Gant and Tommy Ellis.

· This is Keselowski’s second career series victory at RIR, the fourth track where he has multiple wins.

· Keselowski now has 16 NNS wins since making the move to Penske Racing for the start of the 2010 season, in which he won the series championship.
 

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

HOW GRATIFYING IS THIS WIN?

“It’s very gratifying. We’ve had a lot of seconds this year, whether it’s here in the Nationwide and we’ve been really close on the Cup side and just haven’t been able to get that win. Like I said, we’ve struggled here at Richmond too in both the Cup and the Nationwide cars, so it’s great to get that turned around and finally get to Victory Lane in a Ford. I’m just really proud of my guys and Discount Tire and SKF and everybody that makes this program possible, but what’s really important are these guys here. People ask me all the time why I’m running Nationwide and all those things and, don’t get me wrong, I love driving these cars, but it’s about these guys here and providing opportunities for them.” 

HOW WAS THE RACING WITH KEVIN AND KYLE?

“I thought it was pretty darn good. I was grinning the whole time. I had fun and Kyle raced me really well, and so did Kevin.  I think this is what racing is supposed to be like – side-by-side and just little touches, but not big ones.  It was a great race all the way around here at Richmond and this is a great track.”