News

THE RACE

Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile speedway, Las Vegas, Nev.)
Saturday, March 8, 2014

THE RESULTS

The No. 48 Discount Tire Ford
Driven By: Brad Keselowski
Starting Position: 2
Finish Position: 1
Owner's Points Position: Tied for 1st

THE RACE REVIEW
    

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

· Brad Keselowski and the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang started the event from the outside of the front row after just missing the pole in the morning qualifying session.

· It took only seven laps for Keselowski to guide his Ford Mustang to the lead, passing pole sitter Ty Dillon for the top spot.

· Early in the race, the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion reported that his Team Penske machine was a little free through the corners.

· Keselowski paced the field for majority of the early portion of the race, leading 43 of the first 50 laps.

· The veteran driver ran never fell out of the top-five, even during pit cycles.

· The No. 22 team did have late race concerns as Keselowski radioed in that he had a possible alternator failure.

· Crew chief Jeremy Bullins instructed his driver to turn off all “non-critical parasitic loads” to conserve battery power.

· Despite the fact that Keselowski continued to report that the battery voltage was slowly dropping, he was able to hold off a late-race charge from Kyle Busch to claim the victory.

· Keselowski’s first victory of the year also marks his third-consecutive top-three finish to start the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.

· The finish allowed the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford team to move into a tie for first place in the Owners’ Championship point standings with the No. 54 of Joe Gibbs Racing.
    

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 22 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG

IT HAS TAKEN YOU A WHILE, BUT YOU FINALLY WON HERE AT LAS VEGAS.

“It’s been one that we’ve missed out on over the last few years and it kind of feels a little like redemption to clear it out and get it done today. I’m very proud of the team and the effort that’s gone into the 22 cars over the last few seasons has been tremendous. They’re just consistent front-runners and it’s really a privilege to drive because you know you’re gonna have a shot at winning each and every week and that’s not lost on me – how hard that is to do to put together a team like that and a car like that. I’ve been on the other side of that before, and it’s easy to forget how lucky you are. I had a lot of fun today. The end wasn’t a lot of fun, but the rest was a lot of fun. The three-wide passes and the restarts and all that stuff, that was great racing.”

HOW DOES THIS WIN HELP YOU PREPARE FOR TOMORROW’S RACE?

“I don’t think there’s much we can take from today for tomorrow’s race. I wish it was that simple. Maybe the crew chief can, but it’s mostly just a confidence and morale booster. It’s definitely on high right now, so that’s a good thing.”