News

Track:  Texas Motor Speedway
Race:   O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge
Date:   November 7, 2015

No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Start: 2nd
Finish: 1st  (34th-career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory)
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 200/200
Laps Led:  62
Owners' Points Position (ahead of second): 1st (+98) (cliched 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series Owners' Championship)
 
Recap: Brad Keselowski and the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford team led early, ran in the top-five all day and regained the lead the closing laps of the Saturday afternoon's O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, taking the victory at Texas Motor Speedway and clinching the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series Owners' Championship in the process. The Discount Tire Ford Mustang started second after qualifying was canceled and the grid was set by practice speeds due to overnight rains and persistent "weepers" on the racing surface.  When the race finally went green, Keselowski led the opening laps but  fell back to fourth as crew chief Greg Erwin told Keselowski to run conservatively to make it to the lap-25 competition caution, where the team could get a read on tire wear. The Discount Tire pit crew provided its driver with a stellar performance all afternoon while Erwin adjusted on the Ford Mustang to keep up with changing track conditions.  Despite not leading a lot of laps in the mid-portion of the race, Keselowski spent most of the race in the top-four. A caution on lap 176 set up the final pit stop of the afternoon with the No. 22 machine scored second on the ensuing restart. Over the closing laps, Keselowski battled to keep the No. 88 of Kevin Harvick behind him while simultaneously clawing his way around race leader Austin Dillon. On lap 189, Keselowski took the lead and went on to claim his second NXS victory of the year, the 34th of his career and the seventh for the No. 22 team. In the process, the team also clinched its third-consecutive NASCAR XFINITY Series Owners' Championship with still two races remaining this season.

Quote:  "I am really proud of the effort, not just today, but all season long to get my team owner Roger Penske another XFINITY Series owners' championship. That is a big step. I was thinking about it when I came to Team Penske in 2010 we didn't have any (Championships), and now we have four XFINITY championships. That is a huge accomplishment and a lot to be proud of. The race today, breaking that down it was one of those races that seemed like it could really fall any way. The 42 (Kyle Larson) was fast and the 88 (Harvick) was fast. I am sure had the 54 (Kyle Busch) not had trouble he would have been tough to beat. And of course, Austin Dillon ran away with it at points and got the least in the last sequence, and I knew he was going to be tough to beat. It wasn't a gimme race by any stretch of the imagination. We had to earn it, and we did just that with a strong, consistent day."