Team Penske NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Report - Phoenix
March 10, 2018
Track: ISM Raceway
Race: DC Solar 200
Date: March 10, 2018
No. 22 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski
Start: 2nd
Stage 1: 3rd
Stage 2: 15th
Finish: 1st (37)
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 200/200
Laps Led: 66
Owner Points Position (behind first): 2nd (-4)
Notes:
- Brad Keselowski overcame two red flag delays for rain and a speeding penalty to win the DC Solar 200 Saturday evening at ISM Raceway. The driver of the No. 22 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford Mustang gave Team Penske its first NASCAR XFINITY Series victory of the 2018 season and scored his second win at the Arizona oval. The victory was the 63rd all-time for Team Penske in NXS competition.
- Keselowski started second and took the lead for the first time on lap 11 of the 200-lap event. He and Justin Allgaier made contact racing for the lead on lap 36, but Keselowski recovered to finish third at the conclusion of Stage 1 on lap 45.
- On lap 47 the race was halted for over 90 minutes due to rain. When the race resumed under caution, Keselowski made a scheduled four-tire stop but was penalized for excessive speed entering the pit lane. He restarted 25th when the race went green on lap 52.
- Keselowski spent much of Stage 2 slicing his way through traffic. He worked his way back inside the top 10 by lap 70 and had climbed up to sixth-place when the third caution slowed the pace on lap 84, just six laps from the end of the segment. Crew chief Brian Wilson made the call to pit for four tires on lap 85 while others on the lead lap stayed on the track. On lap 87 the event was stopped once again for a rain shower but action resumed 25-minutes later with a one-lap green flag sprint to end the segment. Keselowski made a clean restart and finished 15th to end Stage 2.
- The call by Wilson paid big dividends at the beginning of Stage 3. Keselowski moved up to fifth-place for the restart on lap 96 while others on the lead lap made their scheduled pit stops. Keselowski moved up second-place by lap 101. On lap 143 he passed Allgaier for the lead and held the top spot until lap 164 when Christopher Bell briefly slipped by for the lead. Keselowski made his final stop under green on lap 168. Excellent work by the Fitzgerald team gave him the lead once the cycle of green flag stops concluded on lap 179. Keselowski wasn’t seriously challenged over the final 21 laps, crossing the finish line .530 seconds ahead of Allgaier.
- The No. 22 team moved up to second-place in the XFINITY Series Owner Points standings, four points behind the leader.
Quote:
“Brian Wilson made some great adjustments and the weather kind of came to us with what we needed for how our car was handling. It is good to see that work out for everyone at Team Penske with the Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford Mustang. It was a solid team effort. The car was really good for about 50-60 laps. Justin (Allgaier) ran a great race today and I thought he was really strong.”