Keselowski Battles His Way to a Fourth-Place Finish
October 28, 2013
THE RACE
Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway (.526-mile oval, Ridgeway, Va.)
Sunday, October 27, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford
Driven By: Brad Keselowski
Starting Position: 11
Finish Position: 4
Status: Running
Driver's Points Position: 15
THE RACE REVIEW
· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion team started the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 from the 11th position on Sunday afternoon.
· The reigning series champion worked his way inside the top 10 early in the event, but eventually lost several positions as his Miller Lite machine was not turning well just past the center of the corners at Martinsville Speedway.
· Following a lap 88 caution period, Keselowski restarted the race from the 12th position after good pit work by the No. 2 crew. Unfortunately, Keselowski got caught in the outside line and was forced back to the 19th position before he was able to slot back into the lower groove.
· As crew chief Paul Wolfe continued to make a myriad of adjustments to help the handling of the No. 2 Ford, Keselowski began to slowly make his way through the field while taking care of his equipment on the notoriously tough surface.
· By lap 210, Keselowski had re-entered the top 15 despite only slight improvement in the late center-handling condition of the Miller Lite Ford. However, following track bar and air pressure adjustments under a yellow-flag pit stop at lap 286, the “Blue Deuce” came to life.
· Despite a rash of cautions during the second half of the race, Keselowski was able to enter and maintain a spot inside the top five in the running order. He eventually worked his way up to the second position at lap 375 in his best run of the race.
· Over the final laps of the race, Keselowski continued to make a strong run at the grandfather clock trophy that is given to every Martinsville winner, but he did not have the necessary speed to make it to Victory Lane. However, his fourth-place finish marked his career-best result at Martinsville.
· With the finish, Keselowski maintained his 15th-place position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
BRAD KESELOWSKI
IT WAS A CAREER-BEST MARTINSVILLE FINISH FOR YOU TODAY. ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THAT?
“It was a decent day. It seems like every time we come to Martinsville with the Miller Lite Ford Fusion we run right in that fourth, fifth, sixth range and I was just trying to break out and get to victory lane, but came up a bit short today. It was a solid effort. We were quite a ways off at the start of the race and Paul Wolfe and everybody on the 2 crew dialed us in a little better and got some decent track position there at the end when it counted. The last run was by far the most competitive we were and had probably about a fourth- or fifth-place car and that’s where we finished at the end, so it was a decent day. I guess it’s a better showing than what we’ve had here in the past, but I’m still hungry for a grandfather clock (trophy). I want to win and we just need a little bit more to be able to pull that off.”
HOW INTENSE IS THE RACING AT MARTINSVILLE?
“It’s a short track and by definition there’s not a lot of room to race. With 43 cars here there are a lot of cars on top of each other and eventually you’re going to make contact and wreck each other and make someone angry. I don’t think I made anybody angry today and we had a decent showing, so I guess we’ll move on.”
Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway (.526-mile oval, Ridgeway, Va.)
Sunday, October 27, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford
Driven By: Brad Keselowski
Starting Position: 11
Finish Position: 4
Status: Running
Driver's Points Position: 15
THE RACE REVIEW
· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion team started the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 from the 11th position on Sunday afternoon.
· The reigning series champion worked his way inside the top 10 early in the event, but eventually lost several positions as his Miller Lite machine was not turning well just past the center of the corners at Martinsville Speedway.
· Following a lap 88 caution period, Keselowski restarted the race from the 12th position after good pit work by the No. 2 crew. Unfortunately, Keselowski got caught in the outside line and was forced back to the 19th position before he was able to slot back into the lower groove.
· As crew chief Paul Wolfe continued to make a myriad of adjustments to help the handling of the No. 2 Ford, Keselowski began to slowly make his way through the field while taking care of his equipment on the notoriously tough surface.
· By lap 210, Keselowski had re-entered the top 15 despite only slight improvement in the late center-handling condition of the Miller Lite Ford. However, following track bar and air pressure adjustments under a yellow-flag pit stop at lap 286, the “Blue Deuce” came to life.
· Despite a rash of cautions during the second half of the race, Keselowski was able to enter and maintain a spot inside the top five in the running order. He eventually worked his way up to the second position at lap 375 in his best run of the race.
· Over the final laps of the race, Keselowski continued to make a strong run at the grandfather clock trophy that is given to every Martinsville winner, but he did not have the necessary speed to make it to Victory Lane. However, his fourth-place finish marked his career-best result at Martinsville.
· With the finish, Keselowski maintained his 15th-place position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
BRAD KESELOWSKI
IT WAS A CAREER-BEST MARTINSVILLE FINISH FOR YOU TODAY. ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THAT?
“It was a decent day. It seems like every time we come to Martinsville with the Miller Lite Ford Fusion we run right in that fourth, fifth, sixth range and I was just trying to break out and get to victory lane, but came up a bit short today. It was a solid effort. We were quite a ways off at the start of the race and Paul Wolfe and everybody on the 2 crew dialed us in a little better and got some decent track position there at the end when it counted. The last run was by far the most competitive we were and had probably about a fourth- or fifth-place car and that’s where we finished at the end, so it was a decent day. I guess it’s a better showing than what we’ve had here in the past, but I’m still hungry for a grandfather clock (trophy). I want to win and we just need a little bit more to be able to pull that off.”
HOW INTENSE IS THE RACING AT MARTINSVILLE?
“It’s a short track and by definition there’s not a lot of room to race. With 43 cars here there are a lot of cars on top of each other and eventually you’re going to make contact and wreck each other and make someone angry. I don’t think I made anybody angry today and we had a decent showing, so I guess we’ll move on.”