Disapointing 16th-Place Result For Keselowski
October 12, 2014
THE RACE
Bank of America 500
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Saturday, October 11
THE RESULTS
The No. 2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford Fusion
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Starting Position: 17
Finish Position: 16
Driver's Points Position: 10
THE RACE REVIEW
· Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford team started Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race from the 17th position based on Thursday evening’s qualification session. The effort marked just the sixth time that the team has qualified outside of the top 10 in 31 attempts this season.
· After the green flag flew to start the action, Keselowski dropped back a few positions over the opening laps as the Detroit Genuine Parts Ford was handling too free in the corners and lacked rear grip. When the NASCAR-mandated competition caution flag was displayed at lap 25, Keselowski was scored 16th.
· At lap 27, the team made its first pit stop of the night. Tire pressure and chassis adjustments were made to improve the handling of No. 2 Ford Fusion.
· When the racing resumed at lap 30, Keselowski was running 15th in the order. The adjustments made an immediate impact on the Detroit Genuine Parts Ford as Keselowski broke into the top 10 at lap 37. He ran among the leaders through the subsequent stint and went on to lead a couple laps by virtue of staying on the racing surface longer than the other lead pack cars.
· The Team Penske crew continued to work on the car during the next pit stop and once again the adjustments were beneficial. At lap 105 Keselowski broke into the top five for the first time of the race and then by lap 120 he pierced the top three.
· The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion ran in the top five through the next pit cycle before slipping back into the top 10 as the handling of the Detroit Genuine Parts Ford became increasingly looser through the corners as the race progressed.
· A key point of Keselowski’s evening came at lap 266 when a caution flag flew while he was running in fourth place. He elected to stay on the racing surface while the lead pack pitted. The move gave him the race lead for the second time of the evening.
· On the ensuing restart the Detroit Genuine Parts Ford and the No. 20 car driven by Matt Kenseth made contact, which resulted in damage to the right rear of the No. 2 machine. The resulting damage was not critical, but it did have an adverse effect on the car’s handling.
· At lap 297 the No. 2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford pitted out of sequence to make adjustments as a result of the damage to the right rear of the car and subsequently lost a lap to the race leaders. The team was able to stay out on track long enough to get their lap back as the leaders all had to pit with the laps winding down.
· Keselowski elected to remain on track during the last restart of the night while running sixth. During the green-white-checkered flag finish, he got caught in traffic and ultimately fell back to finish a disappointing 16th place.
· After the race, Keselowski and Kenseth were involved in an altercation away from the track as a result of the on-track incidents.
· The less-than-ideal outcome resulted in Keselowski remaining 10th in the Chase standings with just one race remaining in the Contender Round.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
BRAD KESELOWSKI, NO. 2 DETROIT GENUINE PARTS FORD
YOU HAD AN UP AND DOWN RACE AND THEN A DUST UP AFTER THE CHECKERED FLAG, WHAT HAPPENED?
“First off, the Detroit Genuine Parts Ford was good today. I thought we were gonna have a fourth- or fifth-place run and just didn’t catch a break in so many different ways, but I’m really proud of everyone at Team Penske. Through the whole sequence of events – I think the 20 car got in back of me on one of the restarts – it was just a racing deal and I wasn’t mad at him. But when the last yellow (flag) came out he got the wave around and when he came by he swung at my car and tore the whole right front off of it. When we restarted fifth with no right front on it, we fell all the way back to 16th and it ruined our day. That gave us a big Chase hurt, which is unfortunate, and then for some reason after the race the 11 (car) stopped in front of me and tried to pick a fight. I don’t know what that was all about.”