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Solid Kentucky Weekend for Keselowski
By: Pete Pistone on July 12, 2011 | 10:06 A.M. EST
Keselowski continued his pursuit of a "Chase" berth with Saturday's top-ten finish in Kentucky. (Photo: Getty Images)
PrintEmail ShareBrad Keselowski enjoyed his weekend at Kentucky Speedway with a win in the Nationwide Series and a seventh-place finish in the inaugural Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series event.
The defending Nationwide Series champ kicked off his weekend on a high note by taking the checkered flag in Friday’s Feed the Children 300 - establishing a track record for winning average speed in the process.
Keselowski was able to stretch his final fuel load while staying ahead of a hard-charging Kevin Harvick to score his first win of the season and bring Dodge back to Victory Lane in the series for the first time in 21 races.
"I felt like we were pretty good (on) the very first run," said Keselowski, who led a race-high 132 laps. "You never know when you have a race-winning car, especially when it transfers from day into night. I certainly felt more comfortable once I got clean air, and I said something to [crew chief] Todd [Gordon] about it.
"You get that clean air and these cars are just phenomenal to drive, and mine was no exception. It was really, really fast."
Keselowski was also fast Saturday night when he took the green flag in the Quaker State 400. He started sixth in the Miller Lite Dodge and quickly worked his way toward the front. Keselowski muscled his way into the top spot on lap 142 and led a total of 79 circuits before getting shuffled back in a flurry of late-race pit stops and the final two-lap shootout that determined the outcome.
But overall, Keselowski was proud of the effort.
"I led a bunch of laps and I have to thank my team for that,” he said. “Everyone at Penske Racing has a lot to be proud of. I would have liked to have gotten a better finish from where we ended up. At the end, the restarts are just a crapshoot.
“If you get the bottom lane, you're going backwards. I kept getting in an odd position and just kept getting on the bottom lane. Every restart just kept playing against us. (It was) a great effort by this race team and that makes me proud."
Keselowski continued his climb up the Sprint Cup Series point standings and now sits 21st as the circuit heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for Sunday's LENOX Industrial Tools 301.
With one win to his credit, Keselowski needs to be inside the first twenty in the standings in order to qualify for a "Chase" spot as a Wild-card entry. He believes that is a goal his team is very capable of accomplishing and in fact, feels additional trips to Victory Lane are possible before the post-season cut-off rolls around in September.
"You will see bigger gambles is the best way to put it, and there will be bigger risk taking," Keselowski said of the strategies teams will more than likely try as the regular season winds down. "You play the odds. If there is a 20 percent chance that you will make it on fuel and an 80 percent chance that you won’t, you will take the 80 percent. But when you are desperate, you take the odds that aren’t in your favor and that’s when the sport is going to be more exciting for the fans.
"It's created another element that’s good for the sport and I’m glad that I could capitalize on it."
Keselowski is enthused by the entire Penske Racing organization's surge of success and looks forward to keeping the momentum going into the second half of the season.
“We have had fast cars," Keselowski said. "It always comes down to people and the decisions we make. When you have fast cars, you can dictate your fate, and that makes everybody look good and feel good."
By: Pete Pistone on July 12, 2011 | 10:06 A.M. EST
Keselowski continued his pursuit of a "Chase" berth with Saturday's top-ten finish in Kentucky. (Photo: Getty Images)
PrintEmail ShareBrad Keselowski enjoyed his weekend at Kentucky Speedway with a win in the Nationwide Series and a seventh-place finish in the inaugural Quaker State 400 Sprint Cup Series event.
The defending Nationwide Series champ kicked off his weekend on a high note by taking the checkered flag in Friday’s Feed the Children 300 - establishing a track record for winning average speed in the process.
Keselowski was able to stretch his final fuel load while staying ahead of a hard-charging Kevin Harvick to score his first win of the season and bring Dodge back to Victory Lane in the series for the first time in 21 races.
"I felt like we were pretty good (on) the very first run," said Keselowski, who led a race-high 132 laps. "You never know when you have a race-winning car, especially when it transfers from day into night. I certainly felt more comfortable once I got clean air, and I said something to [crew chief] Todd [Gordon] about it.
"You get that clean air and these cars are just phenomenal to drive, and mine was no exception. It was really, really fast."
Keselowski was also fast Saturday night when he took the green flag in the Quaker State 400. He started sixth in the Miller Lite Dodge and quickly worked his way toward the front. Keselowski muscled his way into the top spot on lap 142 and led a total of 79 circuits before getting shuffled back in a flurry of late-race pit stops and the final two-lap shootout that determined the outcome.
But overall, Keselowski was proud of the effort.
"I led a bunch of laps and I have to thank my team for that,” he said. “Everyone at Penske Racing has a lot to be proud of. I would have liked to have gotten a better finish from where we ended up. At the end, the restarts are just a crapshoot.
“If you get the bottom lane, you're going backwards. I kept getting in an odd position and just kept getting on the bottom lane. Every restart just kept playing against us. (It was) a great effort by this race team and that makes me proud."
Keselowski continued his climb up the Sprint Cup Series point standings and now sits 21st as the circuit heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for Sunday's LENOX Industrial Tools 301.
With one win to his credit, Keselowski needs to be inside the first twenty in the standings in order to qualify for a "Chase" spot as a Wild-card entry. He believes that is a goal his team is very capable of accomplishing and in fact, feels additional trips to Victory Lane are possible before the post-season cut-off rolls around in September.
"You will see bigger gambles is the best way to put it, and there will be bigger risk taking," Keselowski said of the strategies teams will more than likely try as the regular season winds down. "You play the odds. If there is a 20 percent chance that you will make it on fuel and an 80 percent chance that you won’t, you will take the 80 percent. But when you are desperate, you take the odds that aren’t in your favor and that’s when the sport is going to be more exciting for the fans.
"It's created another element that’s good for the sport and I’m glad that I could capitalize on it."
Keselowski is enthused by the entire Penske Racing organization's surge of success and looks forward to keeping the momentum going into the second half of the season.
“We have had fast cars," Keselowski said. "It always comes down to people and the decisions we make. When you have fast cars, you can dictate your fate, and that makes everybody look good and feel good."
