BK Goes Home Again Seeking Victory

Three top-six finishes in the last four races have Brad Keselowski sitting just inside the Top 10 cutoff with four more races remaining until the Chase for the Championship. 

But while BK is encouraged by his recent hot streak, he’ll head to his home state for the Pure Michigan 400 this weekend with one thing on his mind: parking the Blue Deuce in Victory Lane.

“I would rather have a win or two and be a wild card than finish seventh or eighth and squeak my way in without any wins,” Brad said. “The momentum of a win and the confidence it instills in yourself and the fear that it puts in your competition is more than worth it.”

Kes will attempt to create that momentum on Sunday on what he considers one of his weaker tracks in Michigan International Speedway. The track at MIS was repaved for the 2012 season, and since then BK has managed three solid finishes of 13th, second and 12th at MIS, but he’s far from content with those results.

“Michigan, no doubt, has been one of my weaker tracks, especially since the repave,” BK said. “Repaved tracks, for whatever reason, have not been our strong suit…We did get a top-five finish there last year so I know we can do it. We’re confident that we can at least get a solid finish like we did in the spring there.”

Two months ago in the Quicken Loans 400 at MIS, Brad nearly captured a Top-5 finish but ran short of fuel on the final lap, forcing him to coast to 12th place at the checkered flag. But spring races at MIS have never been BK’s strong suit, as both before and after the repave he has been better in the fall at MIS.

In last year’s Pure Michigan 400, Brad finished second to Greg Biffle one year earlier he finished the same race in third behind Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson. In addition to his successful Cup runs at Michigan, BK took consecutive Nationwide Series wins at MIS— first in 2009 and the second 2010 as an integral part of his NNS title run.

The weekend at Michigan begins on Friday with the first practice session at Noon EDT will be followed by the race’s qualifying run at 3:30 p.m. EDT, both to be televised on SPEED. The No. 2 team will back at the track early Saturday morning for practice sessions at 8:30 and 11 a.m. EDT.

Those two runs will be broadcast on the brand new FOX Sports 1, which will be in its first day of production, taking the place of SPEED.

Looking ahead to this weekend, Brad is confident that Michigan can be a vital part of his run to the 2013 Chase as well.

“I’m optimistic that we can put together a good, solid afternoon on Sunday,” BK said. “I really see no reason why we can’t maintain our position in the points, if not improve it before the Chase starts.”

Green flag for the Pure Michigan 400 at MIS will drop Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT and the race will be broadcast live on ESPN.