No. 2 Team Seeks End To Desert Drought

The 2014 Sprint Cup Series season may be less than two weeks old, but Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Penske Ford Team are already setting the tone and expectations for an incredible year.

Brad contended for a win last week in the Daytona 500, racing side-by-side with eventual winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the field approached the green-white-checkered finish before eventually settling for a solid third place finish.

But after the race, Kes couldn’t hide his disappointment and within minutes of his best finish ever at Daytona, was already talking about what he can do to improve.

“There’s always something more to do, you just got to try and figure it out,” he said.

With that statement, BK made it clear he won’t settle for less than the best in 2014.

Upon leaving Daytona, the No. 2 team quickly shifted focus to this week’s The Profit on CNBC 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, a track Kes also has yet to conquer.

Brad has come close though, with three Top-6 finishes in his last four visits, including a fourth-place finish in last year’s spring race, his best result in the desert to date. With those recent results in mind, No. 2 team Crew Chief Paul Wolfe likes the momentum the No. 2 has already gained.

“Besides being our biggest race, it is also the first race back for the teams, which gave us a clear idea of where the team is operationally,” Wolfe said. “Being in Daytona for almost two weeks gives us a chance to get our processes up and running. Phoenix ought to be good for us as we have already identified some areas where we can improve from an operations standpoint and that will serve to accentuate our competitive edge.”

Brad and crew have further cause for optimism, as the No. 2 Ford Fusion becomes the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion this weekend. The longtime Penske associate makes its debut as a Sprint Cup primary sponsor.

“It will be great to have Alliance Truck Parts with us this weekend,” BK said. “I’m confident that our Ford Fusion will be competitive and our team will be as well.”

Brad kicked the season off with a great statistical start. He arrives at PIR with a 117.1 driver rating, second only to Earnhardt Jr. in the series. He posted an average running position of third at Daytona, completed the most quality passes and led all drivers in green flag speed on Sunday. But BK deflected credit, noting that the No. 2 Ford Fusion he raced at Daytona was perhaps the finest car he’s had in his career

“My Daytona 500 race car was one of the best cars I have ever had there and, as I said after the race, you don’t get cars like that all the time,” he said.

BK is hopeful that he’ll have a car just like that this week at Phoenix and he isn’t the only member of Team Penske looking to get a monkey off his back this weekend in the desert.

Team Penske hasn’t been to Victory Lane at Phoenix in the Cup Series since 1998 when Rusty Wallace guided the No. 2 car to a first place finish in the Dura Lube/Kmart 500. Furthermore a Team Penkse driver has never been to Victory Lane in the spring race at PIR since NASCAR established a second race at the track in 2005.

BK is confident he can change that.

“Team Penske has traditionally had a great short-track program,” he said. “We had a strong Ford Fusion at Phoenix last November and since then we have made improvements.”

Brad takes the first step towards ending the desert drought on Friday. In the first practice session of the weekend, he ran 13th with a lap of 26.176 seconds and a speed of 137.531 mph.

Qualifying is Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on Fox Sports 1. BK’s best starting position at PIR was ninth, back in 2011 and he has started in the Top 15 in five of the Cup Series’ last six visits to Phoenix.

Brad kicks off his Saturday at Phoenix in Victory Lane, where he will represent the Brad Keselowski Checkered Flag Foundation at a press conference with the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). The event, which will serve as the official launch of the “Wheels Helping Warriors” program, begins at 8:15 am local time. BK and PVA officials will take that time to unveil details of the initiative.

The press conference will be followed by two practice runs, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET. Kes will then compete in the Blue Jeans Go Green 200 Presented By Cotton, The Fabric of Our Lives, driving the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang at 4 p.m. ET on ABC.

Sunday, of course, is the main event and the green flag drops on the Profit on CNBC 500 shortly after 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX.