Another Knockout, Then A Rainout

Brad Keselowski’s Saturday at the racetrack began much the same way his Friday ended.

Just like he did on Friday in Sprint Cup Series qualifying, Brad knocked out a group of his peers to win the first elimination qualifying session in NASCAR Nationwide Series history in the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang.

But a few hours after being the class of the series, the No. 22 car was giving BK a rough ride in the Blue Jeans Go Green 200. So when the race was stopped with 32 laps to go, and subsequently called due to rain, Brad wasn’t too upset by not having to finish the race.

That’s because, the way the Double Deuce was running, Kes wasn’t confident he could do any better than his third place standing when the race was halted.

“I felt kind of relieved to get it over with here,” he admitted. “Third was about all I could do. I was holding on for all I was worth towards the end of the last stint before the rain came. It was a decent run, I guess and I am proud of the effort. We will take it and move on.”

After starting on the pole, the Discount Tire Ford Mustang’s loose-handling was a handful for Kes from the outset, quickly wiping out the advantage he gained in qualifying that morning. Brad led the first five laps before eventual winner Kyle Busch jumped out in front and No. 22 settled into third.

The early setbacks forced BK to bring the No. 22 car down pit road for a series of adjustments during the first caution period of the race, which put him out of sequence with the leaders and he subsequently dropped into 27th position.

Despite battling with his car’s conditions, BK needed only about 25 laps to maneuver his way back into the top 10, where he would remain for the rest of the race.

“The Discount Tire crew gave me great service during our stops and we were fighting all afternoon,” he said. “We made adjustments to try to get better but I just had my hands full for whatever reason.”

Brad briefly took the lead back at lap 89 as other cars began making pit stops, but his own trip to pit road on lap 92 forced him to cede the position. Fortunately a caution came out just four laps after his stop, allowing BK to get back in cycle with the leaders and once again compete in the Top 5.

However, the car was not strong enough to run with leader Kyle Busch and BK was once again fighting its conditions when the race came to a halt on lap 165 as rain brought the red flag out. After a three-hour delay and numerous attempts to dry the track, the race was called with Busch the winner, Kevin Harvick in 2nd and Brad finishing 3rd. Afterward, BK gave an honest assessment of the day.

“I guess it is kind of a good and bad day,” he said. “We probably qualified better than what we should have. We had about a third or fourth place Ford Mustang all weekend.”

The third place finish was Brad’s fourth top-three finish in his last six Nationwide races at PIR, and sixth top-five finish in nine races behind the No. 22 Discount Tire car at Phoenix. BK’s second top-three finish in as many races this season also kept the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford in second place in the Owners’ point standings five points behind Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54.

NEXT UP

The Nationwide Series heads further west next week where Las Vegas Motors Speedway will his the Boyd Gaming 300 next Saturday.

The race will be Brad’s eighth Nationwide race at Las Vegas, where has never won. His best result was a third place run in 2011, and although he has finished outside the Top 20 each of the last two years, he’s led at least 10 laps three years running and a total of 56 laps in the last three Nationwide races at Vegas.

The Nationwide series kicks off the weekend with multiple practice runs on Friday, at 3:30 and 5 p.m. ET on Friday.  Both can be seen on Fox Sports 1.

For the second straight week, qualifying and the race will take place on the same day. Qualifying begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 2. The Boyd Gaming 300 will follow with live coverage on ESPN 2 beginning at 4 p.m. and green flag shortly after 4:15 p.m. ET.