Kes Hoping Vegas Hand Includes An Ace

As the Sprint Cup Series rolls into Las Vegas this weekend, Brad Keselowski is hoping to turn a hand full of threes into a winner.

Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the third race of the 2014 season, comes on the heels of third place finishes for Brad at Daytona and Phoenix, leaving him good position two races into the season.

“Our No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team has come out strong in the first couple of races and I am proud of the effort,” BK said. “It’s nice to be sitting second in the points early in the season.”

However, Brad knows that the new Chase format puts a strong emphasis on winning races and he and the Miller Lite Ford team will be looking to make those small improvements to turn all those threes into a winning hand.

“Now we just have to get that last little bit in order to win races,” Kes said. “We will continue working with winning in mind in order to ensure we position ourselves to be in the new championship playoff format. The best part is that we’re just getting started.”

Las Vegas has important implications beyond its own points. It marks the first 1.5-mile track of the season, the same length as five of the 10 Chase races.

According to Motor Racing Network, the winner of the Las Vegas race ended up finishing first or second in points seven times since 2003. So a top result at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway could help Brad set the tone for the next few races.

Last season Brad had his best run ever at LMVS, finishing that familiar third place. But Vegas is a track that had not been historically kind to Kes before. In four previous races around the Mojave Desert’s 1.5 mile oval, BK hadn’t cracked the Top 20 with his highest finish being 26th.

But rather than lingering on those tough days at Vegas, Kes will remember the solid run he had a year ago. He led 12 laps over the course of the race and rallied from 13th position after a pit stop issue at lap 166 to finish in the top five.

BK also gets a big boost this weekend with the return of crew chief Paul Wolfe. Wolfe missed The Profit on CNBC 500 to be with his wife, Aleah, for the birth of their first child. Wolfe was thankful that the team was able to get by in his absence, allowing him to share a special moment with his wife.

“This is a fascinating experience. You see other guys on the team go through it, you hear about the way it impacts people, but until it happens to you – you just don’t truly grasp what it means. Aleah and I are grateful to have a healthy baby. I am really impressed with how strong my wife is – wow – being there with her for the birth was a magical moment,” Wolfe said. “It’s hard to put all these feelings into words and while all parents have things in common, we all bring our own feelings to the experience. I am very happy and thankful too.”

Though the No. 2 team didn’t miss a beat with a third place finish in Wolfe’s absence, Brad will be glad to have his regular pit boss back in action after the No. 2 car dealt with some handling issues last week. Wolfe is also eager to return to the pit box and help put a Penske car in Victory Lane at Vegas.

“I am excited to get back to the track and continue to build on the strong start the 2 car has had, and work on getting that first win of the season,” he said.

Coming off a pole win in NASCAR’s first run with knockout qualifying last weekend, BK enters this weekend with a chance to start his second consecutive race in front. Last season, en route to his third place finish at Las Vegas, Brad received the pole position by default when qualifying was rained out and the order was determined by the final 2012 owners points.

Brad was only 17th fastest in qualifying with a lap of 28.499 seconds and a top speed of 189.480. But after he won the first knockout qualifying session last week William Hill gives Kes the fifth best odds to win the pole at Las Vegas at 10/1, tied with Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Brad likes those odds.

Not bad @MicahRoberts7: odds to win LV pole: Field (24 drivers) 5/1, @Keselowski 13/2, @KyleBusch 15/2, @kaseykahne & @joeylogano 17/2

— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) March 5, 2014

The super speedway qualifying format is slightly different from last week’s shorter track qualifying and the Las Vegas session will be divided into three segments. The first segment will be a 25-minute free-for-all. The fastest 24 cars from that segment will advance to segment two, which is just 10 minutes long. The final round will be just five minutes long with the Top 12 cars from segment two competing for the pole. All the action can be seen on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.

After qualifying, BK will have two more chances to tune-up in practice sessions on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET and 2:30 p.m. ET, both on Fox Sports 2.

Coverage of the Kobalt Tools 400 begins on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX with the green flag scheduled to fly shortly after 3 p.m. ET.