No. 2 Crew Earns Third Straight Top 3 Finish

Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion crew have been on a remarkable run of consistency over the last several weeks, continuing to come tantalizingly close to — but just short of — a second 2014 victory.

In Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 on his home track at Michigan International Speedway, the 2012 Sprint Cup champ posted his third consecutive top-three finish of the season. It was another solid performance that fell just shy of dominant, as Brad spent almost the entire day running inside the top seven and led for three brief stretches, a total of four laps.

“It was a good day, not a great day. Third is nothing to hang your hat on,” he said. “To be really happy, I’d want to win here today, especially on Father’s Day. It would be really special for me and my family here at my home track in Michigan.”

Though pleased that his team has been consistently at the front, Brad would prefer to join the list of drivers with multiple wins.

“We have consistency, which is good. Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean much right now at this time of the year in the sense of points, but it does mean a lot to us in the sense of overall morale and our ability to really make a push as the fall months come in the Chase. So that’s important to us even if it might not show a tangible result in the short term. So I’m happy for that.”

The Blanco Deuce was moments away from making it three straight runner-up results, but Kevin Harvick, whose No. 4 car was running on much fresher tires, went charging by both the No. 2 and Paul Menard’s No. 27 with five laps remaining, and Brad crossed the finish line in third place.

The #2crew is Almost in championship form… Just need a bit more. Solid 2,2,3 finishes the last few weeks.

— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) June 15, 2014

After the race, BK praised the powerful Hendrick motors, which were featured in six of the first eight machines to cross the finish line, but he had his Penske Racing Ford poised to top the pack of Chevrolets. That is, until the eighth and final caution of the day compromised a winning strategy.

Brad brought the White Lite into the pits during a caution on Lap 125 while running in second position, just 10 laps after the entire field pitted on a previous yellow. He dropped six places on the restart, but by sacrificing position he set the Deuce up to make just one final stop before the race’s end.

Keselowski and team think they are just one caution away from being able to make it on one more stop. Planning tire strategy now. #NASCAR

— Richard Allen (@RacingWithRich) June 15, 2014

But it was too much to hope for a long green run to the end. After BK had worked his way back up to third, debris brought out the yellow flag on Lap 148. The caution set the stage for the entire field to be on the one-stop plan Kes and Co. were already prepared for.

That planning process began around the halfway stage of the race. After caution No. 4 on a lap 108 restart, BK took the outside line behind leader Kevin Harvick and followed the No. 4 past Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. into second place. Now thriving in cleaner air, two quick cautions gave Brad the chance to battle with Harvick on consecutive restarts, but Harvick won both battles and Brad entered fuel save mode.

Following pit stops, Hendrick engines are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th. Keselowski in 4th the oddball.

— Loose In, Tight Off (@TightOff) June 15, 2014

“Take care of your fuel here” says Paul Wolfe to @keselowski. #NASCAR

— Adam Niemeyer (@adamniemeyer) June 15, 2014

Brad Keselowski saying he’s saved three to four laps of fuel. #NASCAR

— Adam Niemeyer (@adamniemeyer) June 15, 2014

Kes successfully conserved several laps’ worth of fuel and caution No. 7 came just in time at lap 123. Kes pitted from second place, taking just fuel. He was first off pit road and was set up to go the rest of the way on just one stop.

Brad made quick work of several competitors, eventually besting Matt Kenseth for third place at lap 130. On the ideal strategy while making his way to the front, BK was in perfect position to grab his first win at Michigan, until the eighth caution flag flew at lap 148. At that point, he took two tires and was first off pit road once again, though Jamie McMurray, Johnson, Menard, Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon stayed out on the track, sending the Blanco Deuce back to sixth.

Brad moved back into second as that group went in for its final stop. Then at lap 174, BK went down pit road for the last time for a splash-and-go stop. When the entire field cycled through pit road, Brad was in second behind Johnson with just 10 laps remaining. Unfortunately, the No. 2 was several seconds behind Johnson’s No. 48 at that point and simply didn’t have the speed to make up that kind of ground.

“We just didn’t have the speed really all weekend to be a front runner in the sense of contending to win based on speed,” Brad said. “But the guys did a great job with execution. I thought we executed really well.”

Brad qualified in sixth—his first time out of the Top 3 in a points race since Talladega. After the race, he reported that he felt he had a third-to-fifth-place car, given the relatively modest speed displayed in qualifying and practice. Once the event went green, he was battling vibration issues that caused the car to be loose on Turns 3 and 4, as well. The pit crew worked on it throughout the day, but Kes still had trouble in traffic.

Before the race, Brad spoke with Penske teammate Joey Logano about their chances for the week. The duo knew that they lacked the speed of the Hendrick cars and said they would need to work for every position possible. The Penske pair did just that, and Logano joined BK in the Top 10, finishing ninth.

“We needed a good blue collar today, and that’s of what today was for us,” he said. “We kind of trudged through it and came away with another top three effort, which is good but not great. We want the wins, especially here at Michigan.”

Johnson made his third trip to Victory Lane in four races and the fifth straight for Hendrick Motorsports. Brad claimed his seventh Top 5 finish of the season. He’s tied with Dale Jr. for the most Top 5 results and remains fifth in the series standings, now trailing leader Jeff Gordon by 47 points.

NEXT UP

The Sprint Cup season hits the road this week for the first time this season as the series shifts to Sonoma Raceway in California for next Sunday’s the Toyota/SaveMart 350.

The race is the first of two road courses on the Cup schedule. Brad has three runner-up finishes in eight career Sprint Cup road races, but all three have come at Watkins Glen, and he owns just one Top 10 result in four Sprint Cup visits to Sonoma. BK led seven laps in last year’s Toyota/SaveMart 350, but settled for a 21st place finish after getting caught up in an accordion crash on a late-race restart.

The annual weekend at Sonoma begins on Friday with a pair of practice sessions at 3:30 p.m. ET and 6:30 p.m. ET, both to be televised on Fox Sports 1. Qualifying is Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The Toyota/SaveMart 350 is Sunday afternoon on TNT with coverage beginning at 2 p.m. The green flag will fly at approximately 3:19 p.m. ET

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