Homecoming Victory in Brad’s Sights

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series makes its final stop of the 2014 season at Michigan International Speedway this weekend, Brad Keselowski is still seeking an elusive victory at his home track.

Brad grew up some 90 miles from MIS, and his fondest memory of the track is his father Bob Keselowski’s first ARCA win in 1992. Brad first ran Michigan International as a NASCAR driver in 2005, in the Camping World Truck Series and finally visited victory lane as a driver there in 2009 when he won the Nationwide Series Carfax 250 in the JR Motorsports No. 88

All that’s missing from his Michigan résumé now is a Sprint Cup checkered flag, and until he conquers the track he calls home, BK will always feel that gap in his legacy.

“I’ve recently mentioned that while I am grateful for all that I’ve accomplished so far in my racing career, one of the things that I feel is missing is a marquee race win,” Brad said. “Usually that would mean a Daytona or a Brickyard, but for me Michigan kind of fits that bill. It is the home track for the Motor City and it’s my home track too. So to win here in Cup would be a big deal. It is something I want to experience without a doubt.”

This weekend’s Pure Michigan 400 gives Brad an opportunity to earn that career-defining moment, as he’s recorded Top 12 finishes in each of his last four races at MIS, including a third place finish in June’s Quicken Loans 400 and a runner-up finish in the 2012 Pure Michigan 400 on the way to his Sprint Cup title.

“Seems like we’re right there on the cusp of getting that win,” he said.

He entered June’s race on the heels of runner-up finishes at Dover and Pocono, still seeking his second win of the season, and he was among the top seven cars nearly the entire day. The No. 2 crew felt it had even orchestrated a winning pit strategy. But an untimely late-race caution threw their plans to the wind and allowed Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick to outpace BK down the stretch on newer tires as the Deuce settled for a third place finish.

This time around, Kes is coming off a stretch of three rough finishes: 12th at Indianapolis, 23rd at Pocono and 35th last weekend at Watkins Glen. But BK hasn’t let the team’s rough stretch phase him, and as he returns home firmly entrenched in the Chase with three victories, he’s focusing solely on a fourth.

“We’re really thinking this is going to be a special weekend and would like to seal it off with a win,” Brad said. “To that mindset, wins for us are really all that matters till the Chase starts.  Consistency is great for looking and having momentum for the Chase, but in reality it probably doesn’t mean much.”

Despite his recent setbacks due to misfortune over the last three races, BK has been a top-five driver all season with the best average starting position (7.0), fourth highest average finish (13.7) and the third-most laps led (844), according to NBC Sports.

BK will be looking to tick all those numbers up with a win this weekend, and having earned three Top 3 Sprint Cup finishes and two Nationwide wins at MIS, he is well versed in how to tackle the two-mile track, identifying track position and restarts as the two keys to victory.

“You have to be on the front row on the restarts and you have to execute,” BK said. “If you can accomplish those two things, you’ll probably win the race this weekend for the Cup Series.”

That bodes well for the Miller Lite team, which has been the fourth fastest in restarts and early in runs. With that in mind, BK noted that the No. 2 crew will have to be on top of its game to end the day in Victory Lane.

“The key is timing your pit stops perfectly,” he said. “Having the right position on the track is critical. You want to be in a spot where you’re leading late in the race and don’t have to pit again. That is a very, very formidable position.”

Races at MIS aren’t home games just for Brad, they are a homecoming for two of the organizations he represents. Penske corporate headquarters are located just 80 miles from the track in Bloomfield Hills, while Ford Motor Company’s Dearborn, Mich. home is even closer.

Though Brad is not pulling double or triple duty this weekend, he will be busy throughout the weekend as his Checkered Flag Foundation is a presenting sponsor of Saturday’s Careers for Veterans 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

“We have 2,400 of their employees here cheering us on, our own Brad K Nation, trying to keep up with Junior Nation,” Brad said. “I’m excited about that.  I think this is a great opportunity to get a win in front of a huge audience with initiatives like Careers For Veterans.”

Brad has already been busy playing host with a whirlwind week of appearances including a meeting with partners at the Oakland Hills Country Club on Wednesday, followed by a Thursday appearance at the Team Penske Sponsorship Summit in downtown Detroit. Then on Thursday evening, Brad appeared for Miller Lite at The Pointe Bar & Grill located in Clarklake, Michigan.

The hectic schedule didn’t seem to slow him down, however, and in Friday’s opening practice, BK was 10th quickest with a 35.535 second lap at an average speed of 202.617 miles per hour. Brad and the No. 2 team will likely be consulting with his teammate Joey Logano ahead of qualifying, as Logano’s Shell Pennzoil Ford topped the charts with a 35.2 second lap at 204.545 mph. Logano will also be running the Brad Keselowski Racing Draw-Tite No. 19 in Saturday’s Truck Series race, so the two teammates will be in close company all weekend.

They’ll both compete for the pole in cup qualifying at 4:30 p.m. ET Friday on Fox Sports 1. Drivers return to the track bright and early on Saturday for practices run at 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. ET, both to be televised on ESPN2.

The second session will be followed immediately by the NCWTS Careers for Veterans 200 at 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday on Fox Sports 1. Before getting to racing on Sunday, Brad will be at the Ford Display in the MIS Fan Zone on at 10:15 a.m.

ESPN’s coverage of the Pure Michigan 400 begins at Noon ET with the green flag scheduled for 1:16 p.m. ET.