REDDemption

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When you only have a particular sponsor on the car for two races in the season, there’s no doubt that you want to get them in Victory Lane. After coming up so heartbreakingly short in Pocono, Brad Keselowski knew that the first trip to Loudon would be the perfect shot at getting Redd’s the elusive win.

Keselowski came to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway with full intentions of redeeming himself after what seemed to be BK handing over a win at Pocono. Leading a total of 95/160 laps at the 2.5 mile superspeedway, it was domination with no trophy. On what could be the final race of the season for Redd’s, he wasn’t about to let that happen again. And he didn’t. Kes dominated this race too. Leading just under half of the laps this time, most of the laps that weren’t spent in the lead were used to capture the prime position back. Crew chief Paul Wolfe elected to keep four fresh Goodyear Eagles on the racecar throughout most of the event, which allowed his driver to continually claw through the field.

When Redd’s made their fourth appearance, BK wasn’t about to let this one slip away, and finally ended the dreaded Redd’s curse.

Redd’s was seeming to become a bad luck sponsor. Its debut race in Richmond last year was a night of ups and downs for Keselowski. Starting with early contact to the walls, driving back towards the front, and then suffering from terminal issues, it was a rough day for the Redd Deuce. The unique sponsor made it’s second appearance at Pocono in August last year, where after leading some laps early, strategy set the car back to a 6th place finish. The misfortunes of the Redd’s car have been well documented from this year’s first outing at Pocono, where it was the car to beat from start to finish. It seemed that no matter how fast they were, it wasn’t fast enough to outrun bad luck in the form of a hot dog wrapper. When Redd’s made their fourth appearance, BK wasn’t about to let this one slip away, and finally ended the dreaded Redd’s curse.

The win was more than just winning for a sponsor, but it proved that the No.2 is one of the most versatile teams in the series. Adding a win at Loudon to his Sprint Cup resume, it was the first “flat track” victory for the team with Keselowski behind the wheel. The three victories for BK this year have come on either a 1.5 mile track, or a flat short track – combined they produce 8 of the 10 Chase races.

While throwing away a win is never wanted, it gave Brad the will – and drive to go out and redeem himself. I say he did it. What about you?