Brad Keselowski had logged four straight XFINITY Series wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but when the No. 22 Hertz Ford Team took to Loudon to make it five, they just didn’t quite have the speed they needed to extend that streak.
Even still, Brad made the most of his day, leading 17 laps and grabbing a third-place finish to help preserve the No. 22 team’s thick cushion in the owner’s points standings. Despite missing out on his second consecutive NXS victory, BK was proud of the way the Double Deuce team worked to get all they could in the Lakes Region 200.
“We were just a little bit off everywhere, but Greg Erwin and everyone on the No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang team worked real hard,” Brad said. “We were lacking a little bit of speed, but this is my first time working with Greg Erwin here and we’ll get to work and come back a little bit better next time.”
Brad posted the second fastest time overall in two practice sessions, but he posted the fourth-fastest time in qualifying, behind pole-sitter Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Danny Suarez. That result was a quick look into what happened Saturday afternoon; Hamlin dominated, leading 145 laps to edge Austin Dillon for the win.
Once the Lakes Region 200 went green, BK settled into third place behind Hamlin and Busch, until lap 23, when the two teammates turned one another, allowing Kes to rocket into the lead. He held the top spot for 17 laps until lap 39, where the race’s third caution forced the field down pit road. The No. 20 team sent Hamlin out of the final pit stall and off pit road in first place.
Unfortunately, the Hertz Ford didn’t have the speed to race back to the lead for the remainder of the evening. Nonetheless, he remained firmly in the Top 5. After caution No. 4, the field went back to green at lap 66, where Brad restarted fourth. He battled fiercely with Austin Dillon, and eventually at lap 68, he passed the No. 33 for third place at the line. He remained in third through lap 100, but he was all the while reporting that the No. 22 was finicky and unpredictable, and he eventually yielded fourth back to Dillon at lap 105.
He pitted from fourth place under green at lap 123, and Greg Erwin made some major adjustments to the Double Deuce, attempting to dial it in for the closing stage of the race. Caution No. 5 came at lap 142, and it brought more adjustments from Erwin and the 22 Crew. These tweaks helped Brad to take fourth on the restart and shortly thereafter pass Busch for third place.
The sixth and final yellow flag flew at lap 166 when Brian Scott blew his engine. He restarted third, and with 22 laps to go, he gave himself a chance to steal a victory. When Hamlin and Dillon battled for the lead, BK took the opportunity and capture second place. From there, however, he simply didn’t have the speed to chase down Hamlin. Then with 11 laps to go, Dillon raced his way back to second, locking the 22 Crew in to the third-place finish.
“We had great execution there and got the most out of what we had to finish third, so that’s something to be proud of,” BK said. “We just weren’t quite as fast as the 33 (Dillon) and the 20 (Hamlin) were. They were probably the two best cars the whole race and the 2 car (Brian Scott) looked like he was really good, but we just weren’t fast enough this weekend.”
In seven NXS starts in New Hampshire, Brad has still finished ninth or better all seven times. So far this year, he boasts five Top 10s, four Top 5s and one win in five starts. Dating back to a win in November 2013, BK has finished eighth or better in 17 consecutive NXS starts.
The strong finish by Brad kept Roger Penske comfortably in the lead. The No. 22 team is 46 points ahead of Roger Childress’s No. 33, 50 points head of the Joe Gibbs No. 20 and 55 points in front of Jack Roush’s No. 60 car.