Brad Keselowski has more Top 10 finishes at New Hampshire Motor Speedway than any other track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit, and he’ll start in strong position to add another successful finish to his Loudon résumé on Sunday.
With a fast No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion, BK just missed capturing his fourth career NHMS pole award. He was third quickest in Friday’s opening practice and kept the Deuce near the top of the board throughout qualifying. Then with a time of 27.666 seconds, he briefly topped to board in the final round, only to set for a fourth place finish, locking him into a second-row start for Sunday’s Sylvania 300.
“I thought we were going to get the pole after the second round, the car was really good,” Brad said after his qualifying run. “In the last round, just didn’t quite put the lap together, but still a great effort from the Miller Lite Ford. In the spring we qualified 10th here and we were able to drive to the front. I feel we’ll be really strong again. So I’m just proud and ready to get going.”
Even more important than adding to his impressive track record at Loudon, Brad is out to improve his standing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the second of 10 postseason races.
BK started the Chase last weekend with an eighth place finish at Chicagoland Speedway, which also extended his personal best Top 10 streak to 10 straight races. The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion driver spoke this week about how another Top 10 finish could all but sew up a spot in the Contender Round.
“It is good to come into this race knowing that a Top 10 will likely move us to the Contender Round,” Brad said. “We want to win—we always want that first and foremost, but what we learned from last year’s Chase is that Top 10s will get you to Homestead, and that is the ultimate goal. We’ll make the most of the day and if we have a shot at the win, we’ll take it.”
Kes currently sits ninth in the Chase standings, but with two races remaining—this week at Loudon and next week at Dover—anything can happen. Fortunately, NHMS is one of BK’s very best tracks.
Of his 12 career Cup Series races at Loudon, Kes has finished in the top 10 eight times. That includes five Top 5s and one victory, which came last summer. He has led a total 343 laps at NHMS in the Cup Series, the fourth most at any track for his career.
In his last race at New Hampshire, the 5-Hour Energy 301 in July, the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford finished second after starting 10th. That was the eighth consecutive finish of 11th or better at Loudon for Brad.
“We probably had a winning car that day, but things just didn’t go our way,” Brad said. “New Hampshire has been a good track for us.”
In last year’s Chase event at Loudon, Brad captured the Coors Light Pole Award but finished seventh. That marked his third pole position at New Hampshire, with the two others coming in 2013 and 2010. His fourth-place start on Sunday will be his sixth in the Top 10 at the 1.058-mile oval.
The 2 Crew will have two more practice sessions to tune up the White Lite on Saturday morning, first at 9 a.m. and later in Happy Hour final practice starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Sunday’s main event, the Sylvania 300 will go green shortly after 2 p.m. ET and the race will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network.