Down to his last chance to keep his championship hopes alive at Phoenix International Raceway, facing what is essentially a must-win situation, Brad Keselowski still isn’t feeling the pressure of NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.
BK led 455 laps in the first two races of the Eliminator Round but a wreck and a late-race pass have kept him from locking his spot in the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway next week. He now only controls his own destiny with a win, but still being in control of that destiny and being just two wins away from his second Sprint Cup Series title, Brad feels good.
“It isn’t pressure, it is opportunity,” Brad said. “I am happy to have those opportunities with a great team. As strong as we ran (at Texas), if we carry that over to Homestead, good Lord, watch out. We know we need to win the next two to win the championship. The good news is we have that opportunity. That’s the way I look at it.”
There is a chance that Brad and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion team could advance on points alone in this weekend’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500. They currently sit sixth in the NSCS standings, 19 points behind fourth-place Martin Truex Jr. Only Jeff Gordon is safely on to the next round, but BK will need at least two Chase contenders to wreck or have very poor days to get by without a victory.
BK also can’t expect any favors from fellow Team Penske driver, Joey Logano. Logano won all three races of the Contender Round, but he was wrecked late at Martinsville by Matt Kenseth, and he blew a tire early last week at Texas, putting him in a must-win situation as well. Unlike Brad, there is no mathematical possibility for the No. 22 Penske team to advance on points.
Fortunately, Brad does have a strong track record of his own at PIR. In 12 Cup starts at the one-mile Avondale, Ariz. tri-oval, he has finished in the Top 10 six times, including four Top 5s. His best finish there is third, which came in the 2014 spring race after he started on the pole.
While a win has eluded him in Cup competition, it hasn’t in the XFINITY Series. He has run 16 times in NXS competition, and 10 have resulted in Top 10 finishes, including nine in the Top 5 and a win on this weekend last season. He will run the NXS/NSCS double this week. He won last week in XFINITY competition to capture Roger Penske’s third consecutive owners’ points title. During his last seven double-duty weekends, Brad has recorded an average result of 2.9 in NXS races and 4.6 in Cup races. All 14 starts have produced Top 10 finishes, including his last Cup win at Auto Club Speedway in March.
He was strong at Phoenix earlier this year in the Cup series. He started sixth, finished sixth and led 52 laps, while Kevin Harvick captured the checkered flag. Harvick will almost certainly be the biggest threat to BK’s quest for a victory. The Stewart-Hass Racing driver has won the last four Cup races at Phoenix and has seven wins there in his career.
However, Brad still feels confident about his chances in the desert this weekend. His team tested at the unique track earlier this year, and that knowledge and experience should help his team, which has been running in peak form recently, as it looks to stay alive in the drive for its second cup title.
“The Miller Lite Ford has shown speed lately,” BK said. “We led a lot of laps over the last two races, and I feel as though we’ve had cars that were capable of winning. We tested Phoenix a while back, and I think we found a few things that should serve us this weekend. Our team is performing at a high level right now, our cars are strong, and the pit crew has been executing well. We have an opportunity to advance in the Chase this weekend, and we will do our utmost to capitalize on it.”
The White Lite wasn’t exceptional in opening practice. With a time of 25.661 seconds, Brad was just 17th on the board—but there’s still plenty of time for the 2 Crew to dial it in. Qualifying is set to begin at 6:45 p.m. ET on Friday and will air on NBC Sports Network. A good starting spot and pit box can be very advantageous at PIR. Brad’s string of three Top 6 finishes there have come off of starts of sixth or better.
BK and Co. will have two final practice sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday to finish preparation. Sunday’s main event, the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500, will go green around 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday and will air on NBC.