The No. 22 Ford Mustang team has already secured its third consecutive XFINITY Series Owners’ Points title, but Brad Keselowski is still looking to add another win to the team’s dominant season this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.
BK won last week at Texas Motor Speedway to mathematically lock down the team’s spot on the NXS Owner’s throne for the third straight year, but in this weekend’s DAV 200 he’ll still be out for the team’s third straight win at Phoenix, while defending his own title in this race.
“This race is a chance for us to score another victory for our team and partners,” BK said. “It also gives us an opportunity to build momentum for the rest of the season. We’ll approach this race like we do all of them; we race to win.”
Brad bided his time as numerous challengers came and went last week at Texas, and he passed Austin Dillon in the closing stages to swipe the victory in Fort Worth. That win gave him his 20th consecutive Top 10 finish in NXS competition, dating back to his win in the 2013 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The last time Brad failed to finish in the Top 10 in the XFINITY Series was more than two years ago, on Nov. 9, 2013 at this week’s venue, Phoenix International Raceway. As the streak comes full circle for a second time this weekend, BK will be vying for his 35th career NXS victory. He’s currently fifth on the all-time NXS charts, four wins behind Carl Edwards who holds 38 career XFINITY Series wins.
Brad’s remarkable 20-race Top 10 streak includes a win at Phoenix last year. He passed Kyle Busch, the all-time NXS wins leader, on the last lap to steal the victory and all-but sew up last year’s owners’ title.
He won’t need another such performance to lock up this year’s title, which is already in the bag after last week’s triumph at Texas. Kes has now been a part of three owners titles for his team, and he also won Roger Penske his first NASCAR title of any kind in this saner series, taking the drivers’ crown in 2010.
“I am proud of the effort this Discount Tire team has made all season long to get Roger Penske his fourth XFINITY Series championship,” Brad said. ” I was thinking about it when I came to Team Penske in 2010 we didn’t have any, and now we have four XFINITY championships in five years. That is a huge accomplishment and something in which the team takes great pride.”
This year, the ensemble cast of Brad, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Alex Tagliani have combined to capture title No. 4 for Penske. Brad has contributed two wins and eight finishes of eighth or better this year, and his chances of getting his third victory this weekend are looking good. The 22 has been dynamite at Phoenix over the last few years. In addition to Brad’s win in this race last year, Logano piloted the No. 22 Ford Mustang to Victory Lane at Phoenix in the spring.
To win this Saturday, Brad will have to go through a number of Cup regulars. Busch will pilot the No. 54, Kasey Kahne will be in the No. 88, Kyle Larson will pilot the No. 42, and Dillon will once again be behind the wheel of the No. 33.
The No. 22 will have two practice sessions on Friday to figure out their setup, at 3:30 and 5 p.m. ET. Qualifying will run at 12:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, and the DAV 200 will go green around 4 p.m. ET that afternoon. The entire weekend slate will be televised on NBC Sports Network.