Brad Keselowski isn’t competing for his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship like he hoped he would be at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but closing the season with a win and playing spoiler in the Chase’s Championship Round would certainly assuage his feelings of disappointment.
While the Championship 4 of Jeff Gordon, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick battle for NASCAR’s biggest crown in the Ford EcoBoost 400, BK and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion team will be racing with all they’ve got to post their second win of the season.
“We gave it a solid shot, and I am proud of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford team’s efforts as well as grateful for the support we had from our partners and fans,” Brad said. ”To finish the season with a victory would go a long way towards offsetting our disappointment in not making it to the Championship round of The Chase.”
Just like in 2014, Brad was undone by a rough finish at Martinsville Speedway. This year, a wreck on a late restart left him in too deep of a hole in the standings, and even second- and ninth-place finishes at Texas and Phoenix weren’t enough for him to advance to compete for his second NSCS championship. However, a win in South Florida would not just make those feeling subside—it would also put Brad on track for a rebound in 2016.
If his last performance at a 1.5-mile track, Texas Motor Speedway, is any indicator, he’ll be right there competing for the win. He led 312 laps at Texas but was passed with four laps to go, which kept him out of the championship.
He has been dynamite at Homestead in the XFINITY Series, where he has been 12th or better in his last six starts, including four Top 5s and two wins. His Cup Series resume there hasn’t been as glowing, but it has improved with time. Last year he finished third for his best result there for his career, and the season prior he was sixth.
Undoubtedly, his most memorable trip to Homestead came in 2012, where he ran a conservative race crossed in 15th, which was good enough to clinch his first NSCS championship.
He’ll look to do a burnout again at the mile-and-a-half Miami oval—and he’s off to a good start. He posted the second fastest time on the board in the weekend’s first practice session, trailing only Carl Edwards and leading all four championship contenders.
Qualifying will run at 6:15 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. He has started in the Top 5 in his last four NSCS starts, and he boasts two Homestead poles in NXS competition. Two more practice sessions follow at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Finally, the NSCS season finale, the Ford EcoBoost 400, will go green at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday and will air on NBC.