A new primary sponsor joins Brad Keselowski for this weekend’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, but the No. 2 Autotrader Ford Fusion is likely to be a paint trader when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debuts its new low-downforce package on a treacherous surface at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
BK will sport the blue and orange colors of a new primary sponsor, and he believes will be very challenging to keep those colors where they belong on the 1.5-mile Hampton, Ga. oval. While NASCAR’s season began last week at Daytona, the restrictor plate racing in the 500 didn’t truly showcase this year’s new aerodynamics package. The new setup makes the cars more difficult to control, and Brad expects it will be a tough test for drivers.
“You go to Atlanta and it’s, ‘Hang on!,'” Brad said. ” It’s super fast, super slick. The track wears the tires out very, very fast. The cars have to handle well. You’re lifting a lot. You’re sideways. It’s just a completely different feel as a driver.”
Brad didn’t have the start he hoped for in the Great American Race. The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion was lacking speed and handling and finished 20th in the season opener. But Atlanta this week brings a new start and a new challenge.
“Speedweeks started off very well for the Miller Lite Ford team. Our car in the Sprint Unlimited was amazing. Unfortunately we just couldn’t get the same performance out of the Daytona 500 car,” Brad said after the Daytona 500. “I’m really looking forward to getting to Atlanta next weekend with the lower downforce package that we used a couple of times in 2015.”
BK was outstanding last year in the two Cup races where NASCAR tested the low-downforce package. He started second and finished sixth at Kentucky Speedway, and he later won the pole and finished second at Darlington Raceway. He also led a combined 258 laps in the two races.
The first mile-and-a-half of the NSCS slate could also give an early taste of which drivers will be championship favorites. The 1.5-mile tracks are the backbone of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, comprising five of its 10 races. Success on the mile-and-a-halfs means success in the postseason, but it begins at a track that has been a bit frustrating for Brad in his career.
In seven NSCS starts, Brad has just one Top 5 (a third-place finish in 2012) and three Top 10s at AMS. One of the three came when BK crossed in ninth last year. In 2013 and 14, his day was spoiled in ATL by either an engine issue or a wreck. He has four Top 10s in six NXS starts at AMS, but it is one of just three tracks, on the current slate, where Brad doesn’t have either a Sprint Cup or XFINITY win.
Brad will look to change that on both Saturday and Sunday. He’ll pilot the Team Penske No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang in the NXS Heads Up Georgia 250 at 1 p.m. Saturday.
BK was ninth in the first Cup practice of the weekend. He logged 20 laps and a fast time of 29.168 seconds. Kyle Larson (28.740) and Kasey Kahne (28.904) topped the board as the only drivers in the 28-second range. The Team Penske cars struggled in qualifying. Joey Logano didn’t make it out of the first round and started 27th. Ryan Blaney was 22nd in the first round but started 24th after a second round.
The No. 2 didn’t fare much better. Brad had to make a second run in the first round to sneak in the second round as the 24th and final driver. Even on tires with extra ware on them, BK gained six spots in the final round to earn a P18 start. The team’s second and final practice comes at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 is scheduled to go green after 1 p.m. ET on Sunday and will air on FOX.