Brad Keselowski didn’t get the win at Chicagoland Speedway to clinch a spot in the Round of 12, but the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion driver is in excellent position, starting NASCAR’s postseason with a fifth place finish.
Martin Truex Jr. won to secure the first spot in the second round, but outside of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 winner, Brad is in the best position in the field, at second place in the standings, 22 points ahead of 13th place, going into the second race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
“It was just a very solid day,” Brad said. “Congrats to Martin and his team. They were the best car all weekend and got it when it counted at the end and that is the way it should be. I think we were really solid with the Miller Lite Ford. We kind of ran third to fifth the whole race and that is kind of what we had. We tried to get a little more at times but just didn’t have it. We got a solid finish and a solid day…This round here isn’t about winning, really. It’s about moving on to the next one, because everything resets.”
Kes started the race from second as the field lined up according to the Chase Grid, and held that spot until Truex passed him on lap 20. After another 20 laps he overtook Kyle Busch to reclaim second, before the first caution flew on lap 48 for an uncontrolled tire on pit road. Pitting for four tires, fuel, and an adjustment to battle the tight in center and loose off corner condition, the 2 Crew completed service in 12.2 seconds and kept Brad in second off pit road.
Lining up fourth for a lap 56 restart behind two drivers that stayed on track, Brad made quick work of both Truex and Kyle Busch once more, as he passed them within 20 laps of going green. Running in the second position behind six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, BK diagnosed his car as handling well in the first two turns, but struggling in the final two corners.
Crew chief Paul Wolfe called his driver into the pits on lap 106 under green for routine servicing, but having to drive around Austin Dillon in his pit stall caused BK to lose a position to Chase Elliott on pit road. Cycling out third, it didn’t take long for the next yellow to fly as Brian Scott lost the handle of his No. 44 in the fourth turn. The spin allowed Wolfe to work on the car once more as they changed four tires, and made an air pressure adjustment in 11.9 seconds, holding third place.
The lap 126 restart paved the way to another longer run, as the field conducted another round of green flag stops, with the Deuce pitting on lap 173. Praising his racecar’s long run ability, the 2 Crew once more changed all four Goodyear Eagles and made an air pressure adjustment before a lap 190 debris caution. Pitting again for a new set of sticker tires, the 13.3-second stop cost the Team Penske crew a position, setting up for a P4 restart.
When the green flew again on lap 199, Kes zipped right around 2015 Chicagoland winner Denny Hamlin. As the run went on, Brad started to lose the long drive speed they had earlier, as both Truex and Hamlin passed the 2012 Cup Champion, pushing him back to fifth.
Lap 237 saw Brad visit pit road once more for a scheduled stop, and the Miller Lite crew picked up a spot on Johnson, who suffered one of many speeding penalties dealt to Chase hopefuls throughout the day.
With just five laps remaining on the afternoon, Michael McDowell’s tire exploded on the backstretch, causing the final caution period of the race. Wolfe pulled his driver back in to change the tires, but a variety of strategies stirred the pot for the final overtime restart. Ryan Blaney led a group of three drivers to stay out and pick up track position. Blaney held on for a fourth place finish, while Brad restarted ninth and used his fresh rubber to edge Hamlin at the line for fifth. Joey Logano crossed second to round out a fantastic day for the Team Penske-powered trio.
“It was a solid day for us out there, nothing flashy. We ended up with a pretty decent finish. You want to have solid days on days where you aren’t going to collect the win and that is what we had today. We kind of ran third to fifth most of the race and I think that is probably where we deserved to be,” Brad said. “Everybody did a great job and we put ourselves in position to move forward to next week and hopefully keep getting these solid finishes to where we can get to the next round.”
With the respectable finish, and a bonus point from leading seven laps, BK leaves the Windy City marked second behind Truex. Currently perched above the Top 12 cut line by 22 points, two more solid finishes from the Round of 16 will be more than enough to advance.
The circuit heads back to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the New England 300. As a NHMS winner, Brad will look to add to his northern success when the green flag drops on Sunday September 25 at 2 p.m. ET, live on NBC Sports Network.