Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion team expected to contend for the win this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, but it just wasn’t meant to be in the rain-delayed and shortened AAA Texas 500.
BK qualified the Alliance Truck Parts Ford in fourth position for the penultimate race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup’s Round of 8, and the 2 Crew was looking forward to an opportunity to add its fifth win of the season to their 2016 résumé. But a rain shower rolled through Fort Worth just before the start of Sunday’s race, delaying the green flag for roughly six hours.
Under the lights, the setup of the Deuce just wasn’t there, and it was all Brad could do to finish 14th.
“We were anticipating a really strong day with the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford today, so we are definitely frustrated to finish 14th,” Brad said. “Not sure where we missed the setup but I just couldn’t get the car to do what I needed it to.”
The rain, and subsequent six-hour delay, changed track conditions dramatically, as rubber was washed off the surface, and the asphalt cooled when the afternoon race turned to a run under the lights. Once the race finally went green, BK struggled just to keep the handle of his Ford.
With the No. 2 tight through the center and loose exiting the corners of the 1.5-mile Texas track, Kes held on in the Top 5 early before he started to slide back. He maintained a position in the Top 10 throughout the first half of the race as the 2 Crew made every adjustment they could think of to try to bring the black and yellow Deuce back to life.
However, no matter what Paul Wolfe’s group tried, their car just wouldn’t agree with the track Sunday night. BK slid as far back as 15th over the course of the evening. He gained one spot back before rain again fell on Fort Worth, ending the event after 293 of 334 laps.
“Paul and the guys threw a lot of changes at it but nothing had much of an effect,” Brad said. “Everyone worked their tails off this weekend and I appreciate that. We’ll head to Phoenix next to try to get another win before the end of the season.”
NEXT UP
The Sprint Cup Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway for a Chase elimination race—the final event before the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Brad finished 29th at Phoenix earlier this year but showed strength in the tough result. He was running in the Top 10 all afternoon before a cut tire ended his shot at a solid day.
The No. 2 team will look to improve upon that result in the Can-Am 500, 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 13 on NBC.