When the Big One strikes at Talladega, every car involved can be destroyed in an instant.
A 16-car pileup unfolded before Brad Keselowski’s eyes on Sunday afternoon, but with some help from spotter Joey Meier, BK managed to check up and survive without major damage—allowing the No. 2 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford Fusion team to score its eighth Top 10 in 10 races this year, crossing in seventh.
“We survived,” Brad said. “It just seemed like when we needed to catch a good break we caught a bad one.”
Starting from third place on the inside line, BK worked with polesitter and fellow Ford Performance driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to clear fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. for second. On lap 15, Brad managed to juke past the polesitter (and eventual race winner) and place his new-look Green and Black Deuce out in the lead. Two laps later, the first caution of the afternoon flew when points leader Kyle Larson slapped the wall. Reporting that his No. 2 was towards the free side in the early stages, substitute crew chief Brian Wilson made a wedge adjustment, along with topping off the fuel tank in 5.0 seconds. Taking a third place restart on lap 22, it took another 11 laps to reclaim the lead from Kyle Busch, and Kes held that spot until the end of the first Stage for his second stage win this year.
Taking a third place restart on lap 22, it took another 11 laps to reclaim the lead from Kyle Busch, and Kes held that spot until the end of the first Stage for his second stage win this year. That earned him 10 points in the Cup standings, as well as a coveted playoff point, giving him a series-high 12 on the season.
The 55 lap Stage 1 ended at a perfect time as the Fitzgerald Glider Kits Fusion’s nose was caked with debris, as the driver himself said the track is littered with garbage. Pitting for a fresh set of Goodyear Eagles and fuel in 13.2 seconds, he lost six spots as rookie Daniel Suarez was entering his pit box right in front of the No. 2 Ford’s box. Taking the green flag on lap 63 from P7, within two laps Keselowski was up to third, and made an aggressive slice on Kyle Busch for second the next time by. While attempting to pass leader Kevin Harvick, the No. 2 was hung out to dry, falling outside the Top 10 and wasn’t able to recover when Stage 2 ended on lap 110 as he finished 13th.
Taking only two tires under the Stage 2 caution, it was enough to reclaim the lost track position and put the Ford Fusion back up to third place for a lap 117 restart. Two laps later, Brad was able to position himself back to the lead for a three-lap stint. Pitting under green on lap 149 for sticker tires and fuel, BK cycled out P25, but made it up to 12th when Ryan Blaney wrecked on the backstretch on lap 160. Restarting on lap 165, the race had been relatively clean and incident free — but at Talladega, anything can, and will happen.
Three laps into the run, the famed Big One arrived and claimed 16 cars, most notably A.J. Allmendinger and Chase Elliott who flipped. Brad’s Fitzgerald Ford sustained minor nose damage that the team was able to repair and clear the 5:00 Crash Clock. Once the red flag was lifted and racing resumed on lap 173 it became clear that the No. 2 machine still had plenty of speed as it clawed from 24th to inside the Top 10 in just four laps.
The GEICO 500 saw two more quick cautions before the race ended—one for Landon Cassill’s car that stopped on track, and the other for Ryan Newman wrecking on the backstretch. Taking the final green flag on lap 188 from 12th, Brad was able hang in and draft his way up with the front pack, edging Jimmie Johnson at the start/finish line for seventh.
“We had a good restart there at the end and just couldn’t get to the front,” the Michigan driver said. “We had a good day. We won the first stage and was really proud of the No. 2 Fitzgerald Glider Kits team. After that, we just kept getting pinned back. I tried to pit and the yellow came out when we pitted and lost track position in Stage 2. We fought back and did the best we could and then the big wreck happened and got torn up.”
Polesitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ended up piloting his Ford Fusion to Victory Lane for the first time in his career, giving Ford Performance its fifth win in 10 races this season, including both restrictor plate events. For Stenhouse, the road to his first career victory came after a little help from another driver who also snagged his first career win at Dega.
“I had to ask Brad Keselowski how to start a race on the pole,” Stenhouse said in Victory Lane.
Stenhouse became the eighth race winner this year, punching his ticket to the Playoffs. Meanwhile, Kes remains one of two drivers with two wins on the season. BK earned 40 points for his efforts, the third best points day of any driver at Talladega, and good enough to vault him from fourth to third in the MENCS standings, where he is 61 points behind Kyle Larson.
Next up, the Monster Energy Cup Series tour heads to Kansas Speedway for the GoBowling.com 400. At a track where Brad and the Miller 2 Crew have seen their share of success, they’ll try to continue it under the lights on May 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.