For the first time in a long time at Michigan International Speedway, the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion just didn’t have race-winning power for Brad Keselowski and the 2 Crew on Sunday afternoon.
After six straight Top 10 finishes and 11 consecutive finishes of 13th or better at his home track, Kes crossed 16th on a challenging day. But while the FireKeepers Casino 400 didn’t go the way of the Miller 2 Crew, it did leave Brad and Co. hungry to work their way back to winning ways.
“I don’t know. We just weren’t really where we needed to be with the Miller Lite Ford,” BK said.
After advancing to the final round of Coors Light Pole qualifying and logging a 12th place starting position, Kes was able to drive his Deuce into the Top 10 prior to the lap 25 competition caution. Crew chief Paul Wolfe decided it was best to replace all four Goodyear Eagles, while making some much-needed handling adjustments. However, the decision lost the team ground to those who elected to take two tires, and BK lined up for a P18 restart.
Once the green flag came back out, the Miller Lite Ford swung from loose to tight. Paired with dirty air, Kes was only able to jump up to 14th at the end of the first stage on lap 60. He pitted for another set of rubber under the Stage 1 caution, and the adjustments sent Brad in the right direction as he was able to rise to 10th at the end of the caution-free second stage, earning one bonus point in the process.
In the final 80-lap dash to the checkers, Wolfe tried some strategy and adjustment swings, but nothing seemed to alleviate the ailing machine. They pitted twice in the final 50 laps for tires and handling changes, but the car’s speed wore away during green flag runs. After dodging a lap 190 wreck on the backstretch, the 2 Crew settled in for a 16th place finish, forced to look ahead to the next opportunity.
“We had a few bright spots but we couldn’t get it there at the end,” the Rochester Hills, Mich. native said. “Everyone has races like that. You just hope you don’t have many of them.”
Though it wasn’t Brad & Co.’s best MIS effort, they will head towards a track at which they have unfinished business: Sonoma Raceway. Self-claimed as one of his worst circuits on the Monster Energy Cup schedule, BK is certainly looking for success in the Californian twists and turns. He has just one career Top 10 finish at Sonoma.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Sonoma airs live on Sunday, June 25 at 3 p.m. ET, live on FOX Sports 1.