Misfortune struck Brad Keselowski and the 2 Crew for a second consecutive week as the Miller Lite Ford finished outside the Top 30 twice in a row and for the fourth time in what has been an unlucky late spring and early summer.
After a spin relegated him to a 39th-place finish, BK apologized to the other drivers collected in his wreck.
“I feel bad for everyone on the Miller Lite Ford team, and I think I tore up two or three other guys and that sucks for them,” BK said. “I just got in an aero wake and it pulled me around. I knew I was in a bad spot. I was trying to lay up but there is only so much you can lay up here because you get ran over from behind. The air pulled me around. It sucks.”
Starting the annual trip to Kentucky Speedway from P10, it was clear early on that the Deuce did not possess the speed Team Penske is accustomed to. Dropping backward to 13th when the competition caution flew on lap 30, crew chief Paul Wolfe decided to change right side tires, while also adjusting air pressure and wedge. After lining up for a 12th-place restart, that’s where the Michigan-born driver rode for the duration of the first Stage.
Using the Stage 1 caution as an opportunity to visit pit road, the Miller 2 Crew’s blazing pit work sent the White Lite out in seventh for the upcoming restart. Once the start came, calamity broke out on the opening lap. Entering the third turn underneath Clint Bowyer’s No .14 machine, BK simply lost control and spun into the wall, taking seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson along with him.
“I don’t know. It is kind of a tough spot to be in on these tracks where they are kind of one groove,” Brad said. “You can’t just lay up every time. You give up too many spots or get ran over from behind. If you drive in with someone close to you the car just spins out. It just sucks but it is what it is. We have to find a way around it and we didn’t today.”
Kes commented extensively after the race on the state of racing, specifically the performance of the equipment on newly repaved tracks like Kentucky.
“It is a poorly designed race car and it makes racing on tracks like this very difficult to put on the show we want to put on for our fans. You do what you can to gouge and claw on the restarts and get everything you can get,” Brad said. “You have to put yourself in bad situations to do that and that is where we were. If you don’t make those moves on the restarts, then you run in the back. Or you have a bad day.”
“The way this car is, it needs a lot more help than [the Tire Dragon]. It is time for the sport to design a new car that is worthy of where this sport deserves to be and the show it deserves to put on for its fans.”
The Team Penske driver is never at a loss for words, and his frustration was understandable, particularly given his history at Kentucky. He entered the weekend having won three of the six Cup events in history at Kentucky. As Martin Truex Jr. went on to record a dominating victory, Brad remained as the track’s winningest driver.
Leaving Kentucky with a 39th place result dropped the No.2 team to eighth in overall point standings, still eligible to earn a Playoff point bonus at the end of the regular season.
Following the shortened race, Brad heads to another of his stomping grounds in New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Dominating the summer race in 2014, he hopes to put on a similar performance this weekend en route to his third win of 2017 and his second at Loudon. Tune into the Overton’s 301 from NHMS on Sunday, July 16 at 3 p.m. ET, airing live on NBC Sports Network.