Brad Keselowski came to Indianapolis Motor Speedway hoping to give legendary car owner Roger Penske his first Monster Energy Cup Series win at the historic track—and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion driver came up just one position short of his objective.
BK led late in a crash-filled Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400, but the Team Penske driver couldn’t hold off a determined Kasey Kahne, who was as overdue for a victory as any driver at the Cup level. But while Brad didn’t quite have the power to hold off Kahne, he came away with his best finish ever at The Brickyard, in second place.
“You know, we just have to take our result and move on,” Brad said. “We weren’t necessarily the fastest car today, but the Miller Lite Ford team did a hell of a job executing.”
Starting from P11, it didn’t take Kes long to realize that the handling of his Deuce was not there. The rough riding 2 car slipped outside the Top 25 in just a handful of laps, but BK battled his way back to sit in 20th when the first Stage ended on lap 50.
The first caution in Stage 2 flew on lap 57, and the alternate sequence put the 2 Crew in a position to capitalize. Making a 5.6-second stop for fuel and adjustments, something began to click. After restarting 24th, Brad was able to drive through the field and gain six spots by the time the next caution appeared on lap 71. This time, crew chief Paul Wolfe left his driver on track, and Kes resumed racing from the third position. Even though it wasn’t the strongest car in the field, his Miller Lite Ford was potent enough to linger just inside the Top 10 when Stage 2 ended on lap 100. BK and Co. earned some much-needed Stage points with his ninth-place finish, and they were now in
Completing Stage 2 in ninth, BK and Co. earned some much-needed Stage points and also found themselves in position to make something happen at the end of the race.
After hitting pit road for a fresh set of tires and fuel, BK returned to the track in ninth position and restarted in the preferred inner lane. A few laps later on a lap 111 restart, the race had the greatest shakeup of the day. Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., the two dominant cars, had a scuffle entering the first turn, and took each other out in flames.
Realizing his shot to kiss the bricks was there, however small, crew chief Paul Wolfe told Brad to stay out as long as he could, hoping for a timely caution. Just a lap or two before the Deuce would have to come down for fuel, a massive wreck off of Turn 4 emerged, giving BK the critical yellow. After a red flag, Kes came in for a new set of Goodyear rubber and fuel and resumed racing from third, behind two drivers that stayed out on track.
Brad was able to breeze past Ryan Newman on the restart to move in behind Kahne, and one of the race’s greatest battles followed—a Hendrick Motorsports sandwich with Kes in the middle of Kahne and Jimmie Johnson. As a result of a thrilling three-wide fight for the lead, Johnson spun out and into the wall, leaving BK and Kahne to duel for the win.
The lap 161 Overtime restart allowed Brad to pass Kahne for the race lead, just barely nosing out the No. 5 car before a caution flew after another wreck entering the first turn. But on the final lap 165 restart, Kahne laid back some and prepared for a launch that propelled him to the lead, and his first win since 2014, forcing the Miller 2 Crew to settle for P2. Though disappointed with coming so close, the team had to balance their emotions with where they began the race and take what they could get.
“I wish I could have executed a little bit better to bring home the win,” the Miller Lite Ford driver said. “I’m not sure what that would have took. But all in all, good to have a top finish at this track.”
Despite the late heartbreak, it was Brad’s best run ever at The Brickyard, and it filled an important column on his career stat sheet: the Rochester Hills, Mich. native now has a Top 5 finish at every track on the Cup circuit. Kes entered the season with both Sonoma Raceway and Indy missing from that list, but a P3 finish in Wine Country and a runner-up result at The Brickyard mark a season of change and progress for the 33-year-old as he seeks his second Cup championship.
“I think our best finish coming to this race here was ninth. Kind of checked this one off as at least getting a top finish,” Kes said. “Maybe not a win, but, you know, a top three, top two finish. So it’s nice to check that off and hopefully we can come back here next year and improve one more spot.”
Up next on the MENCS tour is The Tricky Triangle, where the drivers battle it out on a 2.5 mile track for the second week in a row. As a former late summer Pocono Raceway winner in ‘11, Brad will be looking to add his third win of the season when the Overton’s 400 goes green on Sunday July 30th. The race airs live on NBC Sports Network at 3p.m. ET.