As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series swings through the winding roads of Watkins Glen for the final race of the season that features both left and right-hand turns, Brad Keselowski has his sights set on a first Cup Series road race victory. And at The Glen, the possibility is there.
The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion driver boasts four finishes of third or better at WGI, including a third-place finish last season. He did so on a newly repaved surface at the upstate New York track, and he’ll have to conquer it yet again in this year’s I LOVE NEW YORK 355 at The Glen.
“My thoughts on the pavement is I think we’ve seen a pretty dramatic shift in probably the last four or five years with respect to the type of pavement that’s being used to repave the tracks,” Brad said. “We probably saw that again at Watkins Glen, where the pavement is very, very smooth. It lasts a really long time.”
Last year in the debut of the fresh asphalt, BK wasted no time in showing his prowess at the racetrack. He led late and put his team in position to capitalize on a win, though the Miller 2 Crew came up just short with a third-place finish.
Still, that marked the fifth Top 10 finish for Brad in seven starts at the 2.45-mile course. His career at WGI has been highlighted by a trilogy of runner-up results from 2011-13. In both 2011 and 2012, he came up second to Australian road racing ace Marcos Ambrose, with the latter of two producing one of the most entertaining finishes in recent history.
For crew chief Paul Wolfe, the annual trip to The Glen is a homecoming event. The Milford, New York native always enjoys coming home, and he tends to bring outstanding equipment each time the No. 2 Ford team returns.
“I’m a big fan of Watkins Glen,” Wolfe says. “Going there brings back a lot of memories from my first visits to the track when I was a kid. I still have some family and friends that are in the area, so it’s good to see them while there.”
While his crew chief will certainly be feeling right at home, Brad will also be feeling comfortable on the road. In the season’s prior road race, Brad logged a career-best third-place finish at Sonoma Raceway for the fifth Top 5 in road course competition for his Cup career.
Locked into the Playoffs with two wins to his credit, Brad is hoping to earn as many playoff points as possible as he looks to advance to the Championship 4. The best way to do that is to win.
The 2 Crew takes on Watkins Glen International’s curves for the I LOVE NEW YORK 355 at The Glen, airing live on NBC Sports Network on Sunday, August 6 at 3 p.m. ET.
DOUBLE DUTY FOR PENSKE DUO
Already an NXS winner in 2017, Brad Keselowski hops back in the REV/Fleetwood RV No. 22 Ford, the premier ride in Team Penske’s XFINITY Series program. And he’ll once again have a great chance to win at Watkins Glen International.
“Watkins Glen is a track that I picked up on fairly quickly from the first time I raced there. It’s a ‘speedway type’ road course and that fits my driving style well,” he says. “The XFINITY cars are a blast to drive at the Glen because they go through the corners so much faster than the Cup cars. You have to back up your braking points in a Cup car, but you can really race hard into the corner in a XFINITY car.”
Brad’s affinity towards the road track is clear, as he has rarely missed an NXS run at The Glen in the last 10 years. In fact, the only time BK chose to sit out the race came in 2011, just two weeks after injuring his left ankle in a testing crash, both Brad and Roger Penske felt it was best to sit out of the race, handing the car to Cup teammate Kurt Busch. Busch put the No. 22 on the pole, and won the race.
Two years after Busch’s win in the No. 22, Brad decided it was his turn to follow in the 2004 Cup Champion’s footsteps and win at The Glen. Starting fifth, it didn’t take BK long to find the lead and stay there for the most laps of the afternoon.
Saturday’s Zippo 200 will mark a few firsts for Brad. The REV Group and Fleetwood RV make their second appearance of the season after sponsoring Joey Logano’s No. 12 entry earlier this season, but it’s their first connection with Brad this year. Logano will join BK at The Glen, piloting the No. 12 dressed in Snap-On colors.
The REV Group and Fleetwood RV make their second appearance of the season after sponsoring Joey Logano’s No. 12 entry earlier this season, but it’s their first connection with Brad this year. Logano will join BK at The Glen, piloting the No. 12 dressed in Snap-On colors.
Together, BK and Logano have amassed two fourth-place finishes, one third-place finish, three second-place finishes and three wins for Team Penske at WGI. Whether under the Penske banner or in JR Motorsports rides, Brad has found success at The Glen from his first series start at the New York road course. His sixth-place finish in his 2008 WGI debut began a string of seven straigh Top 10 finishes in NXS competition, which ended just last year.
However, 2016’s 24th-place finish for BK was little more than a fluke. Team Penske fielded two dominant cars in that race, with Logano having the edge all race long, and Brad pushed his equipment as far as it could go before the rear suspension gave out. The P24 result marked his only finish outside the Top 10, and he’ll hope to keep it that way. To see how BK does this go around, tune into the Zippo 200 when it goes green on Saturday, August 5 at 2 p.m. ET, live on NBCSN.