Throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway has become a fun annual tradition for Brad Keselowski and the 2 Crew, and an opportunity to highlight some old fan favorite looks on the Deuce.
The 2017 model might be the best yet.
In 2015, Brad’s No. 2 Ford Fusion rocked the Miller High Life look. Last season, it was baby blue throwback Miller Lite colors adorning the Deuce. This year, BK is bringing back Midnight—the Miller Genuine Draft Ford famously driven to great success by Rusty Wallace —for Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500.
But Darlington’s annual Throwback Week is more than just a few fun days at the track. Brad has long been gunning for the coveted Southern 500 crown, one of the most prestigious in NASCAR.
“We love Darlington, we love the throwback week,” Brad said. “We look at our marquee races in the Sprint Cup Series and you can’t help but to think about the Daytona 500, you’ll think about Darlington’s Southern 500.”
Sporting throwback schemes the last two years, BK has come oh-so-close to checking a win at Darlington off his career bucket list. In the High Life red and white in 2015, he started first and finished second. Then last year in the Lite baby blue, he started second and finished. Between those two near misses, BK had the throwback Deuce out front for a combined 243 laps along the way.
He’ll look to finish the job in one of the 2 car’s most infamous looks. Wallace drove “Midnight” in 38 races from 1992-94, notching 30 top 5s and 13 wins behind the wheel of the black and gold Deuce.
Brad last sported the dark Miller Genuine Draft paint scheme in the August 2015 race at his home track, Michigan International Speedway. He finished ninth in that race, and he’ll hope for an even better finish in the Black Deuce this weekend.
Kes boasts four Top 10 finishes in eight career starts at the unique 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval. BK has had a handle on the tricky surface since the start. His first career start came in 2009 and ended in an impressive ninth-place finish in Rick Hendrick’s GoDaddy car. He crossed third in the Miller Lite Ford in 2011, but his most impressive run certainly came in 2015.
The Rochester Hills, Mich. native secured the Coors Light Pole Award and called it one of the biggest poles of his career.
“This is probably the biggest pole I have ever had as far as what the track means,” Brad said after winning the pole position in 2015. “I have always thought of Darlington as being one of the elite tracks in NASCAR…you look at Daytona, probably Bristol, Charlotte and Darlington as definitely in the top-five, maybe top-two or three to our sport and what it means. When I think of that, I think that any success you have on those tracks is just a ‘whoa’ moment. It is huge. So in that sense this is a great accomplishment to me personally and it means a lot.”
Kes led 196 laps that day at Darlington, but he was edged off pit road by Carl Edwards on the final stop, and the now-retired driver went on to secure the win with the preferred position on the final restart.
The Team Penske driver will look to move up one spot, finish first and add some playoff points in the process. Brad is sixth in the drive point standings and is tied for fifth with 14 playoff points. And with just two races remaining until the Playoffs, time is running out to build that postseason cushion. But even setting aside points and standings, this Southern 500 is a big one—one of the biggest in BK’s eyes.
“We were so close in 2015,” BK said. “It was very frustrating, but we’ve had the speed, but to finish it off that’s kind of been our Darlington history. A lot of great runs there and I feel like we can go get it.”
The Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway will go green shortly after 6 p.m. ET Sunday night and will air on NBC Sports Network.