Brad Keselowski’s “Midnight” Miller Genuine Draft Ford was one of the best looking machines in the Bojangles’ Southern 500—until it picked up an infamous Darlington Stripe late in the race.
Kes led three laps and held strong in the Top 10 all evening at Darlington Raceway, but while trying to gain ground late in the 367-lap event, he brushed the outer wall, disrupting the handling on the No. 2 Ford, ending his shot at a desirable finish. Brad finished fifth in Stage 1, sixth in Stage 2 and 15th for the race.
“We just weren’t where we wanted to be at the end of the race,” BK said. “I was just kind of holding on and we were going to probably run 10th or 12th and I tried a little bit too hard and brushed the wall. I ended up probably hurting our Miller Genuine Draft Ford a little bit and we finished 15th.”
The throwback “Midnight” machine, originally driven to Victory Lane 13 times between 1992-1994 by Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, was solid in qualifying to earn Brad a sixth-place start. He moved up into the Top 5 early on, where he remained until Trevor Bayne brought out the first caution at lap 18.
Kes fell back on the ensuing restart and nearly dropped out of the Top 10, but the No. 2 Miller Genuine Draft Ford recovered over the long run. As every competitor’s tires were shredded by the rough 1.336-mile egg-shaped oval, Kes pushed his way back into the Top 5, where he ended Stage 1.
Brad battled a tight-handling MGD Ford and remained in the Top 5 for much of Stage 2, ultimately picking up some more points with a sixth-place finish in the segment.
The Team Penske driver continued to stake claim to a spot inside the Top 10 until that late mishap. A brush with the outer wall forced Brad to hit pit road for minor repairs. Though considering how late the damage came, Kes was proud that his team persevered and left Darlington with a Top 15 finish.
“Paul made a good call at the end there to get us into 15th when we probably could have been worse than that, so I was proud of that effort,” BK said. “We just need to be faster.”
Just one race remains in the regular season: the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Kes has dominated and won this race before, and he’ll need another performance like that to gain ground in the standings. After the Denny Hamlin’s win at Darlington, Brad now trails the No. 11 driver by 49 points in the MENCS standings.
The competition is sure to be fierce in this final regular-season race as several talented drivers are still vying to punch their tickets to the Playoffs. And those who have already sewn up a spot will look to take advantage of the final opportunity to gain precious Playoff points. The race will go green at 7:43 p.m. ET on Saturday and will air on NBCSN.