APACHE WARRIOR 400

In the new NASCAR playoffs, every point counts and Brad Keselowski swiped one more on Sunday, on the way to the Round of 12.

The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion driver won Stage 1 in the third and final race of the Round of 16, the Apache Warrior 400 at Dover International Speedway. Already locked into the second round due to his strong Top 5 performances in the first two races of the opening round, Kes enjoyed a stress-free run at The Monster Mile, and logged his 17th Top 10 finish of the year, crossing in 10th.

“We had some pretty good strategy running long and caught the yellow cycle. Then we had a good pit stop that put us in position to win the first stage which was good,” Brad said. “Then we cycled back to sixth the next two rounds and fought really hard from there to just keep track position. We were holding on to sixth or seventh most of the race and at the end we tried to a little bit of strategy and it just didn’t quite work out.”

The White Lite wasn’t overpowering when it rolled off the hauler in Dover. Brad qualified just 16th, but as always, the Miller 2 Crew made the most of it on race day.

BK tried to drive the Team Penske No. 2 ahead in the field in the early going, fighting loose handling entering corners and tightness in the center. Fortunately, he got some help from lady luck late in Stage 1.

The long-pitting strategy has paid off for Paul Wolfe and Co. in the past, and it did again. Brad remained out on the Dover concrete late in the pit cycle while nearly all of his competitors had already gone in for service. A timely caution came out, allowing BK to pit from second place, a lap ahead of the competition. Some outstanding work by Wolfe’s crew had him back out on the track in first place. From there, a strong run on the restart helped Brad cruise to his fifth stage win of the year.

Stage 2 saw Brad slip all the way back to 10th before recovering for an eighth-place finish to add a few more points to his Round of 16 resume. The White Lite awoke to show some strong speed in the final stage, and with that, Wolfe tried to dip back into the long-pitting pond. Unfortunately, it didn’t work the second time around.

The caution Brad needed never came out, and he was cycled back to 15th after finally pitting at lap 340. That gave him just 60 miles to push his way back to the front. The Miller Lite Ford driver clawed his way back into the Top 10 before the checkered flag flew.

The points now reset and Brad remains fourth in a 12-man field as the Monster Energy Cup Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500. Brad won the event in 2013—a feat he’ll look to replicate on the 1.5-mile Carolina track.

MENCS STANDINGS

1. Martin Truex Jr. – 3059
2. Kyle Busch – 3041
3. Kyle Larson – 3034
4. Brad Keselowski – 3020
5. Jimmie Johnson – 3017
6. Kevin Harvick – 3015
7. Denny Hamlin – 3013
8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 3010
9. Ryan Blaney – 3008
10. Chase Elliott – 3006
11. Matt Kenseth – 3005
12. Jamie McMurray – 3003