BK was caught up in some Chase championship drama on a restart with 10 laps to go in the Ford EcoBoost 400. Joey Logano made a dive to the bottom to make a pass of Carl Edwards, both championship contenders. Edwards blocked Logano, forcing the Team Penske driver to drive through him and send him spinning—Logano also skidded up the track, right in Brad’s path. With nowhere to go, BK wrecked, relegating him to a 35th-place finish.

“It was really unfortunate how the race played out at the end,” Brad said. “It’s a product of a format that’s based on putting everything and risking everything. I understand why it happened on both ends.”

Qualifying second, Brad claimed his sixth front row start of 2016. He started the race alongside 2014 Sprint Cup Champion Kevin Harvick and maintained the second position until the first caution from Ryan Blaney on lap 27. Using the yellow as an opportunity to pit, crew chief Paul Wolfe called his driver in for a fresh set of tires and a fill on fuel, and he lost a spot to Edwards.

Restarting third on lap 35, Logano was able to pass on the outside line. The changing conditions on the 1.5-mile racetrack were not suiting well for the Deuce, as it dropped back to seventh by lap 55, falling behind Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and Austin Dillon. Radioing in that the car is tight on center, and loose off the corners, Brad was slower down the straightaways as he couldn’t get back to the gas as quickly as his competitors.

Kes lost another spot to Kyle Larson on lap 59 back to eighth, and he pitted 10 laps later for a round of routine servicing while jumping back up to P7 in the exchange. Lap 77 saw Larson gain his spot back, three laps before the next caution for a spinning Jeffrey Earnhardt. Pitting again for a valuable fresh set of tires, he exited pit road in eighth and restarted there on lap 86.

Three laps after the restart, Matt Kenseth passed BK, sending him back to ninth, where he stayed for the duration of that run until the next round of green flag stops on lap 118. Gaining a spot in the full-service stop, he cycled out to eighth, before passing Dillon and Johnson for P6.

Kes pitted more under green on lap 153. The Michigan native cycled out to sixth again after another four-tire and fuel stop. Brad held onto the position when a lap 171 debris caution flew, bringing everyone back into the pits. Another full pit stop was used to gain him a position, as he passed Kyle Busch for a P5 restart.

Going green on lap 179, he quickly slid back to seventh on the treacherous inside line before Johnson passed him for eighth on lap 196. On lap 203, Brad took the spot back from the No. 48, also passing Martin Truex Jr. and Harvick on the same lap. Three circuits later, Blaney made contact with the wall once again, bringing the caution back out. The caution allowed Wolfe to call his driver back in for another set of Goodyear Eagles and fuel with an air pressure adjustment — losing four spots in the process.

Restarting from P9 on lap 212, he passed Rookie of the Year Chase Elliott three laps later. Another 15 laps had gone by, and Kenseth was able to work his way around the Deuce before they were both able to pass Denny Hamlin to reclaim control of P8. On lap 252, the race took a championship changing caution as Dylan Lupton brought out the yellow for a flat tire. Coming in one last time for a set of fresh rubber, the 2 Crew prepared for a seventh place restart. When that restart came, melee ensued as the top two championship contenders, Logano and Edwards, tangled in front of Kes, collecting him in their damage.

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Kes was left out of the final two rounds of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but he still sits in a five-way tie for the series lead in wins—a title he’ll look to take home with a Ford EcoBoost 400 win this weekend.

“We can still leave Homestead this weekend with the most wins in the series and that is our focus,” BK said.

The Ford EcoBoost 400 marks the end of the 2016 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the end of title sponsor Sprint’s 12-year tenure with NASCAR. Through Brad’s 268 races and 21 wins, all under the Sprint banner, his 15th-place finish at HMS in 2012 had to be the favorite of those races.

Kes entered the 2012 season finale at Homestead with a healthy lead over Jimmie Johnson, needing only a 15th-place finish to secure his first Cup title, no matter where the 48 finished. The stressful night in Florida led to two things: a 15th place result, and a Sprint Cup Championship. The event awarded both Kes and legendary team owner Roger Penske one of the hardest achievements in motorsports.

“I can’t be here withou them,” Brad said, pointing at his crew. “This isn’t a one-man effort, I might get the glory but it’s about these guys, it’s about my family.”

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The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion was in contention in the Can Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, but two pit road miscues by Brad set the team back on a tough day in the desert. Now, the 2 Crew looks forward to the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where they’ll still be vying for their fifth win of the year.

“I am disappointed in myself with how our race played out today,” Brad said. “We had a very fast Miller Lite Ford Fusion, but I missed the pit stall on two separate pit stops. The loss of track position ruined our day, which is unfortunate because I think we could’ve challenged for the win. We can still leave Homestead next weekend with the most wins in the series and that is our focus.”

Starting the race from P14, it didn’t take long to start gaining ground as Kyle Larson spun out from second on the first lap, allowing Brad to jump up to 12th. Restarting on lap six, he passed Carl Edwards to take the 11th position. On lap 18, Championship 4 lock Jimmie Johnson passed BK before making a charge of his own towards the front. Showing some long run speed, Kes passed Ryan Blaney on lap 25, and Jamie McMurray the next time by to crack the Top 10. On the 35th lap, he passed Kurt Busch for ninth. Ten laps later, he passed Matt Kenseth for eighth, and on lap 50, he passed race favorite Kevin Harvick for seventh. Kasey Kahne took a position back from the No. 2 dropping to P8 on lap 64, where he remained until the lap 83 crash between Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson.

As the yellow flew during green flag pit cycles, the 2 Crew caught a break as they had not yet visited pit road, and allowing them to take a few positions. Pitting for a fresh set of tires and fuel, it lined the Deuce up for a fifth-place restart on lap 91, where Greg Biffle took a spot away.

Nine laps into the run on lap 100, Brad took the spot back from Biffle and held it until the lap 132 debris caution. Pitting under crew chief Paul Wolfe’s direction for another set of Goodyear Eagles, and getting topped off on fuel, he gained a spot—and the preferred outside line for the restart on lap 140.

Using the outside line to his advantage, he passed Matt Kenseth to put himself in third, before Kenseth took the spot back on lap 164. Thirty laps later, Kahne once again passed BK, but both drivers passed Joey Logano, keeping Brad in fourth when the lap 211 debris caution flew. Complaining of a loose car in the entry of Phoenix’s treacherous turns, BK entered pit road, but he overshot his entry, skidding through the pit box. 

Lining up for the lap 218 restart from P12, green flag action didn’t even last for a lap as Austin Dillon went for a loop. Understanding their situation, Wolfe called BK back in to top off on fuel, hoping they could go the distance of the race. Restarting 10th on lap 229, he passed McMurray and Harvick on the opening lap, and held his ground there until a lap 256 caution for a wreck involving Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman.

Pitting once again for a splash of fuel, and another set of fresh rubber, Brad missed his pit stall again and restarted 15th behind a few drivers who stayed out on track. Five laps after taking the green, another debris caution flew with the No. 2 up to 13th, passing AJ Allmendinger and Ryan Blaney. Restarting on lap 269, he took a spot from Edwards for 12th, and McMurray for 11th, before Blaney took his position back.

Holding onto P12, it looked as if they were set up to finish there when Michael McDowell’s tire failed coming to the white flag lap.

Setting up for an Overtime finish, Brad wanted all the grip he could have for the upcoming chaos as he took their final set of fresh tires. When the restart happened, leaders Matt Kenseth and Alex Bowman got together, ending Kenseth’s second championship hopes.

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Brad piloted the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford for the final time this season, crossing ninth in the Ticket Galaxy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Kes was vying for his first NXS win of the year, but it wasn’t in the cards in the desert.

“The Discount Tire Ford Mustang was really strong at the start of the event, but we just couldn’t keep the handling where we needed it for the duration of the race,” he said.

Qualifying his No. 22 Discount Tire Ford in 11th, crew chief Greg Erwin decided to make an adjustment to the machine which NASCAR deemed to be unapproved, sending them to the end of the longest line at the start of the race.

Once the green flag dropped, his charge to the front began. Working his way up to P32 by the end of the second lap, he continued on to claim 25th by lap 10. By the time the first caution for debris flew, BK worked his way all the way up to 15th. Pitting for four tires and fuel, the 22 Crew’s quick work boosted them up five positions to 10th.

Restarting on lap 55, it didn’t take a whole lap for the next incident to occur when Alex Bowman made hard contact with the wall, allowing Brad to take Bowman’s lost spot, advancing to ninth. Going green on lap 64 from the narrow inside line, he instantly dropped to P10, before losing another spot to Blake Koch one lap later.

The long run longevity of the Double Deuce kicked in as he reclaimed the spot from Koch on lap 73, as well as taking ninth from Aric Almirola on lap 77, and eighth from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. nine laps later. Another yellow came out when Jeff Green hit the wall on lap 93, allowing Erwin to call Brad back in for routine servicing, where the 22 Crew gained another two positions in the pits.

Setting up for a lap 100 restart from P6, series regular Darrell Wallace Jr. passed the No. 22 on the start, before Ray Black Jr. wrecked and brought out another yellow on lap 105. Restarting from seventh on lap 113, fellow Ford driver Ryan Reed passed BK as well, relegating him to eighth. Five laps later, Stenhouse passed the Michigan native, dropping another spot back to ninth. The run ensued for 20 laps when Brendan Gaughan’s car made heavy contact with the wall, ultimately ending his championship bid. Visiting pit road for the final time of the evening, Erwin decided to spice up his call by electing to only replace right side tires, and fill the Mustang with just enough fuel to make the distance.

The two-tire call gained Keselowski some valuable track position, shooting the team up to fourth on a lap 147 restart. Following the trend of previous restarts, Brad continued to give up a position, this time to Reed, before a red flag was thrown on the next lap. As Koch attempted to pass BK on the frontstretch, he chopped off Wallace’s No. 6, slamming it straight into the inside wall. The wreck collected a handful of other drivers, scattering the track with debris.

After the red flag was lifted, they resumed racing on lap 153, where Koch completed the pass on Brad, falling back to sixth. By the end of the Ticket Galaxy 200, he also lost ground to Austin Dillon, Stenhouse, and Ty Dillon to come home in ninth.

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The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion driver is No. 10 in the point standings, second among drivers out of championship contention. He boasts four wins and 16 Top 5s on the season, giving him a solid shot at his two remaining goals: lead the series in wins and finish fifth in points.

“It does matter to me,” Brad said of the final standings. “I don’t agree with that claim that points position doesn’t matter at all.”

In his 14 Phoenix races, Kes is yet to visit Victory Lane, but he’s been right there, finishing in the Top 5 four times. His most memorable trip to PIR came in the fall of 2012 in the thick of a championship battle with Jimmie Johnson. Johnson, who had a tire let go on the exit of turn four, made hard contact with the frontstretch wall. Entering the race in a points deficit, the No. 48’s misfortune became a blessing for the No.2 team as they soon after took the championship points lead.

While Johnson’s day was over, it didn’t mean BK was in the clear either — he still needed to finish the race in a decent position. After slight contact from a huge accident on the final lap, he was able to leave the desert with a sixth-place finish and a lead that carried him through Homestead.

That came as part of an eight-race streak of finishes of 11th or better for the No. 2 Miller Lite team.

“Phoenix has been a pretty good track for us the last half dozen or so times we’ve run it,” he said. “We’ve run up front, led laps, or at least been solid Top 5, solid Top 10s and we want to keep that streak going.”

The streak ended this spring in Phoenix, but the 2 Crew’s streak of strength in the desert didn’t. Brad looked bound for a Top 10 in his most recent trip to Phoenix. However, a blown left-rear tire bit the Yellow Deuce, leaving with a 29th-place finish.

“The Alliance Truck Parts Fusion was probably about a 10th place car, but you never know how things would have played out without the tire issue,” he said on the day.

At the Cup circuit’s most recent short track in Martinsville, Brad’s second-place finish, and outstanding long-run speed surely provides a boost of confidence. Matched with a pair of fourth-place finishes in the two most recent mile-long tracks at New Hampshire and Dover, the Team Penske’s short-track program is among the best in the Cup field.

While six drivers will be battling for the final two spots in next week’s Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Brad will be racing for a win and points at PIR. The Can-Am 500 is slated to take the green flag on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2:30 p.m. ET live on NBC, with grid setting qualifications taking place on Friday, Nov. 11 at 6:45 p.m. ET, live on NBC Sports Network.

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The NXS heads to the backyard of the No. 22 team’s primary sponsor, Discount Tire, which just extended its sponsorship agreement with Team Penske. And Brad wants to take them to Victory Lane.

“We can’t do anything in this sport without our sponsors,” BK said. “Discount Tire came on board

[in 2010] and were really the catalyst to building this No. 22 Discount Tire team.”

With 18 Phoenix NXS starts under his belt, it’s safe to say that Brad knows his way around the 1.022-mile desert track. Owning one victory to his credit from the 2014 fall race, he passed leader Kyle Busch to get there—on the final lap.

“I couldn’t keep pace with him until I was able to get under him in (turns) three and four (on the white flag lap),” Kes said. “So, it was just a drag race down to turn one. This is one I’ll never forget.”

Brad has led 159 laps at PIR, but even more impressive is that he has finished 17 of his 18 starts, with the outlier stemming from a tire failure in 2011. Being there at the finish says a great deal about his ability to drive smooth at a difficult, flat short track.

In racing, it’s said that it isn’t about where you start, but where you finish. Often times at Phoenix, starting position does dictate where you finish, as passing is at a premium. Claiming a Coors Light Pole in the spring 2014 race, he’s come to a combined seven Top 5 starts. Those top starting spots definitely transferred to the race outcome as Kes has scored 10 Top 5 finishes, including the win, four P2’s, and 3 P3’s.

With crew chief Greg Erwin back atop the pit box, Brad knows they will have a shot at winning. In Erwin’s pair of races as the strategist for the No. 22, the team has had great success. The first ended in victory with Joey Logano last spring. Claiming the pole, Logano led 176 laps en route to his triumph. And in the fall of 2014, he came as close to a repeat performance as possible with Keselowski behind the wheel, leading nine laps and scoring a runner-up result.

“I absolutely think we can do it again at Phoenix,” Brad said. “I’ve become a big fan of Phoenix over the last few years and I think our Discount Tire Ford will be stout.”

Tune in to the Ticket Galaxy 200 from Phoenix to see if he can notch an NXS win this season. The race airs live on NBC Sports Network at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 12.

Team BKR Heads to Phoenix With Triple Shot at a Win

Brad Keselowski Racing enters the weekend at Phoenix International Raceway with three chances to score a win, with both of their flagship teams, and Austin Cindric once again taking the wheel of the the No. 2.

Cindric, who will be making his sixth Camping World Truck Series start, and his second at Phoenix, is excited about his chances this weekend in the PIRTEK Ford F-150. Filling in for an injured Austin Theriault last season, Cindric took the No. 29 Cooper Standard F-150 to a 14th place finish, while completing all but one lap. 

“I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to run one more race with Brad Keselowski Racing this season,” Cindric said. “Phoenix is the first time that I’ve returned to a track with the PIRTEK Ford F-150, and for me, that’s definitely important. We were strong in the race last year but things just didn’t work out for us.”

This season, Tyler Reddick pilots the No. 29 machine this time around, and is still in search of his share of success in the desert.

“Every time we’ve been to Phoenix we’ve run well and I think the Cooper Standard Careers For Veterans Ford F-150 will be really competitive this weekend,” Reddick said. “It’s difficult to pass, so you’ve got to be very aggressive on restarts, but at the same time, you have to be smart. You’ve got to think ahead and put yourself in the best position possible when making those passes because you may not get a second chance if you don’t make the pass.”

Still in search of his first career win, Daniel Hemric and his No. 19 Blue Gate Bank team look at PIR at another chance at a breakthrough.

“I’m pretty confident going to Phoenix International Raceway, especially given the fact that I like to put it in the same category as a Gateway Motorsports Park,” Hemric says. “It’s obviously a little faster than Gateway, but the characteristics of what your truck needs to feel like are very similar, and we had a lot of speed there earlier this year.”

The trio’s quest for a win begins on Friday, Nov. 9 at 10 p.m. ET when the Lucas Oil 150 goes green on FOX Sports 1.

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BK qualified the Alliance Truck Parts Ford in fourth position for the penultimate race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup’s Round of 8, and the 2 Crew was looking forward to an opportunity to add its fifth win of the season to their 2016 résumé. But a rain shower rolled through Fort Worth just before the start of Sunday’s race, delaying the green flag for roughly six hours.

Under the lights, the setup of the Deuce just wasn’t there, and it was all Brad could do to finish 14th.

“We were anticipating a really strong day with the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford today, so we are definitely frustrated to finish 14th,” Brad said. “Not sure where we missed the setup but I just couldn’t get the car to do what I needed it to.”

The rain, and subsequent six-hour delay, changed track conditions dramatically, as rubber was washed off the surface, and the asphalt cooled when the afternoon race turned to a run under the lights. Once the race finally went green, BK struggled just to keep the handle of his Ford.

With the No. 2 tight through the center and loose exiting the corners of the 1.5-mile Texas track, Kes held on in the Top 5 early before he started to slide back. He maintained a position in the Top 10 throughout the first half of the race as the 2 Crew made every adjustment they could think of to try to bring the black and yellow Deuce back to life.

However, no matter what Paul Wolfe’s group tried, their car just wouldn’t agree with the track Sunday night. BK slid as far back as 15th over the course of the evening. He gained one spot back before rain again fell on Fort Worth, ending the event after 293 of 334 laps.

“Paul and the guys threw a lot of changes at it but nothing had much of an effect,” Brad said. “Everyone worked their tails off this weekend and I appreciate that. We’ll head to Phoenix next to try to get another win before the end of the season.”

NEXT UP

The Sprint Cup Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway for a Chase elimination race—the final event before the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Brad finished 29th at Phoenix earlier this year but showed strength in the tough result. He was running in the Top 10 all afternoon before a cut tire ended his shot at a solid day.

The No. 2 team will look to improve upon that result in the Can-Am 500, 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 13 on NBC.

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Brad piloted the Discount Double Deuce to a second-place finish, leading 145 of 200 laps along the way.

“We had a really strong car and we made a major stride forward with this team and this program which feels really good,” Brad said. “I am very happy about the speed we had and being able to lead a lot of laps and am disappointed to not be able to bring it home there at the end. All in all, it was a good weekend for the 22 Discount Tire Ford XFINITY team.”

BK started his NXS run by snagging the Coors Light Pole award—his first in the series since 2014. At a speed of 186.909mph, he tied with fellow Michigander Erik Jones, and the top spot went to the No. 22 team, which ranked higher in Owners’ Points.

Once the green flag dropped, it was only out briefly. Choosing to start on the outside line, Brad quickly realized it wasn’t the way to go, and dropped to fourth. On lap six, he began to climb back up, passing Regan Smith for third, before a lap eight caution for Brandon Hightower spinning on the apron.

Restarting third on lap 13, Kes zipped past the No. 19 of Daniel Suarez, and 10 laps later, he passed the No. 20 of Jones for the lead. As the run ensued, the Double Deuce’s lead continued to grow until it rolled down pit road under green on lap 49 for scheduled maintenance. Swapping four tires and fuel in 12.3 seconds, the 22 Crew kept their driver out front when the cycle completed.

The second yellow flag flew on lap 71 when Ray Black Jr. spun out. Crew chief Greg Erwin elected to call Kes back in, where they put on a fresh set of rubber and topped off the tank in 12.5 seconds. The quick stop set them up for a lap 76 restart from the lead, where Brad gapped the field by over four seconds when the next debris caution waved on lap 91. Once again pitting for a set of Goodyear Eagles and fuel in 12.3 seconds, the speedy pit work sent BK out first for the lap 96 restart. As another long run broke out, it ended when Matt DiBenedetto made hard contact with the wall on lap 134. 

Kes pitted again for new tires, and the 22 Crew topped off the tank with Sunoco racing fuel, and provided wedge and air pressure adjustments in 11.8 seconds. The speedy stop locked up another P1 start for the No. 22 on lap 142, which stretched through lap 166 when Brandon Hightower’s motor expired. Erwin called BK back in for their last set of sticker tires, where the 12.6 second stop placed them back out front for the lap 171 restart.

Taking the green flag with 30 laps to go, Kyle Larson pinched Kes down to the apron, while sucking the air off his Ford Mustang, causing him to drop back to second. After regaining composure, Brad came back to take a run at Larson, but it wasn’t enough.

“Whatever car got out front with the way the aerodynamics are is going to control the pace,” BK said on chasing down the leader. “It is so hard to pass because the aero is so important and the cars are so equal that way. I thought maybe we were a touch faster, but without the track position, you lose too much grip behind the guy to do anything.”

Still, the strong finish has Roger Penske’s No. 22 atop the Owners’ Points Standings and in excellent position to advance to the championship round.

Brad will control the reigns of the car one more time this season, next week at Phoenix International Raceway for the Ticket Galaxy 200, airing live on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7:30p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

A Texas Sized Performance for Team BKR

With both drivers removed from Chase contention, the Brad Keselowski Racing duo of Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick stormed into the Lone Star State to show their abilities. Qualifying P2 and P5, respectively, their F-150’s had some single lap speed — but later proved to have long run speed as well.

Daniel Hemric scored a third place result, marking his 10th Top 5 of the season. Keeping himself in the Top 5 all race long, he led 38 laps along the way to another strong 1.5-mile performance.

“First off, I have to thank all my guys on pit road. We’ve been working really hard back at the shop and trying to perfect our pit stop stuff, so hats off to those guys for keeping us in contention,” Hemric said. “We had a really fast Blue Gate Bank Ford F-150, but about 10 or 15 laps into a run, our truck’s handling would make a big swing and give up a lot of front grip and then overall grip. I thought we would have good short-run speed on that final run, but I gave up grip even earlier that run than what we thought it would. I’m really proud of everyone at Brad Keselowski Racing for giving all the effort they could. I just really wish we could win one of these things.”

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