Just 66 laps into the AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway, Brad was running fourth in search of his eighth Top 5 finish of the year. But when Kurt Busch went for a spin on a restart, he collected the No. 2 Wurth Ford Fusion and sent it into the wall. The damage was critical and the day was over for the 2 Crew.

“It really stinks to DNF (Did Not Finish) two weeks in a row, but to make it worse I think we had cars capable of competing for the win both weeks,” BK said. “It’s unfortunate that we haven’t been able to show the speed in our Ford Fusions.”

Brad showed the strength of the Wurth Ford, posting the sixth-quickest mark in the opening practice of the weekend and earning a Top 10 starting position for the ninth time in his career at The Monster Mile. After qualifying eighth, BK went to work on the short runs early in the race.

He moved from eighth to sixth before the race’s first caution at lap 18. Strategies varied on the opening stop as Brad exited pit road eighth. He gained another position after a miscue by Kyle Busch’s pit crew caused him to lose a wheel and pit a second time, and he again swiped two spots from seventh to eighth on the restart.

Another caution flag flew at lap 48 after a tire issue for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. That first Stenhouse incident allowed BK to grab another spot up to fourth, but a second wreck by the recent Talladega winner set the stage for the wreck that ended the 2 Crew’s afternoon.

On the lap 67 restart, Kurt Busch got loose underneath Kyle Larson while battling for the lead entering Turn 1. His No. 41 Ford slid from the inside line and tagged the No. 2 Wurth Ford, running fourth on the outside, sending Kes hard into the wall in Turn 2. Busch rejoined the race after repairs but soon spun out again, finishing 37th.

“One of them racing deals,” BK said of the wreck. “These cars rely so much on aerodynamics. We saw that early with guys being able to stay out on two tires even with a lot of tire wear. I don’t know if it was Kurt’s fault, just one of them racing deals. We line-up double-file and somebody got loose and just took us out. What a bummer. Just one of them racing deals.”

Jimmie Johnson went on to claim an overtime victory, his 11th career win at Dover.

Last week, Kes held on to third place in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings, but he couldn’t survive a second consecutive week of bad luck, falling to seventh. However, he still left The Monster Mile proud of the machine his team brought and confident for the coming weeks.

“The most important thing, though, is that we indeed have speed,” Brad said. “The Wurth Ford was really good on restarts today and we were able to make some good moves to work our way into the top five. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be today.”

The Cup Series now heads to Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 400. Kes has one win and seven Top 10 finishes for his career at The Tricky Triangle. Green flag is set for shortly after 3 p.m. ET and will air on FOX Sports 1.

The post Kurt Busch’s Spin Ends BK’s Day Early appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.

Keselowski presented NMFA with the check in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage area at Dover International Speedway. The donation will be used to support NMFA’s Operation Purple® Healing Adventure (OPHA) in Parkton, NC later this year. Healing Adventures are three day camp experiences for families of the wounded, ill or injured. The retreats are designed to strengthen and connect families coping with a new “normal,” by providing them the opportunity to reconnect, build new memories, enjoy outdoor activities, and heal together.

Brad and Paige present the check to the National Military Family Foundation.

“The mission of my foundation is to honor and assist those who have sacrificed for our country, specifically military service members and first responders,” Keselowski said. “I give Paige a lot of credit for insisting that we work with organizations that support not only our soldiers, but their families as well. She recognized what the NMFA does to help wounded soldiers and their families prepare for the challenges faced during recovery, and as a result, we are honored to support this Operation Purple Healing Adventure.”

NMFA has served tens of thousands of families through its Operation Purple program, which includes Healing Adventures, Family Retreats and Camps for kids. They’ve awarded more than $3 million in scholarships to military spouses and lead the charge when it comes to understanding the often overlooked sacrifice made by military families.

“Multiple deployments and constant relocations create stress on families—and a life-changing injury can be devastating,” said NMFA Executive Director Joyce Raezer. “Thank you to The Brad Keselowski Checkered Flag Foundation and Brad and Paige Keselowski. Their commitment to helping our nation’s families will make a huge difference to these families who have given so much.”

About the National Military Family Association

The National Military Association is the leading nonprofit dedicated to serving the families who stand behind the uniform. Since 1969, NMFA has worked to strengthen and protect millions of families through its advocacy and programs. They provide spouse scholarships, camps for military kids and retreats for families for reconnecting after deployment and for the families of the wounded, ill or injured. NMFA serves the families of the currently serving, retired, wounded or fallen members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Commissioned Corps of the USPHS and NOAA. To get involved or to learn more, visit www.MilitaryFamily.org.

About Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation

Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation honors and assists those who have sacrificed greatly for our country. Since 2010, the foundation has supported over 50 organizations and individuals in order to help veterans and first responders during their road to recovery. There are numerous ways for those interested to become involved.

The post CFF Provides Support to NMFA appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.

Keselowski presented NMFA with the check in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage area at Dover International Speedway. The donation will be used to support NMFA’s Operation Purple® Healing Adventure (OPHA) in Parkton, NC later this year. Healing Adventures are three day camp experiences for families of the wounded, ill or injured. The retreats are designed to strengthen and connect families coping with a new “normal,” by providing them the opportunity to reconnect, build new memories, enjoy outdoor activities, and heal together.

Brad and Paige present the check to the National Military Family Foundation.

“The mission of my foundation is to honor and assist those who have sacrificed for our country, specifically military service members and first responders,” Keselowski said. “I give Paige a lot of credit for insisting that we work with organizations that support not only our soldiers, but their families as well. She recognized what the NMFA does to help wounded soldiers and their families prepare for the challenges faced during recovery, and as a result, we are honored to support this Operation Purple Healing Adventure.”

NMFA has served tens of thousands of families through its Operation Purple program, which includes Healing Adventures, Family Retreats and Camps for kids. They’ve awarded more than $3 million in scholarships to military spouses and lead the charge when it comes to understanding the often overlooked sacrifice made by military families.

“Multiple deployments and constant relocations create stress on families—and a life-changing injury can be devastating,” said NMFA Executive Director Joyce Raezer. “Thank you to The Brad Keselowski Checkered Flag Foundation and Brad and Paige Keselowski. Their commitment to helping our nation’s families will make a huge difference to these families who have given so much.”

About the National Military Family Association

The National Military Association is the leading nonprofit dedicated to serving the families who stand behind the uniform. Since 1969, NMFA has worked to strengthen and protect millions of families through its advocacy and programs. They provide spouse scholarships, camps for military kids and retreats for families for reconnecting after deployment and for the families of the wounded, ill or injured. NMFA serves the families of the currently serving, retired, wounded or fallen members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Commissioned Corps of the USPHS and NOAA. To get involved or to learn more, visit www.MilitaryFamily.org.

About Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation

Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation honors and assists those who have sacrificed greatly for our country. Since 2010, the foundation has supported over 50 organizations and individuals in order to help veterans and first responders during their road to recovery. There are numerous ways for those interested to become involved.

The post CFF Provides Support to NMFA appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.

“Dover is an incredible challenge,” he says. “You literally drive into the corner and you fall down two stories, while going about 160mph, and your stomach just drops. Your right foot has to stay in the gas pedal, and that challenge to do that every lap for three hours is very tough.”

At first, the 1-mile concrete circuit was even too much for BK to overcome. His first Dover Sprint Cup start was slated for spring 2009, and he seemed like a sure lock in the field driving Rick Hendrick’s fifth car, the No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet. However, qualifying didn’t go how Brad hoped, and he was left on the outside looking in on Sunday. However, the next day in a Green-White-Checkered XFINITY race finish, roles reversed as contact from the leaders parted the way for Brad to slip right on through. Holding off then-Joe Gibbs Racing driver Joey Logano for two laps wasn’t easy, but BK managed to claim his first series win of the year

“I have to thank everyone at GoDaddy.com, because I missed the show yesterday. I just flat out missed it. I felt terrible yesterday,” BK said after his NXS win at Dover. “I felt terrible for them, so I got to put them in Victory Lane, I hope they’re happy about that.”

And just three years later, Keselowski’s fuel stretching excellence led to his only Cup level triumph at the Monster Mile in 2012, similar to his Kansas win just a year prior. While the win wasn’t stolen from the competition like Kansas was, Brad ran well inside of the Top 5 for a majority of the race, but only led 14 laps in the process: the last 14.

“We ran up front all day. We might not have been in the lead, we hung around that Top 5 and kept creeping around,” BK said. “When you do that, you put yourself in position for great things to happen.”

Both 2014 Sprint Cup events saw BK wind up as the runner-up, but the spring race became the pedestal for him to set the track qualifying record. Laying down a blazing lap of 21.892 seconds at 164.44 mph, his record has stood since then, and with the 2017 aero configuration, it’s likely to remain.

Piloting the Wurth Fusion for the second time this season, the red and white scheme will be fitted with an Autism Awareness puzzle piece on the C-pillar in recognition of Autism Delaware. After being collected in an early wreck in the Coca-Cola 600, Kes is looking for redemption at The Monster Mile. See if he can pull it off on Sunday, June 4 at 1 p.m. ET, live on FOX Sports 1.

The post 2 Crew Hopes to Rebound at Dover appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.

The post AAA 400 Drive for Autism appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.