Mr. Halle, to me, was a very special person, and his life embodied many things that move and inspire me. He didn’t come from a prominent business family. He went through a tremendous business failure early on. But he continued to work hard and didn’t give up. He kept trying, and it paid off in amazing ways—not just for him, but for many, many people he helped along the way.

We’re going to honor Mr. Halle by running a special Discount Tire paint scheme in the Daytona 500, and as part of doing that, I want to use this blog to talk about him and what made him special. I admired a great deal about him, and learned a lot from him, too.

MADE BY SIX TIRES

Mr. Halle was born in Massachusetts, but he grew up in the same metro Detroit area I did. He joined the Marines and went to Korea, and he once told me a story about he and a bunch of his buddies were in two foxholes that were right next to each other. The one next to him got blown up and everyone got killed. He survived.

After he came back from Korea, he went to college and eventually started an automotive business in Michigan that went bankrupt in his 30s. His partner in the failed business left him with six tires.

He took those six tires, sold them, and then kept selling used tires, selling them for almost nothing. That’s where the name Discount Tire came from. He started with a store in Ann Arbor, just outside Detroit, and grew the business until it was one of the most successful companies in America, which is pretty remarkable.

He was a self-made man, and Discount Tire was privately owned, too.

And that’s just the beginning of what made him great.

He also probably has the best reputation of anybody I have ever worked with. Period. The people that worked for him loved him. The community he worked around loved him.

He had a huge foundation that he personally donated millions to. He created a scholarship that sent some 2,700-plus of his employees’ children to college. A powerhouse of good came out of his success.

He showed that you could be a capitalist, and be a good guy, too.

MEETING BRUCE

I met Bruce in the summer of 2009. Roger Penske and I had talked about having me drive for him, and I’d explained that I’d only do it if we had an Xfinity team. So he went out and worked really hard to land Discount Tire as a sponsor.

But Discount Tire had one small caveat before they would agree to sponsor the car.

They wanted to meet me.

So one Wednesday during the middle of the race season, I flew to Scottsdale, Ariz., to meet Bruce Halle. We sat down and had lunch, and we talked. He asked me about where I was from. He asked if I thought we could win. (I did.) We talked about family. We talked about life. We talked about a lot of things that weren’t related to racing.

A lot of things struck me about him that day. Most people that run a huge, self-owned company the size of Discount Tire have gigantic egos. They show very little humility. He wasn’t that way. He was really quiet and humble. He was a very good listener.

Nothing was set when I left that day. But later that night, I heard from Mr. Halle.

He said he would sponsor the car.

If it wasn’t for Bruce Halle, I wouldn’t be at Penske. I wouldn’t have the wins. I probably wouldn’t have the championship. I don’t know where I would be, but he was another really important person in terms of getting my career off the ground, and a lot of people don’t know that.

As I got to know him later, I got to see how great he was with his employees. Just the way he talked with them, the way he listened to them, how lighthearted he was—it was really refreshing.

Every year, Mr., Halle would invite me to meet him in Lake Tahoe, where he had this employee retreat. And at the employee retreat, he would take his best people. We’re not just talking store managers. If you were one of the best tire changers at Discount Tire, you might be in Lake Tahoe on a paid vacation with your family. I was lucky enough to get to know his son-in-law, Michael Zuieback, at those trips as well. As the new CEO of Discount Tire, Michael is going to do an amazing job continuing Bruce’s legacy.

What I loved about those meetings was the way Mr. Halle talked and engaged with everyone. He shared his thoughts about his company with everyone who was there, and the values he wanted it to stand for.

One of my favorite things Mr. Halle did was institute a policy where if our car won, everyone in Discount Tire corporate got to wear jeans the next day. Everyone.

I always thought that was so cool.

FIVE VALUES

I went to Mr. Halle’s funeral, and I have to tell you: It was one of the toughest funerals I’ve ever been to.

There were so many people there, from so many different walks of life. He was 87, and for people that age, the sentiment is typically something like, “He lived a good life.” For him, you could feel that his impact would really, really be missed. There was a lot of crying. It spoke to how much the community thought of him, and to the legacy he left behind.

One thing he always did—this was one of his personal hallmarks—was carry around small pins in the shape of an angel, and he’d give them to people. He was Catholic, a very religious man, and he’d say, “God bless you. God bless your family. Here’s this pin, symbolizing how I hope the angels are always with you.”

Mr. Halle had five key values that he used in his life, and I really like them a lot. I’d like to share them here, and in his honor, also talk about how I plan to apply them in my own life. They are:

1. Be honest. Being honest is something I’ve tried to be. These blogsare meant to be just that, an opportunity to communicate things as truly as I can. I plan to continue to do that, both in my blogsand in social media in general.
2. Work hard.I plan to apply all my effort to being successful on and off the race track, whether it’s to benefit the community or outside business interests. I’m working on some new things and ventures in the community, and will be applying myself to the utmost of my ability to continue to work hard for the community, whether it be my foundation or outside business interests.
3. Have fun. How am I committed to having a little fun? With my daughter and my wife, mainly, by going on trips this year, and doing some really neat things. There are dinners I intend to have with my team, and other events. That’s how I plan on having fun.
4. Be grateful. Mr. Halle always talked about being grateful. To that end, I’m going to continue to acknowledge God, show humility and always be appreciative of my team’s efforts.
5. Pay it forward. Finally, I’ll be paying it forward through my foundation and the things we do there. In the past, I also would have said that my truck team was part of paying it forward since we were giving new drivers a chance to make their mark. But since the team is gone, I’m going to lean more heavily toward the foundation.

THE LEGACY

I’m thrilled to be honoring Mr. Halle at Daytona with the paint scheme you see here. It’s got his five values on it along with an angel, and hopefully, we can get it to Victory Lane. More than anything, though, I’m excited for people to see the car, and maybe learn a little more about Mr. Halle’s story.

Hopefully, he can be the kind of inspiration to others that he has been to me.

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Fans can enter now through July 31 for a chance to win the grand prize: a VIP racing experience at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a Brad Keselowski Racing Shop tour and a private dinner with BK himself.

There are also five first prizes: two tickets to a NASCAR race of your choice at eligible tracks, as well as 10 second-place prizes: a Team Penske autographed diecast car, T-shirt and hat.

Visit PitPassSweeps.com for more information and to enter.

The post The Goodyear Pit Pass Sweepstakes appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.

Running his first Nationwide Series race in over a month, BK led 138 of the race’s 200 laps, 100 more than the next best driver, earning a higher driver rating (144.9) than race-winner Kevin Harvick.

But a pit road speeding penalty during a green flag stop with about 50 laps remaining proved to be the Achilles heel in an otherwise well-executed race for the No. 22 team, and despite spending nearly three-quarters of the day in front of the field, Brad had to come from behind to secure the runner-up spot. 

Afterward, he summed up the day succinctly, but with disappointment in his voice.

“Great night all around,” Brad said. “Qualifying on the pole, lead a lot of laps, just one spot short of where we want to finish with this Discount Tire Ford.”

Then Brad hit Twitter to take ownership of the mistake that briefly knocked him out of the top 20.

Bummer night, Speeding penalty= driver error I hate being the weak link. Fun having fast @Team_Penske cars today @KySpeedway

— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) June 28, 2014

There was no doubt after qualifying whether Brad would be a factor in his fifth Nationwide race of 2014.

He posted the fifth and second-best times in the first two rounds, respectively, then won his second pole of the season with a lap time of 30.802 seconds, 175.313 mph. Hours later the Rochester Hills native broke the track record in Sprint Cup qualifying in 28.603 seconds, 188.791 mph, for his second pole of the weekend.

In a true testament to the season BK is having, the qualifying result was something of a “slump” buster.

#NASCAR … Brad Keselowski’s pole ends 3-race “drought” where he failed to start on front row – longest “drought” of year. #AskMRN @MRNRadio

— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) June 27, 2014

As the Series John R. Elliot HERO Campaign 300 got going under the Friday night lights of Kentucky Speedway, the No. 22 looked dominant and BK led the first 43 laps of the race before the race’s first caution brought the leaders down pit road.

Paul Menard’s No. 33 car won the race off pit road and Menard led the next four laps, but one lap after the restart, Kes drove the No. 22 by Menard to re-take the lead. He went on to hold the lead through to the next caution on Lap 83, which brought the leaders down pit road once again.

This time Brad was fourth off pit road as Elliot Sadler in the No. 11, Regan Smith in the No. 7 and Brendan Gaughan in the No. 62 all elected to take two tires each while BK and the No. 22 crew opted for four fresh ones. Smith bested Sadler on the restart and BK followed the No. 7 through to second place. Smith managed to hold off Brad to lead for two laps, but on Lap 90, BK made the pass for the lead.

BK went on to lead for the next 58 laps and seemed to be well on his way to a dominant win at Kentucky for the second straight year.

But it all came apart in a matter of second for the No. 22 team when BK came down for his final pit stop of the night, his first green flag stop, on Lap 148. Sensing some urgency after a 13-second stop, Brad peeled out of his front pit stall and hit the gas too hard exiting pit road. He was penalized for speeding on pit road and had to serve a pass through penalty that put him a lap down.

“I just made a little mistake, but the Discount Tire team did a great job,” Brad said. “It’s just part of the job,” Brad said. “It’s a high-stress environment inside of a race car and it’s our job to deal with it if you’re going to be a professional and win races and be competitive. I’ve gone through some adversity before and that’s certainly not the worst thing in the world that can happen to you.”

When the caution flag flew shortly after BK’s pass through, Harvick and the rest of the leaders were able to make final pit stops of the night under yellow while Kes had to take the wave around onto the lead lap.

The 2010 Nationwide Series Champion did his best behind a dominant machine to make up the lost progress. The No. 22 restarted on Row 9 with 39 laps to go. But from there, Brad got to show off the speed of his Discount Tire Ford Mustang, slicing through the field with ease and moving from 18th place to 7th in just five turns around the track.

Cautions started to fall more frequently in the final 50 laps, each doing Brad a favor and helping him move up the running order.

After a caution on Lap 170, he restarted in 7th and quickly managed to move into fifth. Another caution came out on Lap 176 with BK running fifth. He lost a spot on the subsequent restart to fall back to sixth. It took him just regain the fifth position and he went about chasing down the four-car lead pack with 18 laps to go.

#NASCAR … Keselowski told on radio: “We’re not getting beat tonight.” Kez responds: “I feel ya.” #AskMRN @MRNRadio

— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) June 28, 2014

Kes managed to pass Gaughan for fourth before the final caution flag waved with 10 laps to go. The last yellow set up a thrilling end to the race. Kes restarted on the outside of the second row, which allowed him to pull ahead of Menard for third.

He then set out to take away second from Kyle Busch, but Busch wouldn’t let him have it without a fight, and the side-by-side between the two allowed Kevin Harvick to pull away. By the time Brad finally got around Busch, Harvick had opened up a lead that was just too big to make up in three laps, and Kes settled for second.

“(The penalty) put us a bit behind, but you have to give credit to Kevin (Harvick) and his team,” Brad said. “They were really fast there at the end, and I wasn’t gaining on them. We needed a little bit more, I think. Had I been able to stay in the lead I might have been able to use the clean air, but he was a little bit faster in the end, so they deserve credit.”

Though his was the dominant car for much of the race, BK downplayed the idea that the No. 22 might have taken the checkered flag with a few more laps to possibly pass Harvick. He noted that once the daylight faded, his advantage over Harvick and Busch did as well.

“We weren’t really gaining on him. He looked pretty good. They gave me a really fast car and just didn’t quite capitalize on it there at the end. We got through

[the penalty] the best we could and obviously not quite good enough with finishing second, but still pretty well,” BK said. “But I thought Kevin at the end was just as fast, if not a touch faster, so we had a really good, and like you said, a dominant daytime car but the race obviously finished under night and we were all probably pretty equal then.”

Friday night’s result nudges the second-place No. 22 Discount Tire Ford team two points closer to the No. 54 of Joe Gibbs Racing in the Owner’s Point Standings after 15 races. 

It also means Brad’s gone five-for-five in top-five finishes with the No. 22 car this year. His utter dominance of the Kentucky Speedway remains intact. He’s never finished lower than seventh in seven Nationwide races there.

The post Double Deuce Settles For Second After Costly Pit Road Violation appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.

BK has dominated the Nationwide Series event at Kentucky throughout his career, but particularly behind the wheel of the No. 22 Discount Tire car.

Friday night’s race will be Brad’s fifth Nationwide start of the season and first since he finished in second place at Charlotte a month ago. He makes his return to the series at a track where his average finish is an incredible 3.2 in six races. In fact, BK has never finished lower than seventh in a Nationwide race at Kentucky and has run all 1170 laps successfully over the last six years.

In that span, Kes has made two trips to Nationwide Victory Lane, finished third twice, fourth once and seventh once. His last victory there came last year in the rain-shortened Feed The Children 300.

Brad was driving far and away the fastest machine on the track and led 59 of the 170 laps run. He had just re-taken the lead 13 laps prior to the stoppage, which came 30 laps shy of completion. After waiting out an hour-long delay with no end to the showers in site, track officials ruled the race to be over, awarding BK his second Nationwide victory at Kentucky.

He was even more dominant in his first victory at Kentucky back in 2011, when he led 132 of the 200 laps on his way to victory.

“Kentucky traditionally has been a strong track for Team Penske and this Discount Tire team,” Brad said. “The track itself has some personality in terms of the surface, which requires that the driver manage the tires over the course of a run.”

Although Brad has traditionally owned the Kentucky race in particular over the years, he’s also been a consistent Nationwide competitor up and down the schedule.

A win this weekend would give him sole place of sixth place on the all-time series wins list with 29. This year, the script is no different. His early-season win at Vegas extended his streak of consecutive seasons with at least one Nationwide win to seven, dating back to 2008. 

With his win at Vegas, second place finish at Charlotte, second place run at Daytona and a third place run at Phoenix, the 2010 Nationwide Series Champion has yet to finish a 2014 Nationwide race outside the top three.

“In general, this No. 22 Team Penske Ford crew is capable of contending for the win every weekend,” he said. “We fully expect to do just that this weekend.”

BK and teammate Joey Logano have played a huge role in putting the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang in serious contention for their second consecutive owner’s points title. After 10 races, they are second in the standings, 50 points behind the No. 54 of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Crew chief Jeremy Bullins is approaching the race with plenty of confidence.

“We look forward to going to Kentucky each year. It’s a place where we’ve run well,” Jeremy said. “We’ve had success here, and it felt like it jump started us last season to some intermediate track wins that got us back in the championship hunt. Hopefully, we can get that going again and carry the momentum forward for the rest of the year. Our Mustangs have been really fast lately, and we feel like we are close to breaking out for some wins.”

Though all drivers will have gone through their requisite preparations, Kes will enter the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign 300 more familiar with the track having run his No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing Draw-Tite Ford F-150 to a fifth place finish in Thursday night’s Camping World Truck Series UNOH 225.

“Since I am running all three races, I feel as though the additional track time will be beneficial too,” Brad said. “On top of all that, I just seem to do well at Kentucky and anytime you go into the weekend with that mindset you do have an advantage.”

In addition to four sessions with the No. 19 truck on the Kentucky track Thursday, BK got to take the Discount Tire Mustang for a spin in opening practice on Thursday night prior to the truck race. He was 10th fastest in that session with an average speed of 173.455 miles per hour over a 31.132-second lap. The Double Deuce was even quicker in final practice on Friday morning, posting a top speed of 175.695 mph over a 30.735-second lap.

Qualifying for Friday night’s race is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on FOX Sports 1. Just a few hours later, The John R. Elliott HERO Campaign 300 gets its start under the lights at Kentucky. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN with green flag scheduled to wave at 7:45 p.m. ET.

The post BK Aims For Back-to-Back at Kentucky in Nationwide No. 22 appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.

BK has begun the 2014 season at the front of the pack, finishing in the Top 3 in each of the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races at NASCAR’s first two stops of the season. Now, as both series descend on the Mojave Desert this weekend for races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, BK is seeking to turn all those strong finishes into his first trip down Victory Lane in 2014.

He’ll get his first chance to do that with the No. 22 team in Saturday’s Nationwide Series Boyd Gaming 300.

BK will start that race from the second position on the front row, after narrowly missing his second straight Nationwide pole win during knockout qualifying on Saturday morning in Las Vegas. His time of 29.719 at an average speed of 181.702 during the final round was less than a tenth off the pace set by polesitter Ty Dillon.

All three of Brad’s qualifying runs improved greatly on two uneven practice sessions for the No. 22. Brad was ninth best in the first practice of the weekend on Friday with a top lap of 30.696 but didn’t tick up much in the second session, falling to 13th with a lap of 30.691. BK was near the bubble in the first round of qualifying, after posting the 17th best time (30.556) in the free-for-all. But he made it to the second round, where he posted the fifth best time (29.947). The 22 car improved even more in his final run of the morning to put Kes on the front row to start the race.

Brad said that the improvements from Friday to Saturday and throughout Saturday’s qualifying session give him confidence going into Saturday afternoon’s race, especially the fact that for parts of his top lap on Saturday morning he was even faster than Dillon.

“I think I lost a little bit in 1 & 2. But either way, a really big pickup from the first two sessions and the Penkse guys did a great job,” he said. “That’s something to be proud of. Hopefully we can go win a race from there on this Vegas track.”

What should also give BK some confidence is the success the No. 22 team has had kicking off this season.

Brad and the Discount Tire Ford Mustang enter Saturday’s race at LVMS with some momentum. After finishing second in the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona, BK was third in last week’s rain-shortened Dollar General 200. Lost in the headlines of those excellent results are the technical difficulties he and his team had to overcome in the process. Brad reported significant handling issues with his Ford Mustang last week in Phoenix, which forced him to pit road multiple times. But he still managed a third place finish thanks to great driving and outstanding work by his team. With a smoothly functioning ride, BK thinks he should be able to make a move to the top of the chart in Vegas.

Doing so would accomplish something that Brad has never been able to at the 1.5 mile oval in Nevada, though his results at LVMS haven’t been as bad as they seem. On paper, it might look as though Las Vegas Motor Speedway has gotten the best of Kes. After back-to-back top-five finishes in 2010 and 2011, BK finished 23rd and 37th respectively in 2012 and 2013.

But the No. 22 car ran better than the numbers suggest in each of those four races. Brad was actually in line to win in 2011 before his car blew a front tire on the final lap to give Mark Martin the victory. He also led a total of 45 laps over the most recent two races in Vegas, but a miscommunication about fuel cost him several laps in 2012 and he was running third last year before a front suspension malfunction ended his race early. Kes even holds the track record for fastest lap (29.122 seconds) at LVMS, which he set to win the pole in 2010 when the race was known as Sam’s Town 300. 

“I’ve been so close to winning it three or four years in a row and haven’t quite made it happen,” Brad said. “We don’t quite have as much speed as we would like, but hopefully we’ll have some good fortune on our side.”

Discount Tire Ford crew chief Jeremy Bullins is equally cognizant of the team’s history in Sin City and optimistic about taking the last steps to bridge the gap from third to first.

“No doubt Las Vegas has been a strong track for the No. 22 Discount Tire Mustang,” Bullins said. “The stats books won’t show it because circumstances have hurt our finishes, but we’ve led a lot of laps and I feel like we have a strong intermediate track package. Brad really knows the feel he’s looking for there and hopefully we can get the finish we’re after.”

Brad will be particularly eager to run a solid race this weekend, as he prepares to hand over the keys to Penske’s No. 22 to teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, who will take turns behind the wheel for the next several races. Thanks to BK’s performances at Daytona and Phoenix, the Discount Tire Ford Mustang currently sits just five points behind the No. 54 of Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series Owner’s Points Standings. The trio, with some help from A.J. Allmendinger, captured the 2013 Nationwide Owner’s Championship for Roger Penske and they’re looking to repeat this season. But first, Brad wants to get a win under his belt.

“This Discount Tire team is a special group and one that I feel privileged to be a part of,” he said. “We have had a solid start to our season, but we won’t be happy until we win.”

Live coverage of the Boyd Gaming 300 begins at 4 p.m. on ESPN 2 and the green flag will fly shortly after 4:15 p.m. ET.

The post Another Chance To Win appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.

Just like he did on Friday in Sprint Cup Series qualifying, Brad knocked out a group of his peers to win the first elimination qualifying session in NASCAR Nationwide Series history in the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang.

But a few hours after being the class of the series, the No. 22 car was giving BK a rough ride in the Blue Jeans Go Green 200. So when the race was stopped with 32 laps to go, and subsequently called due to rain, Brad wasn’t too upset by not having to finish the race.

That’s because, the way the Double Deuce was running, Kes wasn’t confident he could do any better than his third place standing when the race was halted.

“I felt kind of relieved to get it over with here,” he admitted. “Third was about all I could do. I was holding on for all I was worth towards the end of the last stint before the rain came. It was a decent run, I guess and I am proud of the effort. We will take it and move on.”

After starting on the pole, the Discount Tire Ford Mustang’s loose-handling was a handful for Kes from the outset, quickly wiping out the advantage he gained in qualifying that morning. Brad led the first five laps before eventual winner Kyle Busch jumped out in front and No. 22 settled into third.

The early setbacks forced BK to bring the No. 22 car down pit road for a series of adjustments during the first caution period of the race, which put him out of sequence with the leaders and he subsequently dropped into 27th position.

Despite battling with his car’s conditions, BK needed only about 25 laps to maneuver his way back into the top 10, where he would remain for the rest of the race.

“The Discount Tire crew gave me great service during our stops and we were fighting all afternoon,” he said. “We made adjustments to try to get better but I just had my hands full for whatever reason.”

Brad briefly took the lead back at lap 89 as other cars began making pit stops, but his own trip to pit road on lap 92 forced him to cede the position. Fortunately a caution came out just four laps after his stop, allowing BK to get back in cycle with the leaders and once again compete in the Top 5.

However, the car was not strong enough to run with leader Kyle Busch and BK was once again fighting its conditions when the race came to a halt on lap 165 as rain brought the red flag out. After a three-hour delay and numerous attempts to dry the track, the race was called with Busch the winner, Kevin Harvick in 2nd and Brad finishing 3rd. Afterward, BK gave an honest assessment of the day.

“I guess it is kind of a good and bad day,” he said. “We probably qualified better than what we should have. We had about a third or fourth place Ford Mustang all weekend.”

The third place finish was Brad’s fourth top-three finish in his last six Nationwide races at PIR, and sixth top-five finish in nine races behind the No. 22 Discount Tire car at Phoenix. BK’s second top-three finish in as many races this season also kept the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford in second place in the Owners’ point standings five points behind Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54.

NEXT UP

The Nationwide Series heads further west next week where Las Vegas Motors Speedway will his the Boyd Gaming 300 next Saturday.

The race will be Brad’s eighth Nationwide race at Las Vegas, where has never won. His best result was a third place run in 2011, and although he has finished outside the Top 20 each of the last two years, he’s led at least 10 laps three years running and a total of 56 laps in the last three Nationwide races at Vegas.

The Nationwide series kicks off the weekend with multiple practice runs on Friday, at 3:30 and 5 p.m. ET on Friday.  Both can be seen on Fox Sports 1.

For the second straight week, qualifying and the race will take place on the same day. Qualifying begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 2. The Boyd Gaming 300 will follow with live coverage on ESPN 2 beginning at 4 p.m. and green flag shortly after 4:15 p.m. ET.

The post Another Knockout, Then A Rainout appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.

As the NASCAR Nationwide Series descends on the Phoenix International Raceway for the Blue Jeans Go Green 200 on Saturday, Kes returns to a track where he’s all too familiar with ‘almost.’ BK has finished second in three of his last five Nationwide races at PIR.

Second place was the result for BK last week as well, as he missed a win in the DRIVE4COPD 300 by a mere .013 seconds behind Regan Smith in the season kickoff race last week at Daytona. On the heels of an Owners’ Champions in 2013, it was a strong start to the Nationwide Series season for Team Penske. But it also left BK and the No. 22 team wanting more. They believe they can find it in the desert this weekend.

“We look forward to taking the Discount Tire Mustang to Phoenix every time we see it on the schedule,” Crew Chief Jeremy Bullins said. “Not only are we in the backyard of Discount Tire, but we’ve also ran pretty well there with a couple of second place finishes in the last couple of years. We’re just looking for that little bit extra to get this car back in Victory Lane again. We’ve been close and we feel like we have a good baseline. If we’ve made the gains we think we have, we hope to take that next step.”

Since joining Team Penske in 2010, BK has raced the Discount Tire machine eight times at Phoenix and his average finish is inside the Top 10.

Brad’s last run at Phoenix did leave a sour taste, however. He finished 19th in the ServiceMaster 200 last November after a bump from the No. 2 of Brian Scott sent BK and the No. 22 into the outside wall and cost Kes a lap he was never able to get back.

But he did have a fast Ford Mustang that day and led eight laps before the accident. In fact, BK has led at least five laps in each of the last four Nationwide races at PIR. He said this week that it’s a track that agrees with him, though he believes that to be true of most drivers.

“Phoenix is a track that most drivers enjoy,” he said. “It allows us to push ourselves and our cars.”

Unlike most drivers, BK has an outstanding history of success in the Nationwide Series over the course of his career. In 206 races, he has 95 top-five finishes and 27 wins. Both numbers are third behind Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth among active drivers.

Brad has also won at 19 of the 29 tracks he’s raced at in the Nationwide Series leaving Phoenix in the minority in tracks where he has yet to visit Victory Lane. But BK refuses to take all the credit, commending his team for giving always putting him in the best position to succeed. He’s hopeful that will allow him to cross Phoenix off his list on Saturday afternoon.

“The Team Penske Nationwide Series program is top-notch,” he said. “They have consistently given me cars that are capable of running up front and this weekend should be more of the same.”

Brad ran up front early on Friday, posting the top time (27.278 seconds) and speed (131.974 mph) in the first practice for Saturday’s race. However, his speed fell off in the afternoon session, dropping to 130.011 for a lap of 27.690, and sending the No. 22 team back to work to recapture their early speed.

They’ll be back at it on Saturday morning for a qualifying run at 10 a.m. local time (12 p.m. ET). It can be seen live on Fox Sports 1. The Blue Jeans Go Green 200 presented by Cotton, The Fabric of Our Lives follows at 4 p.m. ET with coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m, ET on ABC.

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Under direction of four drivers and with the help of one of the best crews in the sport, the No. 22 team won the 2013 Nationwide Owner’s Points title for Team Penske with 12 victories over the course of 33 races last season. So what can the team do for an encore? Crew Chief Jeremy Bullins, who returns with a nearly identical crew as last season, has some ideas.

“The approach for us is simple, and that’s to continue to build on the things that made us successful last year,” Bullins said. “If we can continue to improve in all areas, whether it be faster cars or faster pit stops or better strategy, there’s no reason to think we can’t perform at a high level. Everyone at Team Penske has worked hard in the off season to be as prepared as we can be for this season.”

One thing the No. 22 team can do that they didn’t last year is win at Daytona and they have a chance to do that in the season kickoff race, the DRIVE4COPD 300 on Saturday.

Brad Keselowski, who won six races in the No. 22 last year, will be back behind the wheel of the Double Deuce for several races in 2014, including Saturday’s race at Daytona. He ran the Discount Tire Ford Mustang sixth fastest in the first Nationwide practice on Thursday and will start the race on Row 9 after finishing 17th in Friday’s qualifying session.

BK has won 27 career Nationwide races, putting him in a tie for seventh all-time, but he has never been to Victory Lane at Daytona in the Nationwide Series, or any other series for that matter.

Kes has come close to winning at Daytona in the DRIVE4COPD 300 while piloting the Discount Tire machine each of the last two years. He finished second in the race in 2012 and was attempting to make a move for the win in the final turn last year when Regan Smith went up for the block and contact between the two cars created a huge wreck.

“We’ve been close here, last year comes to mind,” BK said. “We have fast Ford Mustangs and this No. 22 Team Penske crew knows what it takes to win. We have a solid chance this year, and we will do our utmost to make the most of the opportunity.”

The DRIVE4COPD 300 will be Brad’s 12th career Nationwide race at Daytona. He has led at least one lap in eight of those 12 and his average finish is in the Top 15, including four Top 10s. He’s also run nine regular season Sprint Cup races at DIS with a pair of Top 10s. Additionally, over the last week, BK led the Sprint Unlimited and his Budweiser Duel for long stretches. With that kind of success at the track under his belt, Kes knows it is merely a matter of time before he finds his way to Daytona Victory Lane.

“I always enjoy racing here at Daytona,” he said. “If you run up front consistently and keep yourself in a position to win – it is going to happen, it’s just a matter of when.”

When could certainly be Saturday afternoon as the No. 22 team seeks to build on one of the best seasons ever for a Team Penske race crew. The precedent is set, and Brad and his team are ready to try and exceed it.

“I think when you have a season like we had in 2013, with 12 wins and a championship; you never really want it to end,” Bullins said. “It also sets the bar high for the following year, as you always want to move forward and get better.”

Coverage of the 2014 DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway begins at Noon ET on Saturday on ESPN, with the green flag scheduled to fly at around 1:15 p.m.

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This weekend that means taking a supportive role behind the wheel of another third Penske machine for the Nationwide season ending Ford EcoBoost 300.

While teammate Joey Logano pilots the No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang and races for the owner’s cup, and Sam Hornish Jr. tries to take the No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Mustang to a driver’s championship, BK will don the familiar Discount Tire logo, but will do so for the first time in the No. 48 Ford. It’s all part of an effort to cap a great Nationwide season for Penske with a championship or two.

“This is a very important weekend for Penske Racing and Roger (Penske) asked me to drive a third car,” BK said. “I was happy to do whatever was needed for the good of the team.”

BK will be racing for his 27th career NNS victory. With 26 wins currently to his name, he ranks eighth all-time in the series. Six of those wins have come this season in just 15 NNS starts behind the wheel of the No. 22 Mustang. Of those 15 races, Kes has finished in the top two nine times, helping to build the lead the 22 team carries into Saturday’s race.

Logano and the No. 22 begin the race with a four-point lead in the owner’s standings, just ahead of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54, which will be piloted by fellow Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch. As Brad looks to help Logano best Busch and take that title, he’ll also be lending a hand to Hornish, who is just eight points behind Austin Dillon in the NNS driver point standings.

As the driver who brought Penske Racing its first three NASCAR titles, BK reflected this week on the brief but bountiful history he and Roger Penske share.

“Together, I guess you could say we have won three if you count the Sprint Cup owners, drivers and Nationwide drivers. I think it is somewhat an incomplete feeling to not have that Nationwide owner’s title—at least it is for me. It has been rewarding so far, and it isn’t over, but if we were to win it that would be very rewarding for me personally to be a part of providing that for Roger.”

Though that success has been very special to Brad, he also noted what it would mean for the team to fill that lone empty spot in the Penske Racing trophy room.

“This is about Roger. It is about getting him something that he hasn’t done,” Brad said specifically of the Nationwide Owner’s Points title. “I take a lot of pride in that. When I came to drive for him he didn’t have any NASCAR championships and that was not a point lost on me.”

As Kes looks forward to helping his teammates complete the push for the NNS titles, he’ll do so as a former winner at Homestead. BK took the checkered flag at the southern Florida track in 2011, leading 66 laps along the way.

He has also finished third or better in three of his last four starts at the 1.5-mile oval. That stretch included a third-place finish at the track in 2010, which sealed the 2010 Nationwide Series championship—the first NASCAR title for Penske Racing.

He followed that up with a Sprint Cup coronation at Homestead last season. This weekend, BK hopes to be celebrating in South Beach once again.

“I love racing at Homestead,”Brad said. “We have a lot of good memories from racing there with the 2010 Nationwide championship and last year’s Cup championship celebrations. Hopefully we’ll be celebrating a couple more championships on Saturday evening.”

BK was 11th in the first practice session on Friday morning with Logano and Hornish ahead in 3rd and 4th respectively. The second session saw Logano and Hornish drop to 9th and 10th with BK and the 48 car right behind them in 14th.

Qualifying is on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 2.

Finally, the Ford EcoBoost 300 will go green Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Penske Racing Ford EcoBoost 300 Preview (Penske Racing, November 13, 2013)

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Just two races remain in the 2013 Nationwide schedule and the 22’s chances of winning that title got a big shot in the arm last week when Brad raced the Double Duece to Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway, his first ever victory at TMS.

“Winning last weekend at Texas was big for us, not just because I finally was able to win there after being so close so many times, but because it propelled us into a nice lead in the owner’s point standings,” Brad said.

The No. 22 crew enters Saturday’s weekend’s Servicemaster 200 at Phoenix International Raceway with a 26-point lead over the No. 54 Joe Gibbs racing team.

However, Brad knows the race to the owner’s points title is far from over and he’ll have to deal with one of the most competitive racers in the sport, Kyle Busch, to capture the crown. BK believes he can draw from his experience holding off Jimmie Johnson to win the Sprint Cup last season to help finish the job for Penske Racing in the Nationwide.

“I’m not at all comfortable and I don’t think you will see me race that way,” Kes said. “When you’re racing the 54 car you can’t be timid and cautious because you know they will be up front. If you look at the Cup battle with me and Jimmie last year, we had a good lead going into Homestead where we only had to finish 15th. We finished 15th after struggling with the car. So we aren’t in the clear yet but I like our chances because we have very fast Ford Mustangs.”

Those fast Mustangs have led BK to six wins so far this season in the Nationwide Series and the Discount Tire Ford has gone to Victory Lane 12 times this season. But neither has done so yet at Phoenix, which sits just outside of the home base of Discount Tire in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Brad has run 13 Nationwide races at Phoenix in his career, including seven in the Discount Tire machine. He’s finished Top 5 at Phoenix eight of his last nine Nationwide runs at Phoenix and six of seven in the Discount Tire No. 22. Most recently, Brad finished 2nd in the Double Deuce at Phoenix on March 2 of this year, a race that was one by none other than Kyle Busch in the No. 54 car.

But coming off a race that saw him finally win at a track that he had long been so close at, Kes has confidence that he can make that happen again this Saturday.

“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. As far as places I have left to win in the Nationwide Series, this is right at the top of the list because I’d love to be able to share Victory Lane with the Discount Tire employees. Their support is phenomenal and I feel like I owe them one here.”

The weekend began on Friday afternoon with a practice session at Phoenix that saw Brad run 10th fastest. He’ll get one more practice in at 3:30 p.m. ET, which will air on Fox Sports 1. Qualifying is slated for Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. EST on Fox Sports 2, setting up the Servicemaster 200, which will air live at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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