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]]>The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion team ran a brilliant race at one of its bread-and-butter tracks, New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Though he didn’t lead a lap, BK ran near the front all afternoon in the ISM Connect 300, and he crossed in fourth place for his 12th Top 5 of the year—enough to mathematically clinch his spot in the next round.
“It was great execution. The pit crew was really solid today and a pretty good setup too,” Brad said. “Paul Wolfe and the engineers did a good job putting the right stuff under the car. I felt like we were where we needed to be to win and to run up front with the pit crew and the setup, just kind of lacking a little bit with aero stuff to keep up, but this type of track aerodynamics are a little less important and I felt like it helped us run a little bit higher this week.”
The White Lite wasn’t outstanding leading up to Sunday’s main event. Brad qualified 13th and didn’t run higher than 12th during the three practice sessions, but like they’ve done before in Loudon, the Miller 2 Crew got it done on race day.
Within 15 laps, the car that didn’t crack the Top 12 all weekend was scored in the Top 10 thanks to some excellent forward drive cooked up by the Team Penske engineers. While Stage 1 went all the way through under green, BK climbed his way to seventh to pad his point total.
During the first stop of the day under the Stage 1 caution, the 2 Crew stepped up again, sending Brad off in third after a quick servicing. Kes made sure that effort didn’t go to waste, as he defended his spot in the Top 5 for the entirety of Stage 2. In the final lap of the second stage, a race-defining wreck happened when Kevin Harvick spun out. Several cars were swallowed up by the wreck, but spotter Joey Meier guided BK safely down onto the apron and safely through to a third-place Stage 2 finish.
Brad slid back initially to start Stage 3, but he quickly passed Jimmie Johnson to break back into the Top 5. The No. 2 Ford was losing some rear grip as the race wore on, but Kes held on, enduring four restarts after a late rash of cautions to secure a Top 5 finish and a whopping 45 points. That put Kes 62 points to the good of the 12th-place cutline going into the Round of 16’s final race in Dover.
With the pressure off at the Monster Mile, Brad and his team can continue their chase of the field-leading Toyotas. BK drew criticism going into the playoffs after warning his Twitter followers of the Toyotas’ dominance. So far, he’s been spot on. This week’s race winner, Kyle Busch, and last week’s winner, Martin Truex Jr., led a combined 299 of 300 laps in their Toyotas at Loudon. With one manufacturer topping the charts, the Miller 2 Crew is remaining opportunistic while leaning on top-notch execution to carry them through.
“I think today, this execution is as good as you can get,” Brad said. “A little bit of luck helps and of course you want to be the fastest car. That’s not the scenario with rules the way they are now, so we’ve got to make the most of it and hope to catch a few breaks and make sure we do our part.”
The final Round of 12 race, the Apache Warrior 400 presented by Lucas Oil, is set for a 2 p.m. ET green flag Sunday and will air on NBCSN.
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]]>The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion driver holds a 35-point cushion on the current 12th-place cutline at 2061 points, tying him with his none other than his longtime rival Kyle Busch going into the ISM Connect 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. BK knows that the road to Homestead and the Monster Energy Cup title goes through Busch and his fast No. 18 Toyota.
“It seems like every year there’s some kind of spillover,” BK said of his back-and-forth with Busch. “It adds a bit of motivation, which is kind of fun. It does give you a little bit of a competitive edge.”
BK and fellow Ford Performance driver Kevin Harvick showed some potential in their setups at Chicago. Both drivers earned points in Stage 1 and Stage 2 and finished in the top six. However, it was clear that the Toyotas of Busch and race winner Martin Truex Jr. are still the machines to beat as they led a combined 162 laps.
A Toyota driver in Denny Hamlin claimed the victory at NHMS earlier this season. Brad overcame a jack malfunction to finish ninth in that race—his 12th consecutive Top 15 finish in Loudon. Adding to that streak, particularly with a Top 5 or Top 10, would be just what Kes needs to survive and advance to the Round of 12.
“The first round of the playoffs isn’t about going out there and going for broke to get a win,” Brad said. “It’s about building a strong foundation for the rest of the playoffs, working on your speed so you can be ready when it matters.”
Even independent of the rest of the field’s performances, a strong points day should be enough to ensure BK’s berth in the Round of 12, even if disaster strikes next week at Dover.
Kes and crew chief Paul Wolfe have a strong playbook for The Magic Mile. In 16 career Cup starts at the 1.058-mile track, Brad boasts 10 Top 10 finishes—as many as he has at any other track. He has won twice at Loudon at the XFINITY level and one in Cup (2014), and he’s captured seven poles between the two series.
He’ll look to add to that number during Friday’s 5:15 ET qualifying session. The ISM Connect 300 is set for a 2 p.m. ET green flag on Sunday.
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“It was great execution. The pit crew was really solid today and a pretty good setup on the Miller Lite Ford Fusion. Paul Wolfe and the engineers did a good job putting the right stuff under the car. I felt like we were where we needed to be to win and to run up front with the pit crew and the setup, just kind of lacking a little bit with aero stuff to keep up, but this type of track aerodynamics are a little less important and I felt like it helped us run a little bit higher this week.”
– @KESELOWSKI
RACE SNAPSHOT
START
13th
FINISH
4th
LAPS LED
0
POINTS EARNED
45
+ THE NO. 2 MILLER LITE FORD TEAM HAD ANOTHER OUTSTANDING RUN TO CLINCH A BERTH IN THE ROUND OF 12 STILL WITH ONE RACE REMAINING IN THE ROUND OF 16.
+ BK STARTED 13TH AND ESTABLISHED HIMSELF IN THE TOP 10 EARLY, EARNING POINTS FROM BOTH STAGES EN ROUTE TO HIS 12TH TOP 5 FINISH OF THE SEASON.
+ BRAD EARNED 45 POINTS TO GIVE HIM A 62-POINT CUSHION ON THE 12TH-PLACE CUTLINE, MATHEMATICALLY ENSURING HIS SPOT IN THE ROUND OF 12.
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]]>The 2 Crew overcame a jack malfunction on pit road and a machine that wasn’t quite as fast as desired to secure a ninth-place finish. After the tough day, BK was proud of the perseverance shown by his squad.
“Yeah, that was a reasonable finish for us for sure,” BK said. “We weren’t probably as fast as we wanted to be, but we stayed very persistent as a team and that is good.”
The 2 Crew kicked off the Overton’s 301 from 11th place but quickly proved they had a piece to contend with. BK drove the car into the Top 5 prior to the lap 30 competition caution, and crew chief Paul Wolfe used that as an opportunity to bring the car down pit road. While changing tires, the jack gave out, resulting in a drop back to P22. Valiant as ever, BK managed to drive back inside the Top 15 by the end of the first Stage on lap 75.
However, while the 2 Crew was changing tires, the jack gave out, resulting in a longer than average stop and a drop back to P22 as a result. Valiant as ever, BK managed to drive back inside the Top 15 by the end of the first Stage on lap 75.
“The [first] pit stop was a bummer,” he said on the faulty jack. “I am not sure what happened there. Nobody wants to see that happen.”
Similar to the XFINITY race the day before, the Monster Energy Cup Series event experienced a red flag, but this was for track repairs from the VHT traction compound applied to the racing surface.
“I don’t know if the compound made things any racier,” BK said afterward. “It was certainly different but I don’t know if it was — I have to think about that one.”
As the race progressed, the VHT wore off, drastically changing the track conditions in the process. Noticing a swing to the loose side, Brad dropped back out of the Top 20 by the time Stage 2 ended.
In the second half of the race, the conditions started to swing back the way BK wanted. Settling into 12th position on lap 178, he held the spot until pitting under green on lap 247 for a full set of tires and fuel. The 12.6-second stop cycled the Deuce out to 21st place. Three laps later, the Michigan-born driver unlapped himself and started his charge to gain those lost positions.
He had driven up to 16th when the final caution flew on lap 261 for a Ryan Newman wreck. Wolfe threw one last set of Goodyear rubber on the Deuce and prepped his driver for the remaining 40 laps. Restarting 13th, he passed Danica Patrick, Jamie McMurray, Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. before the end of the race en route to a ninth place result.
Looking forward to next week, the Monster Energy Cup Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400. Legendary car owner Roger Penske has the 2.5-mile superspeedway dialed in on the open-wheeled IndyCar side, but Team Penske is yet to score a Cup Series win at the famed track. Tune in and see if Brad & Co. can change that on Sunday, July 23 at 2:30 p.m. ET, when the race airs live on NBC.
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]]>Kes led a race-high 102 laps and picked up a Stage 2 victory, but a late mishap on pit road cost the Team Penske crew a shot at victory as they settled for fifth place.
“We just had an ill-timed pit road penalty there at the end of the race,” Brad said. “I don’t have a much better way to say it than that.”
Starting from the second spot, Brad snatched the lead early in the opening laps and held it until a red flag for rain on lap 30. Pitting from the first position, he took right side tires in a 6.6-second stop, shaping up for a P10 restart behind those who stayed out.
Going green on lap 35, it took him five laps to claw up to seventh, and when Stage 1 ended on lap 35, BK also passed Brennan Poole and Justin Allgaier to break into the Top 5.
Kes restarted fourth on lap 52 and, seven laps later, passed Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece to claim second place. After some more time to track down the leader, lap 73 saw Brad pass Kyle Busch for the lead once again. Holding the lead until the end of the second Stage on lap 90, the Discount Tire crew led the field onto pit road, electing to take four tires and fuel in 14.5 seconds, en route to a P4 restart.
Going green on lap 97, it only took five laps this time to rise back to the top. Kes held steady out in front until the lap-170 green-flag pit stop. The stop was clean until the very end. The gas can was caught in the fueling nozzle as Brad pulled away, and the ensuing pass-through penalty forced the dominant car and driver to surrender a victory.
Despite that last mishap, Brad still powered his way to a Top 5 finish on what he called a fun day with a disappointing end.
“It is always fun being fast and leading the most laps and all, that but we just didn’t put the whole race together today,” Kes said.
After their disappointment of a finish, the 22 Team still boasts a whopping 98-point cushion in Owners’ Points over Chip Ganassi’s No. 42 entry.
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]]>“I’m really looking forward to New Hampshire,” he said.
Kes has had great success in Loudon, particularly early in the week. He scored his first career Coors Light Pole award in 2010 at the NHMS, and he’s totaled three over his career at the 1.058-mile oval, a career-best for any track. If nothing else, those strong starts can lead to strong finishes.
His first pole led to an 18th-place result, not too shabby for the 2010 version of BK piloting Team Penske’s No. 12 entry. The next two first-place starts, in spring 2013 and fall 2014, led to fourth- and seventh-place finishes, respectively. Not only serving as a morale booster to the team, the pole position grants the ability to choose pit stalls, specifically the first one, which can simplify The Magic Mile’s tight pit road.
In 2014, the Michigan driver put up a feat of his own by sweeping the weekend in XFINITY & Cup competition. Winning both races with the dominant car, a repeat of that race is exactly what he needs to get pointed in the right direction.
“It feels like we’re the best we’ve ever been right now,” Kes said. “When a team like this starts to click, the sky’s the limit.”
In his 15 Loudon Cup races, Brad has only notched one win, but owns six Top 5’s, and nine Top 10’s. Completing 99 percent of his 4,438 possible laps, and leading 350 of them, Kes knows how to survive a race and be there when it counts.
Returning to the secondary Wurth colors this weekend, Brad looks to make up for their last outing in Dover, which ended in an unlucky wreck when Kurt Busch went spinning on the Monster Mile.
On the other side of the garage, Keselowski will be partaking in his seventh double-duty weekend of the year, piloting Team Penske’s No. 22 Discount Tire Ford in the XFINITY Series entry as well.
With eight starts under his belt at NHMS in the NXS, the 2010 Champion has two victories, four Poles, and every finish in the Top 10. Additionally, Brad has never failed to complete a lap.
The XFINITY Series Overton’s 200 kicks off on Saturday, July 15 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.
Some food for thought: the last time the Monster Energy Cup Series visited a flat short track was Martinsville—and we know how that race turned out, with Kes capturing his first Grandfather Clock in the Cup series. See if BK & Co. still have their flat track program up to standards when the Overton’s 301 goes green on Sunday, July 16 at 3 p.m. ET, also live on NBCSN.
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“Yeah, that was a reasonable finish for us for sure. We weren’t probably as fast as we wanted to be, but we stayed very persistent as a team and that is good.”
– @KESELOWSKI
RACE SNAPSHOT
START
10th
FINISH
9th
LAPS LED
0
POINTS EARNED
28
+ THE NO. 2 WURTH FORD CRACKED THE TOP 5 EARLY BUT A JACK MALFUNCTION ON AN EARLY PIT STOP SET THE TEAM BACK FOR MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON.
+ WHILE BK AND CO. LACKED ELITE SPEED, THEY PERSEVERED AND CLAWED THEIR WAY TO A MUCH-NEEDED TOP 10 FINISH.
+ KES HELD STRONG IN 8TH PLACE IN THE MENCS STANDINGS WITH SEVEN RACES REMAINING UNTIL THE PLAYOFFS.
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]]>On a mission to provide better nutrition for the world, fairlife delivers consumers the protein and calcium they are looking for in their busy lives through nutritious, great tasting milk products. Keselowski and White have been fairlife fans for the past two years and the product is a fixture in their home and motor coach at NASCAR races. Daughter Scarlett is the newest member of the fairlife fan club.
“fairlife has been a staple for all three of us, whether at home or on the road” said White. “We’re thrilled fairlife is supporting the Checkered Flag Foundation through the Better Half Dash. It should be a lot of fun as we work together on behalf of our veterans, first responders, and their families. With both Brad and my dad being racers, I am looking forward to taking my turn at the wheel!”
“We were introduced to Brad and Paige at the beginning of this year and learned of their personal story of how they discovered fairlife, how it’s integrated into their on-the-go lifestyle, as well as their passion for helping others through the Checkered Flag Foundation,” said fairlife Senior Manager of Partnerships, Greg Gerba. “Their authenticity for fairlife and passion for making our communities better resonates with us. Supporting Paige and the Foundation in the Better Half Dash is a great way to continue to introduce our company and family of products to a broader audience.”
About fairlife, LLC
fairlife, LLC is a health and wellness dairy company that produces and markets premium-quality, value-added, great tasting milk products – from farmers who share your values – crafted into real food nutrition that provides you with the vitality you need to live a fulfilled life. fairlife, LLC’s patented cold filtration process filters milk to increase natural protein and minerals and decrease lactose and sugar. In 2012, Select Milk Producers entered into a partnership with The Coca-Cola Company to form fairlife, LLC. The Coca-Cola Company is the distribution partner for the products that fairlife, LLC, creates, markets and sells. fairlife, LLC owns and operates its own state-of-the-art plant in Michigan. fairlife, LLC, produces fairlife ultra-filtered milk, a high protein, reduced sugar great-tasting milk for the whole family, Core Power, a high protein milkshake for athletes and fitness enthusiasts, and YUP!, a delicious line of flavored milks.
About Checkered Flag Foundation
The Checkered Flag Foundation was founded by Brad Keselowski and incorporated in late July of 2010 and received its 501(c)(3) status a few short months later. The Checkered Flag Foundation strives to help those who have been injured while sacrificing for their community or country, including military members, veterans, first responders, and their family. Since its formation, the Checkered Flag Foundation has raised over $1 million and has partnered with more than twenty (20) organizations to provide assistance.
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]]>Brad was running outside of the Top 10 all day, mired in the 12-15 range, but a few good stops, a few good calls by crew chief Paul Wolfe, and some strong driving helped them steal a fourth-place finish, giving them a 35-point cushion going into next week’s elimination race in Dover.
“It was just a really great finish to kind of just a so-so day,” Brad said. “It takes a team effort to do that as well and that’s part of this sport and my guys did a great job.”
Starting the race from 11th, the 2 Crew knew they didn’t have the short-run speed, but at a track known for it’s long runs, they hoped the car would come in. Through the early stages, Kes faded through the field slightly, dropping a spot to Kevin Harvick on lap 36, complaining about having a car loose into the corners and tight off. A few laps later, Alex Bowman drove by as well, relegating Brad to P13.
Approaching the first round of green flag pit stops, BK remained out on track to pick up the valuable bonus point for leading a lap. Pitting on lap 80 for a set of fresh Goodyear Eagles and fuel in 13.2 seconds, the extra few laps out on the track cost him as he dropped back to 17th. Clawing his way back up, Brad drove around Greg Biffle on lap 85, and around teammate Joey Logano two laps later for 15th.
A lap 124 debris caution came in perfect time for the Miller Lite bunch as they were close to getting lapped by Chicagoland winner Martin Truex Jr. on his torrid pace. Using the yellow as an opportunity to visit pit road for the second time of the day, crew chief Paul Wolfe put another set of tires on the car, setting up for a 14th place restart.
And again, the Deuce faded on the short run. Within four laps of the lap 132 restart, BK dropped two spots to Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman. The next yellow flew on lap 165 for debris on the backstretch, allowing Wolfe to work on the car a bit more, setting up for a 12th place restart.
Dropping one spot to Kurt Busch this go around, he remained there over the run before pitting under green at lap 235 taking another set of fresh rubber and an adjustment. A yellow came out five laps after pitting as Michael Annett hit the wall. Visiting the pits again for another new set of tires, Kes restarted 13th, but a jumbled green flag sent him back to 16th, before Michael McDowell’s tire blew out on lap 263.
Coming to the green on lap 268 from P12, he quickly jumped up to 10th – which ignited the Michigan driver. Before the lap 284 caution for Trevor Bayne wrecking, Keselowski made his way up to sixth as he passed Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, and Kurt Busch.
“It was just a good call there towards the end to put tires on and then just being smooth and keeping it in one piece driving through traffic,” Brad said.
The lap 289 restart from P6 in the upper groove allowed him to jump straight to fourth place, when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun on the following lap. Going green once again from the outside of the second row, Brad tried to get a little more on the final run. He briefly passed Kyle Busch for third, but the 18 came back around shortly thereafter. But Brad still left very pleased with his second Top 5 finish of the Chase.
“The Miller Lite team worked really hard on our Ford all day long,” Brad said. “We weren’t near as fast as we wanted to be, but great execution on pit road, great execution with the pit calls and then the last few restarts went our way with being in the right lane on the restarts, which is so, so important on these double-file restarts, but also just staying out of trouble. We’re not as fast as we want to be. We almost went a lap down at one point, but we kept our head down and got through it.”
Entering the Dover elimination race with a 35-point cushion over the 13th-place cutline, it gives the 2012 Champion some peace of mind heading into the tumultuous race.
“It feels good to go to Dover and be able to sleep easy knowing that if you have a part failure or get caught up in a wreck or any of those silly things that can happen that aren’t your fault, you don’t have to worry about them so that’s good, but we still have some work to do to get a little faster.”
Four of the 16 drivers will face elimination next weekend when the Sprint Cup circuit goes to Dover International Speedway for the Citizen Soldier 400. The race airs on NBC Sports Network on Sunday October 2nd at 2p.m. ET.
Tough Day for Team BKR’s Chase Hopes
Entering the inaugural Truck Series Chase as a co-leader in regular-season points, Daniel Hemric’s championship hopes took a hit in Loudon.
A blown tire early in the going severed a brake line, forcing his No. 19 Blue Gate Bank F-150 behind the wall for upwards of 30 laps. The Brad Keselowski Racing crew took the time to make proper repairs in the garage, and sent Hemric back on track to pick up two positions – worth two valuable points after a P28 finish.
“We had a left-rear tire go down and come off the wheel early in the race, and that snowballed when the tire started coming apart,” he said “The tire wrapped around the brake caliper, started melting around the brake rotor and left-rear brake assembly, starting a small fire. That forced us to the garage for repairs and it created a lot of work for this Blue Gate Bank team, and put us down a lot of laps.”
Teammate Tyler Reddick had the afternoon that Hemric dreamed of, piloting his No. 29 Cooper Standard truck to a P4 result. Realizing that his F-150 was no match to the powerful Toyotas of the Kyle Busch Motorsports & Thorsport Racing stables, Reddick took what he was given and moved on from there.
“I was really happy that we were able to get a fourth-place finish,” Reddick said. “We still have a little bit of work to do but, fortunately, we don’t have to patch anything up, and I’m really happy about that. I was under attack there the last 20 or 30 laps and just had to hold on. Our Cooper Standard Ford F-150 fired off loose on the initial start and restarts, but would get tight on the long run. Our guys made great pit stops all day and we finished a tick better than we ran, so I’m happy about that. We had a really good Ford F-150 today and there’s time to make it even better before we run it again at Martinsville or Phoenix.”
Perched 21 points outside of the Top 6 in standings, Hemric took an interesting perspective. Rather than being discouraged by the tough start to the Chase, the guesswork of the playoffs is gone—he knows that he must win at Las Vegas or Talladega to keep his Championship hopes alive.
“This was not the way we wanted to start out this Chase, but we now know the position we’re in going into Las Vegas,” Hemric said. “We have to win, no doubt about it. We got into this Chase on points, but that’s not going to get us to the next round. I know how consistently our Blue Gate Ford F-150 team has performed all year, and I know we have what it takes to win.”
Tune in to the DC Solar 350 as the truckers battle for the second race of their Chase. The race from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway airs on FOX Sports 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 1
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]]>BK holds one win, in the 2014 summer event, at Loudon, and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano won the fall running the very same year, giving the No. 2 and the No. 22 teams confidence going into Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300.
“Both Joey (Logano) and myself have won races at Loudon so we know what it takes,” Brad said.
While a win at The Magic Mile is the sure key to advancing to the Round of 12, BK realizes that winning isn’t necessary to move forward in the Chase. He finished fifth last week in the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway, and he’s sitting pretty at No. 2 on the Chase Grid, behind only last week’s race winner, Martin Truex Jr. In solid standing, 22 points head of the 13th-place cutline, Brad knows that another solid finish will be a major boost to his hopes of advancing.
“The first round of the Chase isn’t about going out there and going for broke to get a win,” he said. “It’s about building a strong foundation for the rest of the Chase, working on your speed so you can be ready when it matters.”
In his 14 NHMS starts, Kes has certainly posted some respectable numbers. He has tallied three Coors Light Pole awards throughout his career, more than any other track. The first of those three came in 2010 as the first in his Cup career. BK’s average start in Loudon is 11.5, and he’s started inside the Top 10 in six of his last seven starts. He’ll look to keep that trend going at a venue that puts passing at a premium, making starting position critical to success. Fortunately, he knows how to get it done on The Magic Mile. He won the pole during the 2014 Chase race with track-record 140.598 mph lap.
He’s traditionally been a bit better during the summer running at Loudon, posting two runner-up results, a fourth, and a fifth place, and of course that 2014 victory. One of the signature wins of his career, driving the No. 2 Redd’s Apple Ale Ford, he started from P7, but quickly proved he had the car to beat. Leading 138 of 305 laps, his Deuce drove through the field better than any other racecar on the track.
This weekend, Kes will have a major advantage on top of the pit box in the form of crew chief Paul Wolfe, who made several starts at the northeastern track as a driver. With a majority of his starts coming in the current configuration of the track, his knowledge will be more valuable than ever on Sunday. In his lone XFINITY start dating back to 2004, he ended up in a respectable 12th place. But in his K&N Pro Series East starts, Wolfe had posted a second, third, and a pair of fifth place finishes, while leading 137 laps.
NHMS races have a tendency to result in a fuel saving situation, and Keselowski has to be confident in his ability, as well as Wolfe calling the shots for him. The pair hasn’t wavered on their strategy for this round. While they’d love a win, they won’t risk ruining a solid day by being overly aggressive.
“We got off to a strong start at Chicagoland last weekend,” he said. “It wasn’t flashy or spectacular, but the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford was definitely fast and we ran in the top five all day. It’s exactly what we needed to do going into New Hampshire this weekend.”
In his most recent start at a short, flat track, Brad crossed in fourth at Richmond International Raceway. That finish has the 2 Crew on a high note heading into Loudon despite rough outings of P12 and P15 in their last two NHMS starts.
“New Hampshire had long been one of our best tracks, but the last two races haven’t gone the way we would like,” Brad said. “I thought we were strong at Richmond a couple of weeks ago, so that gives me confidence that we can have another solid weekend at Loudon to put ourselves in a good position to transfer to the next round.”
Brad was 12th on the board after the first practice session Friday morning. Logano wasn’t far behind in 13th. Qualifying is set for 4:45 p.m. ET Friday. Two more practice session follow Saturday at 9 and 11:30 a.m. ET.
Tune into the Bad Boy Off Road 300 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday Sept. 25 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and see if Brad can work his way into the next round of Chase competition.
Trucks Enter the First Round of Chase Competiton
For Daniel Hemric and his No. 19 Blue Gate Bank F-150 team, the Chase is on. The event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway marks the first Chase race in Camping World Truck Series history, and Hemric looks to perform like he has all season.
“I’m really excited to be kicking off the Chase at New Hampshire Motor Speedway,” he said. “We’re bringing a truck I feel really good about, and I think we are exceptionally prepared going into this race.”
In his first NHMS start just last year, the North Carolinian posted a sixth place result—but in 10 of 16 races so far this season, Hemric has bested his result from last season. Even more impressive are the results in his last four races: a trio of thirds, followed by his career best finish in second to clinch his spot in the postseason. Now, the No. 19 team is locked in on executing in each of these final seven races.
“Our team has been looking ahead and preparing for these final seven races all year, because, ultimately, that trophy depends on them,” Hemric said. “I’m looking at each round of the Chase as a mini point season: we’re coming into each and every race looking to win, but we have to play it smart in each round and not make any big mistakes that could take us totally out of contention.”
Tyler Reddick just missed the Chase field this year, but still plans on going out and scoring his first victory of the year in the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford. In Reddick’s two Loudon starts, he has posted a best result of eighth in 2014, and a misleading 15th place one year ago. Running well within the Top 10, the California Kid went for a pass, and misjudged it slightly, spinning out underneath a competitor. Focusing on the task at hand this year, he knows qualifying is crucial to success at the Magic Mile.
“Track position is very important at New Hampshire. Whoever can qualify well and stay up front the whole race is usually is in contention for the win. It’s difficult to make a pass on the bottom because it’s flatter than the middle groove where most people run. You have to be smart, because one mistake can make or break your entire race. New Hampshire has long, sweeping corners and the track drives like a short track. It’s going to be important to be able to drive up off the corners and that’s going to be our primary focus with the Cooper Standard Ford F-150.”
The Camping World Truck Series Chase premiere, the UNOH 175, kicks off on Saturday September 24th at 1p.m. ET, airing live on FOX Sports 1.
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