But the game has changed in 2014 and wins mean more than anything in NASCAR’s new postseason format. So although Brad Keselowski was pleased once again with having a competitive car, which he drove to a third place finish in Sunday’s The Profit on CNBC 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, he was nowhere near satisfied with his result in the desert.

“It feels good to run up front and be competitive,” Brad said. “But we know under this system wins are the only things that count. Last year you would have said second and thirds were great, but this year they are just so-so.”

The weekend at Phoenix did begin on a high-note for BK. Fresh off a string of solid performances at Daytona, Brad headed West with some extra motivation and it showed in his performance during Friday’s qualifying session.

NASCAR debuted a new elimination qualifying format in Phoenix and after running second fastest in the first session of qualifying to secure a chance at the pole, BK nabbed the top spot by setting a new track record at PIR with a lap of 25.828 seconds.

At a track like Phoenix, starting at the front makes a world of difference and BK was thrilled to get his fourth career pole in a place where it mattered so much.

“I think qualifying has been one of those formats that I have struggled with. It just didn’t suit my style in the past. This qualifying format really does suit my style a lot better. It gives me a chance to learn and apply, which to me was instrumental to our success today and hopefully will be in how we go forward.”

ERWIN AND WILSON FILL IN FOR WOLFE

Brad also learned on Friday that he would be running on Sunday without crew chief Paul Wolfe, who left the track Saturday to return to North Carolina for the birth of he and his wife Aleah’s first child.

Brad showed his support for his crew chief on Twitter:

Team engineer Brian Wilson and Greg Erwin, Team Penske’s director of competition for the Nationwide Series, split Wolfe’s duties in calling the race for Brad. Wilson handled adjustments to the car, while Erwin took charge of the strategy. Brad was complimentary of the duo after the race.

“They did a great job,” Brad said. “Still had two more spots to go. All things considered, I thought they did really well. I was very proud of the effort.”

Erwin previously served as a Cup Series crew chief for Robby Gordon (2005-2006) and Greg Biffle (2007-2011), so he is no stranger to the pit box. Last year he served as Nationwide Series crew chief for Sam Hornish Jr. and the duo nearly brought Team Penske a Nationwide Series championship. But Erwin said after the race that going into his duty for the No. 2 team with experience didn’t mean quite as much as the way that crew embraced and accepted him.

“Honestly, stepping into a situation like that, I didn’t know what to expect. Other than listening to Brad during the Nationwide races, and listening to him sometime over the radio, I didn’t know what the dynamic on top of the box was like,” he said. “You don’t get to see or feel any of that when you’re not there. Those guys treated me like I’ve been part of the team forever. That helps.”

Erwin also credited Wolfe, who didn’t leave him completely unprepared despite having to leave on short notice.

“We talked about some of the adjustments he generally feels are slam-dunks for Brad,” Erwin noted. “

[Wolfe] said, ‘These adjustments are generally the most successful, adjusting for Brad and the way he drives the car.’ We laid a plan out and we just stepped through it.”

A TOP 5 DAY

The No. 2 team didn’t appear to miss a beat under the leadership of Erwin and Wilson, as Brad ran in the Top 5 for most of the afternoon.

At the outset of the race, BK ceded his lead spot to Logano, who immediately went for the outside lane pass on Lap 1. After his teammate took the lead, Brad was able to maintain his runner-up spot for more than 30 laps.

He dipped to third just prior to the NASCAR mandated competition caution flag on lap 36, when most of the field went in for the first pit stops of the day.

In the pits is where being the polesitter really came in handy for BK. He was able to select the last pit box on pit road, which, combined with a quick two-tire-and-fuel pit stop by the No. 2 crew allowed him to come off pit road with the lead.

Kes only managed to stay out front for a moment before Logano reasserted himself and drove his No. 22 car to the lead. Brad ran in second right behind Logano until they caught up with lap traffic.

Kevin Harvick, the eventual race winner, took advantage of the traffic to drive his No. 4 car by BK and then Logano for the lead on Lap 74. The No. 4 dominated the day, leading 224 of the 312 laps and after the race Kes was complimentary of Harvick, who posted the fastest speeds in two of the three weekend practices.

They beat everybody before they came to the track today.  It’s a great combination.  They were prepared for the weekend. We saw it all the way through testing, that they were dominant. They showed it when they came to the actual racetrack to race.

The No. 2 Ford Fusion had a bevy of handling issues during a green-flag stretch of over 100 laps that caused Kes to drop back to fourth, but the Alliance Truck Parts pit crew’s adjustments allowed him to stay in the top five for most of the day. 

Still Erwin admitted after the race that no matter what adjustments his crew made, he always felt the No. 2 was always a little bit behind Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 2nd.

“We didn’t quite go far enough,” Erwin said. “The track went this way, we adjusted, the track went again, we adjusted. We probably needed to get out ahead of it. But at the end of the day, that was just a joy working with those guys.”

A series of four cautions in the final 64 laps of the race allowed Kes and the other front runners save fuel down the stretch, and helped BK improve his result. On the restart from the eighth and final caution, Logano attempted to get under Harvick but instead lost momentum and fell back, allowing Brad to move into third.

After the race, BK explained his line of thinking during the final restart and noted that it brought to mind a race from last year.

“I thought, Get him, go, maybe I can sneak by all of [them],” he said “I kind of was remembering Clint Bowyer at Martinsville in that moment. I was thinking about how everybody wrecked and where to be to get through the wreck to take the lead. That’s really what was on my mind. That didn’t happen.”

After passing Logano, BK did have a run on Earnhardt Jr. for second position on the high line of the track, but the No. 88 driver closed the door.

“I thought we were going to wreck each other twice and didn’t,” BK said of racing tight with the 2014 Daytona 500 winner and NASCAR’s most popular driver. “That was good, I guess. I would have had a lot of people mad at me if I would have done that.”

Instead of pushing it, Brad settled for a third place finish, his fourth top-six finish in his last five Sprint Cup trips to Phoenix and his best result there in ten career Cup races at PIR. The result bumped Kes up one spot to second in the Sprint Cup standings after two weeks, six points behind Earnhardt Jr.

Though he was glad to repeat a competitive result, it was a hollow feeling because of the new format’s emphasis on wins. Brad said after the race that he believed in the middle portion of the day that he’d have a chance to win, and although a series of late cautions allowed him to gain a few spots in the short run, they may have cost him a chance to catch Harvick in the long run.

“I never gave up thinking we had a shot at him,” Brad said. “We just had to make a really strong adjustment. I thought in the midsection of the race we were just as good if not a little bit better when the rubber was down on the track. Then all the yellows in a row picked up all the rubber. We really needed that on the track to excel, so we weren’t very close to him. Always hope it falls that way, and maybe next time it does.”

NEXT UP

Week three of the 2014 season takes the Sprint Cup Series to Sin City where Las Vegas Motor Speedway will host the Kobalt Tools 400 next Sunday.

Sunday will mark Brad’s sixth career Cup race at Las Vegas. His best result at Vegas came last season, when qualifying was rained out, putting Brad, then the Series points leader, on the pole. He led 12 laps in the 2012 Kobalt Tools 400, but finished in third behind winner Matt Kenseth and second place Kasey Kahne.

Prior to last season, Las Vegas had been a sore spot for the No. 2 team, as BK had never finished in the Top 25 at LVMS. He and his team head there this year hoping to use last year’s finish as a building block.

They’ll find out on Friday, when the first practice begins at 2:00 p.m. ET. Qualifying will follow at 6:35 p.m. ET on Friday. Both can be seen on Fox Sports 1.

Saturday features two practice sessions, at 11:30 a.m. ET and 2:30 p.m. ET. Brad will then run the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang in the Nationwide Series Boyd Gaming 300 at 4:15 p.m. on ESPN2.

Sunday race coverage begins at 2:30 ET on FOX with the green flag for the Kobalt Tools 400 scheduled to fly shortly after 3 p.m. ET.

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Debuting the new Alliance Truck Parts Yellow Deuce, Brad took the pole for Sunday’s The Profit on CNBC 500 at PIR with a new track record time of 25.828 seconds at 139.28 mph. The lap was just .022 seconds faster than the best lap of teammate Joey Logano, who will start beside Brad on the front row.

“We had a really fast car, and there is some pride to be taken in being the first one to win a Sprint Cup pole in this format,” Brad said. “I am sure it will undergo a few adjustments along the way, but it is very rewarding and a testament to my team and how fast of a car they gave me. Then it was just a matter of executing on my end. We were able to do that. I didn’t think I ran a good enough lap to be quite honest. When they told me the time, I said, ‘Alright, I will take it.'”

NASCAR’s new format changes the way cars qualify for races other than the Daytona 500. The qualifying session begins as a 30-minute free-for-all with the top 12 cars from that session advancing to a 10-minute session where they compete to earn the pole.

At the outset of the first session at about 4:40 p.m. local time, both Team Penske drivers noticed a cloud hovering over the race track, cooling down the track and giving it more grip, which generally leads to faster qualifying times. Both BK and Logano took full advantage racing out to get their laps in under the cloud.

Brad went first and nabbed the top spot early, with a run of 26.040 seconds at 138.25 mph. He was soon topped by Logano, who posted a time of 25.929 seconds at 138.84 mph. After kicking off the session with two of the fastest times, both drivers opted to return to pit road and see if their laps would stand up. For 25 minutes they waited, and no one was able to top them.

BK said he wasn’t sure how much credit was due to strategy, but he pointed to the quickness of his No. 2 car as a difference maker.

“I think you have to have a fast car, that’s the most important part, either way,” he said. “Everybody on the Alliance Truck Parts Ford team did a good job of

[giving me] that.”

Following the 30-minute first segment, the field waited out a mandatory 10-minute cool down period. The timing allowed both the No. 2 and the No. 22 cars cool off for more than half an hour. When each took the track again, it was clear how advantageous that period was. Brad posted a great time on his first lap, but Logano once again topped him, breaking the old track record.

However, BK would have the last laugh, making his last tour around the track at Phoenix International Raceway in 25.828 seconds, the best ever run there. Logano tried to top the mark later in the session, but Brad’s time and speed held up. Afterward, Logano congratulated his teammate while crediting the hard work of all the people at Team Penske for allowing both drivers to start on the front row this Sunday.

“You have to be happy for him, as a teammate. We’re 1-2, that’s good. But after you win the first segment it’s like ‘alright, I feel pretty good.’ I think I even went a little faster the second run,” Logano said. “He just barely beat me. But overall, Team Penske did a great job today.”

Brad was just happy to take the top spot after coming so close multiple times over the last two weeks at Daytona with second place finishes in the Sprint Unlimited and Drive4COPD 300, and a third place run in the Daytona 500.

“At Daytona, we had two great cars and two strong runs,” he said. “I swear, I was tired of finishing second or third. So it’s good to finally put a first up on the board, and in the first group qualifying. That’s pretty neat as well.”

Brad gets two more practice sessions on Saturday to gear up for this week’s race. The first is at 11 a.m. ET with Happy Hour following that at 2 p.m. ET. Both sessions can be seen on Fox Sports 1. Brad’s busy Saturday at PIR also includes Nationwide Series qualifying at Noon ET on Fox Sports 1 and the Nationwide Series Blue Jeans Go Green 200 presented by Cotton, The Fabric of Our Lives at 3:30 ET on ABC.

Sunday is all about the Cup Series and coverage of The Profit on CNBC 500, Presented by Small Business Fueling America, begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, with the green flag scheduled to fly shortly after 3 p.m. ET.

RELATED LINKS

• Keselowski wins Coors Light Pole Award (NASCAR.com, February 28, 2014)

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Brad contended for a win last week in the Daytona 500, racing side-by-side with eventual winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the field approached the green-white-checkered finish before eventually settling for a solid third place finish.

But after the race, Kes couldn’t hide his disappointment and within minutes of his best finish ever at Daytona, was already talking about what he can do to improve.

“There’s always something more to do, you just got to try and figure it out,” he said.

With that statement, BK made it clear he won’t settle for less than the best in 2014.

Upon leaving Daytona, the No. 2 team quickly shifted focus to this week’s The Profit on CNBC 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, a track Kes also has yet to conquer.

Brad has come close though, with three Top-6 finishes in his last four visits, including a fourth-place finish in last year’s spring race, his best result in the desert to date. With those recent results in mind, No. 2 team Crew Chief Paul Wolfe likes the momentum the No. 2 has already gained.

“Besides being our biggest race, it is also the first race back for the teams, which gave us a clear idea of where the team is operationally,” Wolfe said. “Being in Daytona for almost two weeks gives us a chance to get our processes up and running. Phoenix ought to be good for us as we have already identified some areas where we can improve from an operations standpoint and that will serve to accentuate our competitive edge.”

Brad and crew have further cause for optimism, as the No. 2 Ford Fusion becomes the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion this weekend. The longtime Penske associate makes its debut as a Sprint Cup primary sponsor.

“It will be great to have Alliance Truck Parts with us this weekend,” BK said. “I’m confident that our Ford Fusion will be competitive and our team will be as well.”

Brad kicked the season off with a great statistical start. He arrives at PIR with a 117.1 driver rating, second only to Earnhardt Jr. in the series. He posted an average running position of third at Daytona, completed the most quality passes and led all drivers in green flag speed on Sunday. But BK deflected credit, noting that the No. 2 Ford Fusion he raced at Daytona was perhaps the finest car he’s had in his career

“My Daytona 500 race car was one of the best cars I have ever had there and, as I said after the race, you don’t get cars like that all the time,” he said.

BK is hopeful that he’ll have a car just like that this week at Phoenix and he isn’t the only member of Team Penske looking to get a monkey off his back this weekend in the desert.

Team Penske hasn’t been to Victory Lane at Phoenix in the Cup Series since 1998 when Rusty Wallace guided the No. 2 car to a first place finish in the Dura Lube/Kmart 500. Furthermore a Team Penkse driver has never been to Victory Lane in the spring race at PIR since NASCAR established a second race at the track in 2005.

BK is confident he can change that.

“Team Penske has traditionally had a great short-track program,” he said. “We had a strong Ford Fusion at Phoenix last November and since then we have made improvements.”

Brad takes the first step towards ending the desert drought on Friday. In the first practice session of the weekend, he ran 13th with a lap of 26.176 seconds and a speed of 137.531 mph.

Qualifying is Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on Fox Sports 1. BK’s best starting position at PIR was ninth, back in 2011 and he has started in the Top 15 in five of the Cup Series’ last six visits to Phoenix.

Brad kicks off his Saturday at Phoenix in Victory Lane, where he will represent the Brad Keselowski Checkered Flag Foundation at a press conference with the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). The event, which will serve as the official launch of the “Wheels Helping Warriors” program, begins at 8:15 am local time. BK and PVA officials will take that time to unveil details of the initiative.

The press conference will be followed by two practice runs, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET. Kes will then compete in the Blue Jeans Go Green 200 Presented By Cotton, The Fabric of Our Lives, driving the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang at 4 p.m. ET on ABC.

Sunday, of course, is the main event and the green flag drops on the Profit on CNBC 500 shortly after 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX.

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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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Brad is in Phoenix promoting the upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 2nd and he stopped by the Phoenix VA Health Care System to meet with some veterans and give out tickets to the race.

The race at Phoenix is the second of the year for the Cup Series after the festivities at Daytona, so BK and his crew felt it appropriate to start spreading the news of the series’ impending arrival in the Valley of the Suns.

“Football’s over, racing starts, it’s kind of a nice little end of the winter transition and we’re getting pumped for it,” Brad told KTAR “So I’m kind of spreading the word.”

Moreover, Brad felt it was extra important to go meet and speak with some of the men and women who have sacrificed by serving their country. The event is one of many planned this year through his Checkered Flag Foundation, which supports military personnel, veterans, first responders and their families.

“It’s important for NASCAR, it’s important for me personally,” BK said. “The Checkered Flag Foundation does things for servicemen, servicewomen and being able to give them some tickets to come out is hopefully our way of giving back a little bit.”

RELATED LINKS

• NASCAR Champions surprises Valley Vets with Race Tickets (KTAR, February 3, 2014)
• 2012 NASCAR Champion Brad Keselowski Surprises Veterans With Race Tickets (Paddock Talk, February 3, 2014)

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For the second straight week, Brad left the race track with a Top 5 finish after racing the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford into fourth place in Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500. After two races, Brad finds himself third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings behind Jimmie Johnson, who finished second and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was right behind him in fifth.

“To turn in two fourths at the beginning of the season, this is by far the best start of the season I’ve ever had,” Brad said. “I feel like we’ve had a shot to win the first two races of the year and came up just short in both of them.”

Brad started 11th after his qualifying lap of 26.309 seconds and hung in the Top 10 most of the day. He pushed himself as high as third place early in the race with help from his pit crew during a great two-tire pit stop on lap 100. Twenty-seven laps later, Brad took the lead and held it for 16 laps.

“If you could get to the lead, it looked like you had it covered, but it just wasn’t meant to be,” Brad said afterward.

BK lost the lead when a caution came out on lap 142 and the field went in for pit-stops. Brad’s earlier gamble with a two-tire stop forced him to take four tires on the Miller Lite Ford, while other drives followed his lead from the previous stop and took just two. That shifted BK back to 16th place on the restart.

Brad spent the next 170 laps racing the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford from the middle of the pack to the front of the field. He noted after the race that the new car that NASCAR is debuting this season, while state of the art, has its drawbacks.

“These cars are a big step forward in a lot of ways,” he said. “I’d love to see them be better in traffic. It’s harder than ever to pass in traffic.”

But Brad worked through those struggles and when a caution came out in the final laps, setting up a green-white-checker finish, he found himself in third place behind teammate Carl Edwards with a chance to challenge for the win.

On the side-by-side restart, the two Fords teamed up as Brad’s No. 2 pushed Edwards’ 99 out ahead of Johnson, who was gunning for his second straight win to start the season. But once Carl got out in front he pulled away and Brad quickly lost his chance at the win.

“I just gave Carl a good push into turn one,” BK said. “I wish I would have used the run to try and make a pass, but I don’t think I could have pulled it off without wrecking Carl.”

Instead, Brad was left to battle with Johnson and Denny Hamlin for the second third and fourth spots. The trio traded spots and Brad noted after the race that the excitement of the final laps thrilled him.

“Those guys fought hard and there was a lot of desire,” he said. “It’s early in the season, but I feel like there’s a lot of passion and that’s a good thing. That’s how it’s supposed to be, right? That was cool.”

In the end, Brad took the Blue Deuce around the final turn in fourth place and was proud of the effort of the entire Miller Lite Ford team on Sunday.

“We had a really great Miller Lite Ford today,” Brad said. “I thought we had the car to win the race, but I could just never get that track position towards the end that we needed.”

RELATED ARTICLES

• Edwards Wins Phoenix Sprint Cup Race (The New York Times, March 4, 2013)
• Carl Edwards snaps winless streak at Phoenix (Yahoo! Sports, March 3, 2013)
• Keselowski Scores Fourth-Place Finish at Phoenix (Penske Racing, March 4, 2013)
• Carl Edwards snaps long drought to prevail at Phoenix (USA Today, March 4, 2013)

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