After Sunday’s dominant performance at Kansas, Jimmie Johnson is once again the talk of the Chase. After a rough start to the playoffs, Johnson has rebounded to close within four points of the lead. But right behind Johnson, who sits third in the standings, is Brad Keselowski. Following a third place finish at Kansas, Keselowski is now only 11 points behind leader Carl Edwards. And since the Loudon race in July, he’s on one hell of a run that may just carry him to the head table in Las Vegas.
Consider this, over the last 11 races, Brad K. has finished outside the top ten only twice (12th at Richmond, 20th at Dover). And, of those nine top ten finishes, seven are actually top five finishes including two wins. He’s gone from 23rd in the standings to fourth. Needless to say, he’s been the hottest driver in NASCAR over the last few months.
Looking ahead, the final six races of the season are Charlotte, Talladega, Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead. We’ve already raced at five of those tracks, and Keselowski had finishes of 19th, 33rd, 19th, 18th, and 15th respectively. That’s not a good omen, until you look at how Keselowski has improved at tracks he’s seen for the second time this year. Of the eight race tracks we’ve already raced twice this season, Brad has improved his finish from the first race to the second six times. He didn’t improve at Dover, 13th to 20th, and he didn’t improve at Kansas. But it’s important to note that he won the first race at Kansas, and finished third the second race.
With six races still remaining, literally anything could happen. That is especially true with Talladega looming. At this point, we can realistically say that the top eight drivers probably still have a decent shot at the title. Everyone from Dale Earnhardt Jr. in ninth back is 43 or more points behind, which will be nearly impossible to make up. But of those still in it, Brad Keselowski just might be the guy. With the run he’s currently on, I certainly wouldn’t bet against him.
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Two years ago Brad Keselowski, seeing that his opportunities were limited, left his Nationwide ride at JR Motorsports, for a full time Cup ride at Penske Racing. The move was met with mixed reviews.
And in his first full season in 2010, Keselowski struggled. The team averaged a 22.4 finish and scored just two top-10s. They finished the year 25th in points. It was a disappointing way to start out a new partnership.
2011 looked to be shaping up much the same for Keselowski despite a change at crew chief in the off-season. In the first nine races of the year the team didn’t have a finish better than 18th and found themselves mired back in 28th in points. It was a rough start.
Then came Darlington – ten weeks in and the team finished third. It took just two more weeks for Keselowski to win his first race of the season. Since then, there have been some rough patches here and there, but for the most part, the #2 team has been surging.
In the 11 races since that first win, Keselowski has had seven top-10s, four top-fives and two more wins. The team couldn’t have timed their jump in performance any better. With two races to go until the start of the Chase, Keselowski sits 11th in the points with three wins.
In addition to strengthening his chances at a berth, Keselowski’s surge also provides another interesting dynamic to the Chase race. If he can make it into the top-10 – and with his recent performance that is not at all out of the question – one of those two wild card spots open back up. Right now Denny Hamlin, with one win, gets one of the Chase spots and Paul Menard, 20th in points, gets the other. Chasing Menard is David Ragan in 21st and Marcos Ambrose in 22nd.
For Keselowski though, what looked to be a season of struggle, has turned into a season of triumph. The sky’s the limit for team team #2 – if/when he makes the Chase, Keselowski will be tied for second in the points with Kevin Harvick. That is nothing short of impressive, considering even after his first win, Keselowski was beyond the requisite 20th in points.
In the weeks to come this Penske team is definitely one to watch. Competing in and qualifying for the Chase is all about momentum and right now Brad Keselowski has it – perhaps more than any other. Stay tuned.
Danica Patrick officially announced Thursday she would make a full-time move to NASCAR beginning in 2012. The move puts her in a Nationwide Series car for JR Motorsports for the whole of the season and select Cup races with Stewart Haas. She’ll She may make her Cup debut at next year’s Daytona 500. The announcement ended years of speculation about the driver who has made a name for herself on and off the track.
Patrick’s career has spanned much of the last two decades and has included stints in everything from go-karts to stock cars. While she’s certainly been competitive in everything she’s done, the mystique of Danica has been much more about her packaging than her talent. From racy GoDaddy.com commercials, to spreads in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, it’s no wonder Patrick has been accused of exploiting her looks to get ahead.
After saying he respected her for not letting “boyfriends” or wanting to start a family get in the way of her pursuing a racing career, Brad Keselowski tweeted today:
“Essentially she has opened a pandoras box for all female racers. If she doesn’t succeed, no female will get a chance for years to come.”
This assumption that Patrick’s singular ascension to the heights of NASCAR and whether or not she has success is somehow the determining factor for other female drivers is laughably absurd.
Danica Patrick, of course, no more represents all female race car drivers than Brad Keselowski represents males.
Keselowski in prior tweets criticized Patrick’s choice of self-promotion, saying it:
only serves to undermine the future credibility of female racers who wish to make it based on skill, mental toughness and a never give up attitude. That to me is wrong.
It is incredibly unfair to suggest Patrick does not have “skill”, “mental toughness” or a “never give up attitude” all because she is occasionally seen in a bikini.
I don’t mean to just call out Keselowski’s comments (though he did make himself an easy target) because these thoughts are not just isolated to him – we’ve heard them from a lot of people over the years. His thoughts though are representative of a shortsighted belief and point to the hypocrisy of the society we live in.
We want female athletes who are talented and winners, but we want them to be attractive and marketable (how does an attractive, young female athlete market herself today? See Lindsey Vonn, Hope Solo and Danica Patrick). Yet when these women get ahead and take advantage of their good genes, they’re chastised. They’re damned if they use what they have and they’re damned if they don’t.
Patrick, like her contemporaries, is simply using her assets to get the resources she needs to do what she wants.
To be fair, I don’t think what she has done from the business side, is any different than Keselowski getting a makeover to make him a little more camera friendly, or any number of funded drivers using their family’s resources to find a ride. They’re all playing the game.
And I can’t fault anyone for that.
Patrick’s decision to come to NASCAR full-time should provide an interesting storyline and dynamic in 2012. Looks or no looks, I’m interested to see what the race car driver is capable of with the right resources and time. At the end of the day, that’s where our focus should be.
You saw it today.
Brad Keselowski pounded a concrete barrier earlier in the week during a test session at Road Atlanta, ended up with a painful avulsion fracture in his left ankle, and somehow went on to win at Pocono. And to think earlier in the week there was talk he may not race at all this weekend. Now, he’s in a very good position to make the Chase.
We’ve seen it many times with stick and ball sports. A guy gets hurt, and then somehow goes on to have the game of his life. Names like Kirk Gibson and Byron Leftwich immediately come to mind. Gibson hit a huge home run in the World Series and could barely run the bases because of sickness and injured legs. And we all remember Leftwich getting carried to the line of scrimmage by his teammates after he broke his shin during a game while at Marshall University. The really tough players know that when they aren’t at their best physically, they need to dig a little deeper. Often times guys rise to the challenge and discover a new level of focus. And that focus leads to unbelievable performances.
What we all witnessed on Sunday at Pocono was a tough competitor doing exactly that. Keselowski, who even spun his car during practice on Friday, was able to overcome the pain of a fractured ankle and beat a lot of really strong drivers for his second win of the season. And in the process, he put himself in position to race in his first Chase. Talk about coming up big in a very difficult situation.
I’ve seen it mentioned on Twitter that maybe Keselowski shouldn’t have raced because of the injury. I understand the argument that you want your fellow competitors to be in tip-top shape when they are racing around you at 200MPH. And I might even buy that argument, except that Brad K. was cleared by doctors. Yes he was injured, but it’s not like he was suffering from a head injury. If he’s up to it, and the doctors say it’s okay, then have at it.
We could be witnessing the creation of NASCAR’s next big name, and if Sunday’s performance didn’t earn Keselowski your respect, then nothing will.
We saw it at both Road America and Infineon. Bent sheet metal and angry drivers filled the garage area after the races. You would have thought we had just raced at Martinsville or the old Bristol. Papis was angry with Villeneuve, Stewart and Vickers were at odds, and no NASCAR clash is complete without a JPM and Brad K. sighting. And wait, was that Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick shaking hands post race?!
Road course racing at the Nationwide and Cup level always seems to be a very tough proposition. The level of ability from the front of the field to the back varies wildly, and it always leads to a lot of on track action. Even for those who have a ton of road racing experience and talent, these races are no walk in the park.
The varied experience levels coupled with race tracks that can be very difficult to pass on means madness could ensue. Drivers often decide it’s easier to move a competitor than it is to set him up and make a clean pass. And as we saw today, often the “moved” driver gets angry, and then gets even.
There are also plenty of cases where guys end up wrecked simply because another driver ran out of talent. Trying to fit race cars into holes where there really isn’t a hole, or charging corners way too hard is usually a recipe for disaster.
All things considered, I thought both the NNS and Cup races from this weekend were wildly entertaining. There was plenty of action, drama, strategy, and “boys have at it” to satisfy any race fan. And because of the great racing we continue to see at these tracks, it’s about time NASCAR finally added a road race to the Chase. Our champion should be well rounded, and there are plenty of top flight tracks in this country that would serve NASCAR well.
Finally, I’ve heard some of you were less than pleased with TNT’s coverage on Sunday. It’s definitely a shame that the networks continue to struggle with what exactly the right formula is for covering NASCAR events. Things like RaceBuddy are a big step in the right direction, but they need to keep working. Let’s hope they work out some of the kinks before we head to Daytona this weekend.
Love it or hate it, fuel strategy is going to continue being the name of the game over the next few weeks. The last two Cup races and the most recent Nationwide Series race were all decided on late race fuel gambles, and the next three Cup races are all at tracks conducive to fuel mileage races.
Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, and Justin Allgaier all picked up the most recent wins because they were able to stretch their mileage just a little bit more than everyone else. Their crews were able to squeeze every possible ounce of fuel into the cells during pit stops, and the crew chiefs and engineers burned up their calculators making sure they could make it to the end.
These races may not always be the most exciting to watch from the stands or on TV, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of drama anyway. Those responsible for making the decisions and figuring fuel mileage are always holding their breath as the laps click away. Adrenaline is flowing and there never seems to be enough Tums around.
The next three Cup races are at Pocono, Michigan, and Sonoma. Pocono and Michigan are both big tracks that aren’t known for a ton of cautions. The cars get spread out pretty quickly, and there is plenty of room to race. That means we’ll see a lot of long green flag runs and situations like we’ve had at Charlotte and Kansas will happen again. Teams running further back in the pack will gamble on track position and we could see more first time winners.
At Sonoma, everyone works their strategy from the finish of the race backwards. The teams will figure out what the earliest lap is they can come in to pit and still make it to the finish, and work their strategy from there. Track position is always a big key, and fuel mileage plays a big part. Marcos Ambrose lost a chance to win at Sonoma last season because he could not get his car re-fired under caution after he’d been riding around with the engine off to conserve fuel.
We haven’t seen a ton of fuel mileage hate from the fans up to this point because we’ve had some exciting finishes. But that doesn’t mean the hate won’t make an appearance over the coming days. Just remember that sometimes the driver wheels a strong race car to the win, and sometimes clever strategy from those on the pit box rules the day.
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