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Keselowski Opens Chase With Victory

Brad Keselowski wins the My AFib Story.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway.  [Mark Walczak Photo]

 

The numbers are striking– 25th, 10th, 28th, 12th and 24th; the starting positions for five of the top-six finishers in Sunday’s first round of “The Chase” at Chicagoland Speedway.

“You’ve got to be patient and pace yourself. It’s easy to spin out on your own when you’re trying to catch up,” winner Brad Keselowski explained. And Keselowski, never known for being the most patient of drivers, took that tactic to victory lane Sunday after a knock-down, drag-em-out late race battle with Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick over the last half of the My AFib Story.com 400.

“It was hard to tell who was faster. Clean air played an important role. I got to the lead, finally, on lap 252. I saw an opening between Kyle and Kevin and I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t try it,” Keselowski explained.

That winning move, combined with the patience to get to that point after starting 25th, gave Keselowski and the Penske/Ford team an automatic berth in Round 2, the Contender Round of the Race for the Chase.

For Gordon, Larson and Harvick, what looked like a possible win, suddenly took an awkward turn after Keselowski’s bold move to the front.

“Prior to that (move by Keselowski), Kyle had it. I had third wrapped up and Keselowski was fading. Then it all changed there just because of a restart. I mean, Keselowski, he dove into the middle lane and there was some clean air. I was more surprised he got up in front of Kyle,” said Gordon, who was full of praise for Larson, who drove a backup car and had never driven a Cup car at Chicago. “I think this kid is the real deal. I really wanted to see him win because I know he’s going to win a lot of races, but I also didn’t want to see those other guys win.”

And Larson, the budding rookie Cup driver, took the lead from Harvick on lap 231 after a caution period, and thought it might be his key to victory.

“We came back out in the lead. Then got the jump on the restart. I was going to cruise, I thought, to the win. Then we got some more cautions and we had to battle with Kevin there. That allowed Brad to get by both of us. It really ended our shot at a win there,” the Target Chevrolet driver said. “Man, for a backup car, that was amazing. I’m sure there are some things I could have done differently on that restart, and I’ll definitely know for next time. Man, I was so close.”

And Harvick, more than anyone else knew that. “Well the No. 42 was better than us. He passed us the run before and was able to get track position and restart on the bottom. Obviously, Kyle wants to win a race and that’s how you’re supposed to race and everybody was going after it pretty hard. Our fifth place is a solid start to the Chase.”

But as happy as the top finishers were after the race, there were a bunch of long faces among Chase contenders who didn’t fare as well; especially Carl Edwards who finished 20th after suffering late-race tire problems.

“We used up every bit of our track position and our strategy and everything. We had a flat tire and got fortunate that didn’t hurt us; it might have helped us. Our day was not good. We’ve got to be a little faster and have good luck. For us to advance, we are going to have to rely on other people making some mistakes,” said a usually optimistic Edwards.

But perhaps the worst luck for a Chase contender settled on the #43 of Aric Almirola. Running in the top-10 with 37 laps remaining, the engine let go in his Petty Ford Fusion ending a stellar run.

“I can’t put my feelings into words. Heartbroken is the easiest way to describe it. We drove from 23rd up to the top-10, running sixth with about 30 to go and it just wasn’t meant to be. I think the motor just let go. Doug Yates builds awesome horsepower for us every week and we rarely have any engine issues at all,” explained a dejected Almirola. “There is no other option. We have to figure out how we can win one of the next two races.”

So the cream of the Chase contenders rose to the top early in the ten-race battle.

Some are confident of making it to the next round, while others are trying to figure out what to do next.

Keselowski, of all people, knows that his win today will only live so long, and soon he’ll have to stop savoring it and get back to business.

“My boss would say don’t read your own press clippings. I want to enjoy the moment but I still know there’s nine weeks to go. We have a bit of a hall pass for the next two (weeks), which I’m very appreciative,” said a much understated winner. “But those other seven, nobody cares that we won Chicago, nobody cares we won Richmond or those other three races. It keeps resetting. I want to be thankful for today, but I know there’s a long way to go.”

But his boss, team owner Roger Penske was not only happy with Keselowski’s effort, but named one of the team’s tire changers as the MVP of the race.

“Today, the real winner is the young man that changes the rear tire, who put up his hand and said, ‘Hey, I screwed up, the wheel might be loose,’” Penske said of a pit stop on lap 183 that caused the Miller Lite Ford to come back to the pits and again put on four tires—making sure the lug nuts were tight. “(Crew chief) Paul Wolfe had the guts to stay on the radio. ‘We’re not going to go out and run to find out; we’re coming (back) in now.’”

And it’s those stand-up kinds of decisions and team personnel that could be the key to winning the 2014 Chase. We’ll soon see.

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