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Keselowski Runs Out of Laps, Finishes Second at Charlotte |
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Concord, N.C. May 29, 2010
Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Racing No.
22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, finished second
in the Tech-Net Auto Service 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday
afternoon. He was able to drive to the rear bumper of the eventual winner, Kyle
Busch, on the last lap of a green-white-checkered-flag finish, but could not
make the pass for the lead before the laps ran out. The finish is the ninth
top-five finish of the season for Keselowski.
Keselowski now leads the Nationwide Series driver point standings by one point
over second-place contender Busch. |
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Keselowski qualified his No. 22 Dodge Charger in the third position for the
second consecutive week as he posted a lap of 29.064 seconds, or 185.797 miles
per hour earlier in the day. As the race began, Keselowski quickly drove his No.
22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger to the second position. He kept the leader in his
sights and was able to drive around him on lap 16 for his first lead of the
race. Throughout the first 50 laps, Keselowski had the fastest car on the track.
Keselowski radioed to crew chief Paul Wolfe that his chassis was tight to the
center of the corners and loose on exit. On the team's first pit stop, which
occurred under the green flag on lap 57, Wolfe called for minor adjustments to
the Goodyear radials. As the pit stops cycled through, Keselowski found himself
running in the second position. When the leader of the race had motor problems,
Keselowski was able to resume the lead on lap 91. |
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When an 84 lap green flag run ended with a caution on lap 102, Keselowski
radioed that he was "very happy" with the handling condition of the No. 22 Dodge
Charger. Wolfe once again called Keselowski down pit road for minor air pressure
adjustments. Following great pit work by the No. 22 crew, Keselowski remained
the leader when the race resumed.
Keselowski relinquished the lead on lap 123, but he remained one of the fastest
cars on the track. Despite a handling condition that moved to loose, Keselowski
fell no lower than third in the running order. He was running in the second
position when the fifth caution flag of the day flew on lap 186. Wolfe
instructed Keselowski to "follow the leader." Both he and the leader elected to
stay on the track instead of coming down pit road for service.
Even though all of the cars behind him had at least two fresher tires,
Keselowski was able to hold them at bay while he worked to regain the lead. A
lap 197 caution ensured that the race would run past its scheduled distance into
a green-white-checkered-flag finish and Keselowski could not mount a final
charge to pick up a potential third victory on the season.
Penske Racing teammate Justin Allgaier finished fourth. |
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"It was great day for the Discount Tire Dodge," said Keselowski. "I feel like we
had a stronger car, but Kyle did a great job and had a great restart. Justin
(Allgaier) and I worked well together. We just came up short. I'm still really
proud of this team. We're coming away with top finishes every week and head to
Nashville with the points lead, which is cool."
The No.22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger team will return to the Nashville
Superspeedway next weekend for the Federated Auto Parts 300. This will be the
first "non-companion" event of the season. The race can be seen live on Saturday
afternoon, June 5, on ESPN2 beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT. The event can also be
heard live on MRN Radio, as well as Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128. |
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Visit the Racing News Archive to read previously featured stories. |
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