With NSCS qualifying rained out, Carl Edwards gets the pole based on his practice speed Friday at Talladega
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 Redd’s Apple Ale Ford Fusion – CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THIS WEEKEND? “We’ve got a lot of great things going on. We’re off to a good start this year and I know you guys have a lot of things going on, too. We’re doing some different things, obviously, with Miller Coors branching out and doing the Redd’s car this weekend, which is something kind of new and different. I like doing things new and different, so a little change of pace for this weekend – certainly not every weekend, but this weekend and maybe a few others. I’m ready for Richmond. We’ve got the Nationwide car here, the Cup car, and I think I even have a car entered in the K&N race. All I need is a car in the late model race and we’d have them all covered, but hopefully we can come away with some victories. We’ve been really close in all the series this year. I feel like I’ve gotten a bunch of second-place finishes and I’m trying to get that one extra spot and get some wins. With the way this sport is set up, especially with the Chase on the Cup side, wins are really what matters for qualifying for the Chase and seeding and what-not. We’ve been close, but no cigar. Hopefully, we can get that done here in Richmond.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – “My seat belts came undone. It was just one of those weird deals, so I had a chance and I fixed it and got back going.”
HOW HAS THIS TRACK AGED? “It’s a little bit rougher, but it’s hard to tell because the wind is so violent right now. That really affects how your cars drive here, but it’s full of challenges here at Kansas, that’s for sure. That’s a good thing.” HOW WAS THE LAP? “It wasn’t what we were looking for, for sure. We didn’t make it through the center of the corner with as much speed as we need to to be fast, so we’ve got to work on that.”
YOUR REACTION TO THE PENALTY? WERE YOU SURPRISED ABOUT THE SEVERITY? “I don’t think I’ve been surprised by much of anything in the last two or three days, but I think it’s really important to allow the appeal process to work its way out on its own. That’s why it exists. I’m thankful that there is a process for appeals because, obviously, we’re in an ‘agree to disagree’ stage between Penske Racing and NASCAR, and there’s, thankfully, a third panel or group to settle those disagreements.”
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Bloomfield Hills, MI – Defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and one of the sport’s leaders in digital and social media, Brad Keselowski, launched today a new, innovative version of his website, BradRacing.com, which is designed to provide fans with increased access to the Penske Racing driver and Brad Keselowski Racing team owner. The state-of-the-art redesign allows visitors to access the website through any platform – desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile – for the optimal user experience and includes a variety of features unlike any other driver site.
The website captures the raw power and excitement of racing as well as behind-the-scenes, off-track activity while chronicling the full NASCAR season of the Rochester Hills, Michigan native. All races in which Keselowski competes will feature a detailed mini-site, which includes comprehensive news updates and exclusive, high-quality multimedia content such as videos, images, stories, and analysis generated by fans, sponsors, and the driver himself. Additionally, social media aspects are integrated throughout the site, and fans are able to share content via their social channels.
““TALK ABOUT YOUR LAP OUT THERE TODAY. “That was a spectacular lap considering everything we did today. We were fortunate enough to get an extra hour of practice here and unfortunately we had about eight minutes of practice today before qualifying. The guys worked really hard to get the engine changed. I got out with three minutes to go to make a lap and we made adjustments from that lap and we were able to put down a pretty fast lap. Obviously the car is pretty close. I am anxious to get some track time. I can’t wait to see how my car runs and hopefully we will get that right tomorrow. We are going to get a good pit stall for the race and we will have to start at the back so that is unfortunate but I am proud of the team for how hard they worked and the car that we are going to have for the race.”
DID THEY DIAGNOSE WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE ENGINE? IS THERE CONCERN WITH KESELOWSKI’S ISSUE AS WELL? “I don’t have all the details. They are actually taking the engine apart now. They were going to do it after qualifying. I wish they would have done it right away but maybe I will sleep better tonight finding out what it is. We feel like the issues could be common between the 2 car and my car. I think they are thinking it is the same issue and something mechanical, something parts wise inside the engine at the bottom of the engine I think. I will know and we will know here after we take it apart but right now we are sort of guessing.”
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Brad Keselowski heads into Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway with a nine point lead in the Sprint Cup Series standings over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Keselowski’s move to the top spot this week is the first time Ford has led in 2013, but last season either Matt Kenseth or Greg Biffle were leading the points after 22 of the first 26 races with Biffle holding the top spot after Richmond before the points were reset for the Chase. In 2011, Carl Edwards led the standings for 21 weeks and was the series leader after 15 of the first 26 events. Keselowski spoke about the lead and more during his media time at the track Friday afternoon.
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – YOU ARE OFF TO A GREAT START, TALK ABOUT RACING HERE AT AUTO CLUB AND THE SOLID START YOU GUYS HAVE HAD. “Yeah, it has been a solid start. We have done everything but win a race. That is where our focus is at this weekend for sure. We’ve certainly got a strong, consistent start but we have been in position on the final restart of each race to win and have come up just a little bit short. Hopefully we can close that out this weekend. I think we have got the car to do it and the team to do it. We are ready to get on track and get going. We have practice and qualifying here today and I am curious how this race is going to play out. I honestly think this is going to be an exceptional race. I think this new car, the Generation 6 car acts and reacts a lot like the Nationwide car does. You combine that with a track that has multiple grooves in the corners and a car that I think has a potential to draft really well and I think it could be a great race. I am pretty optimistic about it. I am glad I am running the Nationwide race because it will be good experience before hand. There are a lot of things to look forward to for sure.”
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Ford Finishing Order:
3rd – Brad Keselowski
11th – Greg Biffle
15th – Casey Mears
16th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17th – Joey Logano
18th – Carl Edwards
19th – Marcos Ambrose
21st – David Ragan
24th – David Gilliland
26th – Josh Wise
37th – Aric Almirola
40th – Scott Speed
42nd – Michael McDowell Read Full Article →
Edwards-Fennig Pairing Hits The Jackpot
It’s open to debate whether a 70-race winless streak or the inability to reach last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ made Carl Edwards irrelevant.
Edwards, however, rendered the argument moot with last weekend’s victory at Phoenix International Raceway in which he led 122 laps and held off champions Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski in a green-white-checkers shoot-out.
Now it’s on to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Edwards can savor memories of his 2011 Kobalt Tools 400 victory without the baggage of two years of losses.
“I’m more excited to go to Vegas than I’ve been in a long time,” said Edwards of Sunday’s third race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. “[I’m] very pumped.”
Ford Racing NNS Notes & Quotes:
Dollar General 200 Advance (Phoenix International Speedway)
Friday, March 1, 2013
Page 1
Travis Pastrana, driver of the No. 60 Roush Fenway Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, kicked off the weekend at Phoenix International Raceway by answering questions from the media about last week’s 10th-place finish at Daytona and on being an expectant father.
TRAVIS PASTRANA – No. 60 Roush Fenway Ford Mustang – CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR BABY NEWS AND LAST WEEK’S RUN AT DAYTONA? “It’s just really exciting. I got married about a year-and-a-half ago and having a kid is gonna be awesome, but, for now, I’m just focusing on the job at hand and going out and trying to drive some race cars. Daytona was awesome. We just really stuck to the plan. Unfortunately, most of my teammates kind of got caught in a pile-up with about five laps to go, so all of my buddies were gone and we were kind of a sitting duck at the end. Up until then it was a perfect race. A top-10 finish is exactly what we had hoped for, but coming into Phoenix, I wouldn’t say it’s the first real race of the season, but Daytona is a completely different ball game. I learned a lot. I’m excited about it, but this is where we’ll tell whose really got it for the season, so I’m excited about just being on the Roush Fenway team. I know we’ve got a great car, so I’m looking forward to it.” Read Full Article →
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