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EVENT – Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (250 laps/ 187.5 miles)
TRACK – Richmond International Raceway (0.75-Mile D-shaped Oval)
DATE – Friday, September 11, 2009
Keselowski's Continues Short-Track Prowess with Top-Five Finish
RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 11, 2009) – Brad Keselowski led one time
for 70 laps in the No. 88 Lipton Chevrolet en route to a fourth-place
finish Friday night in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Virginia 529 College
Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway. It was Keselowski’s
fifth consecutive top-five finish, and it keeps him solidly in third
place in the championship standings.
Carl Edwards won the race, his
fourth victory this season. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch followed in
second and third, with Keselowski
and David Reutimann rounding out the top five.
Start – 5th / Finish – 4th / Laps Led – 70 / Points – 165
/ Point Standings – 3rd
Starting fifth, Keselowski raced his way to third and used quick pit
work during the Lipton team’s first stop to take the lead on
lap 42. Keselowski would not relinquish the top spot until lap 112
during a green-flag run. The 70 laps led were Keselowski’s second-highest
total this season, 41 laps shy of the 121 he led in a winning effort
at Iowa Speedway.
Racing steadily in the top-five, Keselowski’s crew used pit stops
on lap 127 and 230 to continue working on the car’s handling,
while performing fast enough pit work to gain a position each time.
Keselowski took the final restart in fifth place on lap 230. He made
quick work of David Reutimann for fourth, and spent the last 14 laps
chasing down Busch for third. He came within a car length, but couldn’t
make the pass. Keselowski took the checkers in fourth place.
The finish in Richmond was Keselowski’s 16th top-five and 21st
top-10 of the season. It was also his fifth consecutive top-five. With
the laps led at Richmond, Keselowski has now led in 13 of 27 races
this season, or just under half, for 302 laps. Keselowski continues
to excel on short tracks with one win and five top-five finishes on
the last five short track races, with an average finish of 3.2.
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On
racing at Richmond– “
“ I just lost some front grip there at the end ,” Keselowski said. “We
needed some more yellow flags to be able to come in and make a few more adjustments,
but they didn’t come, which is kind of unusual for this track. My guys
were on it tonight. I think they gained me a total of four spots on pit road,
which is just awesome.”
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