Brad Keselowski scored a 16th-place finish in the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The driver of the Dent Wizard Ford is 10th in NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 44 points behind the leader.

Keselowski started strong, grabbing the lead on lap 13 and holding the top spot for the next 40 laps. But as Stage 1 drew to a close, the balance on the Dent Wizard Ford shifted to too tight on entry and free off the corners. The second caution on lap 65 put Keselowski in position to win the stage. He pitted for four tires and an air pressure adjustment on lap 68 and restarted second on lap 72, eight laps from the finish of the segment. Keselowski grabbed the lead on lap 73 but was forced to settle for second-place after an entertaining duel with Chris Buescher. Crew chief Jeremy Bullins made the call to pit for four tires and a wedge adjustment during the stage caution. Good work on the pit lane by the 2 Crew kept Keselowski in second when the race went green on lap 87.

Finding the right balance on the No. 2 Mustang was a big challenge throughout Stage 2 plus Keselowski had a close call when Chase Elliott’s car wiggled in front of him off Turn 4 on lap 130. He was running outside the top-10 when the fourth caution waved on lap 155, just five laps from the end of the stage. Keselowski pitted one lap later for four tires. He restarted 13th with one lap remaining in the segment. He picked off three positions to score a 10th-place finish in Stage 2. Bullins kept Keselowski on the track during the stage caution and he started eighth when the race went green on lap 167.

Keselowski settled into eighth position during the early laps of the third and final stage. The balance on the No. 2 Mustang returned to not having rear grip. He was running 10th when a caution on lap 201 set up another round of pit stops. Keselowski pitted for four tires and good work by the 2 Crew on pit road moved him up to seventh for the restart on lap 207. He was running eighth there when he made his final stop under green on lap 237 for four tires and a track bar adjustment. The race remained green to the finish and Keselowski was able to fight his way through traffic to score a 16th-place finish.

“We didn’t get the finish we wanted with our Dent Wizard Ford, but the guys had a solid day on pit road and I’m proud of them. We’ll rebound next week in Las Vegas.” said Keselowski