Brad Keselowski had a tough day Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen International. The driver of the Wabash National Ford Mustang had a day filled with misfortune which left him with a 35th-place finish. Keselowski falls to 10th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings, 239 points behind leader Kyle Larson.
Keselowski started on the pole and led the first nine laps before he spun in Turn 10, dropping him to sixth at the time of the competition caution on lap 10. Keselowski pitted one lap later for four tires and restarted 21st when the race went green on lap 12. Over the next eight laps Keselowski hustled his way through traffic to score an 11th-place finish when Stage 1 ended on lap 20. Crew chief Jeremy Bullins made the call to pit for four tires plus a major trackbar adjustment during the stage caution on lap 21. Keselowski restarted 24th when the race went green on lap 22.
Misfortune continued for Keselowski in Stage 2. On the restart, he was forced off the track and had to pit under green on lap 23 to remove grass and debris from his Mustang’s front grille. He stopped again under caution on lap 26 to pull packer and repair minor nose damage on his car. Keselowski was credited with a 22nd-place when the stage ended on lap 40 and didn’t pit during the stage caution that followed, restarting 17th on lap 43.
Once the race went green, Keselowski held his own, running inside the top 15 until bad luck struck again. He spun at the entrance to Turn 1 on lap 56 and in the process made contact with teammate Joey Logano, which turned Logano sideways. Keselowski then pitted immediately for four tires and damage repair to his right-rear. The sequence of events dropped him a lap down to the leaders. Keselowski couldn’t make up the lost distance and was credited with a 35th-place finish in the final rundown.
“Not the day we wanted with our Wabash Ford,” said Keselowski. “We’ll bounce back next week at Indy.”
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