Keselowski Moves into #10 Spot in Sprint Cup Standings

Brad Keselowski was clearly on a roll this past weekend, competing in all three Kentucky Speedway-hosted races and taking first place in the Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400. Careful management of fuel mileage gave Keselowski the edge as he took his Penske Racing #2 Didge through the final 56 laps of the race, adding a second victory at Kentucky to his racing career record. In a post-race interview the NASCAR driver noted that “Hard work equals results and today this team got the results”, adding that “It feels pretty dang good.” Keselowski finished in second place in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Thursday, and in seventh place in the NNS Feed The Children 300 on Friday Night. While acknowledging that he had wanted victories in all three races, he was pleased with the weekend’s results.

With earlier victories at Talladega and Bristol, Keselowski is 10th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, putting him in line to be one of the top 10 drivers to make the Chase after 26 races. An additional two wild cards drawn from rankings 11 to 20 with the most wins will join the top ten in the Chase. There are still nine races ahead and the field is still wide open, with the current top 12, in order, being Matt Kenseth (633 points); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (622 points); Jimmie Johnson (610 points); Greg Biffle (608 points); Denny Hamlin (565 points); Kevin Harvick (565 points); Clint Bowyer (557 points); Martin Truex Jr. (556 points); Tony Stewart (545 points); Brad Keselowski (537 points); Carl Edwards (503 points); and Kyle Busch (495 points).

Keselowski joined Penske Racing in 2010, and currently drives the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in the Sprint Cup Series, and the #22 Discount Tire Company/Ruby Tuesday Dodge Challenger in the Nationwide Series. In the 2012 season, Keselowski will be competing in a number of Camping World Truck Series as teammate to Parker Kligerman and for his own team, Brad Keselowski Racing. After a less than auspicious beginning, Keselowski’s victories this season included the Food City 500 at Bristol, and the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega, the latter being the first time that a Dodge won a Sprint Cup race at Talladego since Dave Marcis took the checkered flag in 1976.

As the season continues, and the competition hots up, auto racing fans are in for some exciting times. The next race is the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona on July 7, 2012.