Frustrated Brad Keselowski can't convert speed into wins
LOUDON, N.H. — The driver, the crew chief said, was “frustrated.”
Indeed Brad Keselowski was. Frustrated that in consecutive weeks the No. 2 Ford was one of the fastest cars on the track, but was again beaten by Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Toyota. Frustrated at cautions issued while he was leading a race-high 100 laps. Frustrated that drivers with no skin in deciding the 5-hour Energy 301 Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway were impeding his progress and that his spotter couldn’t do anything about it.
Sixth in points and virtually guaranteed as Chase for the Sprint Cup spot after winning at Auto Cub Speedway in March, Keselowski can at least console himself with the speed. But speed not converted into wins are lost opportunities now and in the Sprint Cup playoffs that begin in two months.
And so, he got frustrated after Busch used some deft driving and an extremely timely caution to race back from a lap down and win for the third time in four weeks.
“I guess being in there driving it can be more frustrating for him,” crew chief Paul Wolfe said after Keselowski finished second. “We can’t control that. We just do the best we can with the situations. It seemed like (cautions) were always coming out at the wrong time for us and, obviously, lapped traffic at certain times, it didn’t seem like they were really working with us well and that can be frustrating.
“It just shows how bad we want to win and how hard we work, and we had some struggles over the last couple months, and to come out the past couple weeks as strong as we have and not to be able to get it done it’s tough.”
PHOTOS: Behind the wheel with Brad Keselowski
Keselowski, looking drained and unusually concise, said the fleet Ford was a “joy to drive” but was “ready to go home.”
Keselowski has two weeks of close-but-not-close-enough to consider after starting second, leading 62 laps and finishing sixth last week at Kentucky Speedway. Now he heads into the pressure of the Brickyard 400 next Sunday, a race that team owner Roger Penske has never won. After capturing the season-opening Daytona 500 with Joey Logano and his 16th Indianapolis 500 with Juan Pablo Montoya, Penske makes no secret of his desire to acquire his personal triple crown.
“A lot of pressure on our guys,” Penske told Paste BN Sports after the race. “I’d love to win that race. We never have, so it’s a big day for us.”
Keselowski also bemoaned on Sunday that it was “bad enough I've got to race 45 Chevys, I've got to race the six other Fords like this,” meaning lapped traffic — some of the same manufacturer — as he attempted to fend off eventual third-place finisher Kevin Harvick and focus forward on Busch, who opened as much as a 1.5-second lead before winning under caution.
“There’s certain guys and spotters that work well together and are able to get traffic moved and try to help out a little bit when you’ve got the guys racing for the win at the end,” Wolfe said. “And then honestly some of those guys out there, they're just kind of a little bit lost and their cars aren’t driving well and it seems like they just always end up at the wrong place at the wrong time. That can be frustrating.”
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