NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
CUP: Keselowski Salvages Strong Finish
Brad Keselowski fell to second in the Sprint Cup points with a sixth-place finish at Martinsville…
Tom Jensen  |  Posted October 28, 2012   Martinsville, VA
Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnson did what he had to do by winning Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, but by finishing sixth at one of his supposedly weaker tracks, so did Brad Keselowski.

After a miserable 32nd-place qualifying effort on Friday, Keselowski gutted out a sixth-place finish in his Penske Racing Dodge and so the Chase for the Sprint Cup remains wide open.

Keselowski came into Martinsville with a 7-point lead over Johnson and leaves trailing by just 2 points, essentially a dead heat with three races left in the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

Over 500 long laps at the 0.526-mile short track, Keselowski patiently worked his way from the back to the front, although he clearly didn’t have a car that was as fast as the leaders.

As he has on several occasions in the Chase, Keselowski gambled on pit strategy with the race on the line.

After Kevin Harvick’s engine blew with about 30 laps left, Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were the only two of the 18 lead-lap cars to eschew pit stops and stay on the course to gain critical track position.

Ultimately, though, with so many cars behind him on fresh tires, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer passed Keselowski in the closing laps. But given that Keselowski was sixth when he pitted and he finished sixth, his decision ultimately was a push, neither helping nor hurting him in the final rundown.

All things considered, especially given where he qualified, Keselowski was happy to finish where he did.

“It just means you can’t count this team out,” said Keselowski of his excellent run, his sixth top 10 in seven Chase races. “This team has a tremendous amount of heart and I’m just proud of them.”

And so, the season goes to the final three races, Keselowski vs. Johnson for the championship, culminating with the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“This championship’s going to come down to Homestead,” said Keselowski. “You’ve just got to be in position to where you’ve got a shot at it. And we’re doing the things it’s going to take to be in contention at Homestead.

“We’ve got Texas coming up — very similar to Chicago — and I’m sure it’s going to be a duel with the 48 (Johnson) there. We’ll keep fighting the good fight and just really proud of today.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
tom_jensen's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.