Race for the Chase takes a sharp turn at Charlotte

The return of crew chief Paul Wolfe can’t come soon enough for Brad Keselowski, who finds himself in the danger zone after an unfortunate outing in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

It’s not that Kevin Buskirk did a less-than-stellar job subbing for Wolfe, who saw a six-race suspension reduced to two races on appeal after NASCAR confiscated unapproved rear end housing assemblies from the Penske Racing teams Apr. 13 at Texas.

It’s simply that Keselowski and Wolfe have a special chemistry, one that carried them to the Cup championship last season. Keselowski is brash, intense, driven and supremely talented behind the wheel.

Wolfe, a master race strategist, exudes calm confidence. Together they reach a critical mass where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

And right now they need each other—desperately.

The victim of a three-wide wreck late in Sunday’s race at Charlotte, Keselowski suffered his first DNF (did not finish) since the 2012 Daytona 500. Worse, he dropped to 10th in the Cup standings, a precarious perch for a driver without a victory this year.

Only 20 points separate Keselowski from 16th place Ryan Newman, and with 14 races left before the Chase field is set, Keselowski needs to solidify his points position, or better still, to win a race or two as insurance against the sort of random accident that took him out at Charlotte.

Only one Cup champion has missed the Chase the year after winning the title—Tony Stewart in 2006. Keselowski is loath to become the second.

That’s why Wolfe’s return this week at Dover couldn’t come at a better time.