Even while having the most dominant car at Pocono on Sunday, Brad Keselowski’s luck ran out as the laps winded down. Keselowski led 95 of the 160 laps at the Tricky Triangle for the Pocono 400, but was unable to secure his second victory of the year.
After securing a gap surpassing one second over Dale Earnhardt Jr., the No. 2 team made a decision that ultimately cost him the win. Keselowski fell back behind Earnhardt Jr. by approximately two-three tenths of a second in a desperate attempt to get a piece of debris off of his Ford.
“I was trying to do something to help my car out and I knew it was going to break and I was going to get passed, so I was trying to make whatever move I could do to help clean it off, and I’m not sure I did enough to make a difference,” Keselowski said.
The debris on his grille caused the temperature to sky rocket on his engine. However, Keselowski wasn’t the only one to have trash on the front-end of his car. Earnhardt Jr. also has debris on his car, but it was not as severe as Keselowski’s. Keselowski was never able to get close enough behind Earnhardt Jr. to get the debris off his front bumper, causing him to lose horsepower on the straightaways.
“It was definitely a mistake because the engine made it, but it probably shouldn’t have. It was one of those deals - I think I was going to get passed because I was really down on power down the straightaway. It’s hard hard to say,” he said.
Keselowski now sits fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings after entering Pocono eighth in points. With a win and seven top-10s this year, he has been able to illustrate his consistency throughout the year. His teammate, Joey Logano, experienced an engine failure which sent him back to finish 40th after losing oil pressure under caution.
Even while having the most dominant car at Pocono on Sunday, Brad Keselowski’s luck ran out as the laps winded down. Keselowski led 95 of the 160 laps at the Tricky Triangle for the Pocono 400, but was unable to secure his second victory of the year.
After securing a gap surpassing one second over Dale Earnhardt Jr., the No. 2 team made a decision that ultimately cost him the win. Keselowski fell back behind Earnhardt Jr. by approximately two-three tenths of a second in a desperate attempt to get a piece of debris off of his Ford.
“I was trying to do something to help my car out and I knew it was going to break and I was going to get passed, so I was trying to make whatever move I could do to help clean it off, and I’m not sure I did enough to make a difference,” Keselowski said.
The debris on his grille caused the temperature to sky rocket on his engine. However, Keselowski wasn’t the only one to have trash on the front-end of his car. Earnhardt Jr. also has debris on his car, but it was not as severe as Keselowski’s. Keselowski was never able to get close enough behind Earnhardt Jr. to get the debris off his front bumper, causing him to lose horsepower on the straightaways.
“It was definitely a mistake because the engine made it, but it probably shouldn’t have. It was one of those deals - I think I was going to get passed because I was really down on power down the straightaway. It’s hard hard to say,” he said.
Keselowski now sits fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings after entering Pocono eighth in points. With a win and seven top-10s this year, he has been able to illustrate his consistency throughout the year. His teammate, Joey Logano, experienced an engine failure which sent him back to finish 40th after losing oil pressure under caution.
