It was a day of emotional extremes for Team Penske. Yes, Joey Logano won the Hollywood Casino 400, but Brad Keselowski blew a right front tire on Lap 160, rocketed into the Turn 2 wall and found his championship chances in serious jeopardy after a 36-place finish.
Keselowski has two races to climb out of the hole before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field is cut from 12 drivers to eight at Talladega.
“We blew a right front tire,” said Keselowski, who leaves Kansas 10th in the Chase standings. “I’m not sure why. We didn’t have an aggressive setup or anything. We just blew a tire.
“It was just Russian Roulette, and it was our turn.”
Asked if his team made any adjustments that might have exacerbated tire wear, Keselowski demurred.
“No, that would make it feel good if we did, because then you know what is up,” Keselowski said. “But no, we didn’t do anything.
“Like I said, it was a game of Russian Roulette, and it was our turn at the gun.”
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