RELATED: Keselowski comes through in the clutch at Talladega in 2014
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Here we go again.
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Round of 12 finale at Talladega Superspeedway just became that much more of a must-see event. Former Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski once again finds himself in a precarious position heading into the elimination race at the 2.66-mile track, in need of a victory to advance after finishing toward the back of the pack at Kansas Speedway.
Two years ago the Team Penske driver placed 36th in the Hollywood Casino 400. He placed 38th on Sunday after contact with Denny Hamlin on Lap 189 sent his No. 2 Ford careening into the grass, destroying the front end of his ride.
And two years ago he hit the proverbial walk-off home run, landing in Talladega Victory Lane — and into the Round of 8.
Can he do it again?
“We will win Talladega and other races and be fine,” Keselowski said in the garage following the incident. “I like Talladega. Talladega has been good to me and I am going to drive my butt off and at the end of the day I have faith that if it is meant to be it is meant to be. We can’t get down. There is a long way to go still.”
In an attempt to scrape together any extra points he could salvage, Keselowski returned to the race on Lap 218 — 28 laps down — for only two circuits before bringing out the seventh caution when his car started smoking again. He quickly returned to the garage and retired for the day.
“It’s an automotive war zone out here,” Keselowski said. “(My team) just worked their guts out. If my team keeps putting out this kind of effort, I’m not worried about today. We’re going to win races.”
Keselowski entered the race fourth on the Chase Grid but now sits 11th in the 12-driver field, ahead of Chase Elliott by 18 points. He trails points leader Jimmie Johnson by a whopping 44.
If any driver in the field has a chance to pull off the miraculous feat that he once again faces, it’s Keselowski.
The winner of the past two restrictor plate races (May Talladega, July Daytona) has five total in his career, four of which have come at the Alabama track. With restrictor plate ace Dale Earnhardt Jr. sidelined for the remainder of the season, Keselowski is arguably the best superspeedway racer in the series right now.
Some may question Keselowski’s hard-charging method of racing at Kansas in an event he conceivably could’ve raced more for points than for the win, but — as we’ve come to known — that’s not his style.
“I probably could have raced less hard with a big points gap coming in,” he said. “With this (Chase) format it is probably the smart thing to do but I don’t want to race like that. I want to race my guts out and go for wins. I don’t want to points race. I don’t care what the damn format is, I am going to give it my best.”
There will be no option to points race at Talladega.
Keselowski likely needs to win.
“Days like today are going to happen to anybody and everybody in the Chase. It is about the effort you have when that happens,” Keselowski said.
“I am proud of my guys for doing their best to recover and we will move on to Talladega and give ’em hell.”