NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Report
Track: Dover International Speedway
Race: AAA 400 Drive For Autism
Date: May 15, 2016
No. 2 Wurth Ford Fusion – Brad Keselowski
Start: 14th
Finish: 6th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 400/400
Laps Led: 49
Points Position (behind leader): 6th (-50)
Recap: It may not have been the prettiest result in Brad Keselowski’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, but his sixth-place finish in the No. 2 Wurth Ford Fusion in Sunday afternoon’s AAA 400 Drive For Autism at Dover International Speedway was a textbook example of perseverance. After starting the race from the 14th position due to qualifying being rained out on Friday, Keselowski immediately began to maneuver his way through the field with the help of his No. 2 Wurth pit crew who picked their driver up a total of five positions on pit road over the first two pit stops. Keselowski was able to make up lots of time on the long, green-flag runs as he was routinely the fastest car on the track after 30 laps. Keselowski moved into the top five at lap 135, and he took the lead at lap 231. He would hold onto the top spot for 49 laps before settling back into the second position following a good, hard battle with the No. 42 of Kyle Larson. However, at lap 283, Keselowski ran up on the slower car of Austin Dillon while coming off turn two, clipping Dillon in the left rear and severely damaging the right-front fender on the Wurth Ford. When a caution displayed 10 laps later, crew chief Paul Wolfe was able to bring his driver down pit road for quick repairs to stay on the lead lap. From there Keselowski began to make his way back through the field, aided by a multi-car incident on lap 355 that collected a double-digit number of competitors. Over the final 30 laps of the race, Keselowski was able to move past three more cars to finish with his eighth top-10 finish of the season.
Quote: “This was one of those Dover races I don’t think anybody will forget any time soon. There was a lot of chaos and we ran really well. Unfortunately, we got caught up in an incident while running second and tore up the car. I guess the car in front of me had a flat tire and it just happened all too quick for me to do anything. It knocked a lot of speed out of our Wurth Ford Fusion but we were still very competitive. I am proud of my guys to recover to finish sixth at the end.”
No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion – Joey Logano
Start: 22nd
Finish: 22nd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 391/400
Laps Led: 2
Points Position (behind leader): 8th (-78)
Recap: Joey Logano started and finished 22nd in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion in Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway. The finish was not indicative of how well Logano and the team performed throughout the first 350 laps of the event. After starting mid-pack, crew chief Todd Gordon and the Shell-Pennzoil crew improved the No. 22 Ford steadily and moved into the top 10 by lap 96. On lap 174, Logano pitted from the ninth position and Gordon called for a two-tire stop, which gained the team six positions leaving pit road. Logano reached the second position and led one lap of the event during a yellow flag pit sequence. The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford ran in the top five for 146 laps, until lap 340 when the handling began to deteriorate due to damage sustained from hitting a small piece of debris, which brought out a caution several laps later. The team pitted at lap 350 and made repairs to the nose of the car, and would rejoin the field in 16th positon. On the ensuing restart, the front row stacked up and a chain reaction incident claimed most of the lead lap competitors, including Logano. The incident brought out the only red flag of the afternoon. After competition resumed, the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team made the necessary repairs to get the car back on track, where Logano was able to gain several more positions before the checkered flag.
Quote: “That was the problem, we couldn’t see. When you are stacked up on the restart like that there isn’t much to be able to see at all. Unfortunately, it looked like the 48 had trouble getting going and it stacked us up. I tried checking up and going to the bottom like we were going to miss it and got hit from behind and that sent me into it more. Now we need a new radiator. We have been the victim of circumstances the last few weeks. It is what it is. I am not going to say it was bad luck. We put ourselves in position to be back there on our pit stop. It is our fault. We have to smarten up and get a little better at every little area. We had a decent car. We weren’t the fastest car but we were a top-five car for sure. Things happen.”
