NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Report
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Race: Sprint All-Star Race
Date: May 21, 2015
No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – Brad Keselowski
Start: 6th
Finish: 2nd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 113/113
Laps Led: 39
Points Position (behind leader): 6th (-50)
Recap: Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion team finished second in an exciting new edition of the Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway as Team Penske scored a 1-2 finish with Joey Logano taking home the $1-million-dollar payday. Keselowski, who led the morning practice session, started the race from the sixth position after rain showers forced the cancellation of qualifying just prior to the start of the race. He quickly moved into the top five and ran there for most of the first 50-lap segment before coming to pit road on lap 46. However, a caution flag was displayed while Keselowski was making his way to his pit stall. Crew chief Paul Wolfe called off a four-tire pit stop and elected to change only left-side tires to get his driver quickly off pit road. As a result, Keselowski was able to only take right-side tires during the mandatory pit stop between segments and started the second segment from the lead. He would lead most of the second segment before surrendering the lead to the No. 42 of Kyle Larson at lap 95. For the final 13-lap segment the top 11 cars were mandated to make a four-tire pit stop while the other competitors remained on the track. Keselowski restarted from the ninth position and was able to get close to Logano in the waning laps before settling for his second runner-up finish in the annual event.
Quote: “It was a decent night but not the great night we wanted with the Miller Lite Ford, ending up second. Really happy for my teammate Joey Logano. He did exactly what you would expect out of an All‑Star Race format and made an incredible pass to win the race. Happy for Team Penske as a whole, but of course wish it was me in victory lane.
No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion – Joey Logano
Start: 8th
Finish: 1st
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 113/113
Laps Led: 12
Points Position (behind leader): 8th (-78)
Recap: Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion team had one million reasons to smile Saturday night as they emerged victorious in the 2016 Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Crossing the line just behind Logano was teammate Brad Keselowski making the All-Star Race a 1-2 finish for Team Penske. Heavy storms hit the track around 6:45 p.m., forcing the cancelation of the unique All-Star Race qualifying session, forcing Logano and company to start the event from the eighth position. The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Fusion quickly moved up through the field at the start of the first 50-lap segment, taking the lead at Lap 35. Logano maintained the top-spot until the team pitted at Lap 45 to make the mandatory green flag stop. The call to pit by crew chief Todd Gordon came at just the right time as the first caution flag of the event was thrown as Logano exited the pits. The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Fusion would restart in seventh position, and run near the top-5 for the remainder of the event. Gordon would again make the right call to position the team for the final pit stop as the top-11 competitors made the mandatory four-tire change. The Shell-Pennzoil Team Penske crew sent Logano back to the track following a great stop and several adjustments for the short dash to the finish. Restarting in the third position for the final 13 laps of the event, Logano quickly moved to second and began chasing race leader Kyle Larson. With only two laps remaining, Logano powered to the lead and secured his first win in eight starts in NASCAR’s All-Star event. The victory was even more special as the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Fusion featured a tribute paint scheme with over 700 photos celebrating Team Penske’s 50th anniversary.
Quote: “Awesome race. I thought it went great. What a great car. It says a lot about our race team to unload today with a completely new package, have 10 minutes of practice, and unload and say, car is pretty good. You know, I thought our car was fast the whole time. We just didn’t really show the speed in our car until the end, and it was definitely a long‑run car, as well, but Todd made some good adjustments to help me fire off a little bit there at the end and have a good restart finally. I had a few bad ones. Having one good one there towards the end helped, and being able to race Larson was a lot of fun. I knew what I was up against after watching the Showdown. I knew we were going to race really hard. It’s for a million bucks, and was able to around lap 6, move up the racetrack and find some speed. He’s a heck of a racer. He’s going to win a lot of races, that’s for sure, and it’s fun to race against. It’s fun to see the youth in this sport. For me, starting eight years ago now, to see guys that are close to my age now and I get to race them for wins is a lot of fun.”
