Team: No. 6 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Matt McCall
Twitter: @RFK6Team, @RFKRacing and @keselowski
Race Format: 400 miles, 267 laps, Stages: 65-65-70
Practice – Saturday, March 5 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS2, SiriusXM Channel 90
Qualifying – Saturday, March 5 at 2:05 p.m. ET on FS1, SiriusXM Channel 90
Race – Sunday, March 6 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
ADVANCE NOTES
Weekend Format
· With practice and qualifying back on the horizon for the NASCAR Cup Series, with it comes a unique format. For Las Vegas, the field will be separated into two groups who will each have a 15-minute warm-up/practice.
· Immediately following that brief session, qualifying will begin, also split into two groups, with the top five fastest cars in each group transferring to the final round. The final round of qualifying to determine the pole sitter will feature 10 cars, as all qualifying this weekend will include just one lap per car.
Keselowski at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
· Keselowski is a three-time winner at LVMS, one of 11 tracks he has multiple wins at on the circuit. Overall he has a 10.6 average finish with 12 top-10s and eight finishes inside the top five in 17 starts.
· Keselowski first won in Las Vegas in 2014 after starting from the second position and leading 53 laps. He followed that with wins two years apart in 2016 and 2018. Dating back to 2013, the 2012 Cup Champion has finished outside the top-10 at Vegas just once (13th – 2020 fall).
· Since the Cup series added two visits to the 1.5-mile track, Keselowski has finished sixth, second, seventh and second in the spring events.
· The Michigan native has an average starting position of 10.8 with two poles (2013, 2017). Overall he has eight top-10 qualifying efforts.
· Keselowski also has a win at Vegas in the Xfinity Series (2014) with four overall top-10s in 10 NXS starts. He also made one truck start back in 2005.
Matt McCall at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
· McCall enters the weekend in his 12th Cup start at LVMS. Overall he has an 18.5 average result with four top-10s, including a win with Kurt Busch in 2020.
· McCall and the No. 1 team led 29 laps in the fall race two years ago, one of his three Cup wins overall. Last fall they ran eighth, and last spring finished 19th.
· In the last five races in Vegas, McCall has led his team and driver to three top-10 qualifying efforts, including a career-best fifth with Kurt Busch in 2019.
QUOTE WORTHY
Keselowski on racing at Las Vegas:
“I know we didn’t have the finishing position to show for it in Fontana, but I felt good about where we unloaded in terms of speed. We definitely have something to build from coming out of there, and Vegas for me is a place I feel confident at, and one I’ve had some great success at over the years. As I have said all along, this will be a slow grind to get to where we want to be, and this weekend is yet another opportunity to continue that. We’re proud to have Fastenal on board our No. 6, the first for their brand that’s been with RFK for a very long time.”
Last Time Out
Keselowski was strong throughout the weekend and at spots in Sunday’s 400-mile race running inside the top-10, but a pair of mishaps turned his effort south. Keselowski was knocking on the door of the top-five in the second half of the race when he was spun, which ultimately put him laps down to the leaders, something he was unable to overcome with only a couple of cautions late, to finish 27th.
On the Car
Fastenal, in its 12th season with RFK in 2022, makes its first-ever appearance with the No. 6 team this weekend. Fastenal originally was a partner with the No. 99 team before moving over to the No. 17 team since. They were also the primary partner on the No. 60 Xfinity Series entry that captured the owner’s championship in 2011.
Fastenal will feature top suppliers Ansell, Master Lock, Walter Surface Technologies, Norton, ACS/Motorola Inc. and Mechanix Wear on Keselowski’s Mustang as he competes this weekend. For more information on these suppliers, visit Fastenal.com, and stay up-do-date on social @FastenalCompany.
About Fastenal
Fastenal [Nasdaq: FAST] is North America’s largest fastener distributor and a ‘one-stop’ source for hundreds of thousands of OEM, MRO and Construction products. With more than 2,600 stores worldwide, the company supports B2B customers with tailored local inventory and dedicated personnel, who visit regularly, quickly respond to emergency needs, and provide efficient inventory management solutions. Fastenal’s service-oriented business network includes the world’s largest industrial vending program, 14 regional distribution centers, 8 custom manufacturing facilities, thousands of delivery vehicles, and industry-leading sourcing, quality and engineering resources.
