Castrol Edge Ford Solid Early, Mid-Race Mishaps Hinder Strong Finish
CONCORD, N.C. (May 29, 2023) – Brad Keselowski and the No. 6 team had an eventful day in Monday’s rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, showing early potential before a series of mid-race mishaps resulted in the Castrol Edge Ford Mustang finishing 19th.
Weather was the story of the weekend as persistent precipitation set in over the 1.5-mile facility sometime Saturday, and remained there until early Monday evening. The weather washed out all of Saturday’s track activity, before ultimately postponing the original running of the 600-mile race Sunday night.
That resulted in Keselowski receiving a P3 starting position, with Monday’s action ultimately getting underway just after 3 p.m. ET. Due to no track activity for the Cup Series prior, NASCAR implemented a competition caution which would wave at lap 35.
Keselowski ran sixth at the time of that yellow, and worked his way to fourth by lap 65, ultimately finishing the stage in eighth. Stage two saw four cautions with the race’s first green-flag pit sequence occurring just prior to lap 150. Then, at lap 155, a heavy mist which turned into rain moved through the area, resulting in a brief red flag.
After the delay, Keselowski restarted sixth and drove to third by the stage end at lap 200, as teammate Chris Buescher found speed in his No. 17, winning that stage. Under the stage break, a fire broke out on the left rear of the No. 6, but initially resulted in no severe issues. That turned south just 10 laps into the third stage when Keselowski took the No. 6 to pit road for a tire issue, which put Keselowski well off the pace.
Later in the stage, Keselowski made contact with the wall on the right side and ultimately the No. 51 car, resulting in more right side damage and a flat tire.
Despite losing multiple laps to the leaders, Keselowski ultimately gained each lap back as five cautions flew in the final 55 laps, working back to 19th by race end at 400 laps.
The NASCAR Cup Series schedule heads to WWT Raceway this weekend for Sunday afternoon action in Illinois. Race coverage is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
