BuildSubmarines.com Ford Earns Stage Points on Way to 15th Top-10
FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 24, 2023) – Brad Keselowski put together a solid Sunday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, driving to a seventh-place finish in the BuildSubmarines.com Ford after earning stage points along the way.
“There were big ups and downs today,” said Keselowski. “We ran in the top-10, 10th to 12th most of the day. At the end there we pitted and put two tires on at the end. I think we were fourth of fifth but then they kept wrecking so much that we didn’t get a chance to take advantage of it and were only able to get back up to seventh. All in all it was a great effort today for us and we scored a lot of points and didn’t beat ourselves and I am really proud of that.”
Keselowski began the 100-degree day from the third position after a qualifying effort on Saturday that saw both RFK Fords qualify inside the top three. In total the No. 6 spent all but 18 laps inside the top-15 as he finished seventh in stage two.
Stage one saw four cautions as a green-flag pit cycle split up the opening stage. Keselowski was 15th at the time of the first yellow at lap 41, before three more yellows were displayed in a span of less than 30 laps. Keselowski pitted under the last caution, which put him 14th at the end of the opening segment at lap 80.
The No. 6 restarted 12th for stage two, and later took right-side tires only under caution at lap 110. The strategy put him third on the restart at lap 118, and he ran out the final 47 laps under green in seventh.
Keselowski began the final segment in sixth, as the opening 37 laps were uninterrupted. He was fifth at the time of the caution, before his pit crew gained two spots on pit road on the stop. He was running fourth as the laps wound down, before three yellows were displayed in the final 25 laps.
Strategy again came into play as the No. 6 pitted for right-side tires with 25 to go, which put him 16th on the ensuing restart. From there, he advanced back into the top-10 in the final two restarts to finish seventh.
Up Next
Talladega Superspeedway hosts race two in the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Playoffs next weekend. Race coverage Sunday is set for 2 p.m. ET on NBC, with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
