Keselowski and Johnson again find themselves at a difference of opinion
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[/media-credit]If it wasn’t game on before, it certainly is now for Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski. Comments have been flying between the two for weeks but following the first race of the Chase on Sunday at Chicago, in which Keselowski struck first and won with Johnson coming home second, the two were at it again.
To refresh, it’s been Keselowski who stated that he couldn’t keep up with Johnson at tracks like Indianapolis and Michigan. Claiming that the Hendrick teams were working outside the grey area of the NASCAR rulebook, working on the rear ends of their cars. Then he went a step further and said that his Penske team doesn’t play by those rules and wants to stay away from areas like those.
At the time NASCAR and Johnson repeatedly stated that what was taking place was legal. There was nothing on, in or a part of the car that wouldn’t pass technical inspection. Yet, NASCAR still sent out a technical bulletin before the Chase started just to have all teams again familiarize themselves with the rules and the limits of the rear ends.
No big deal for Johnson and company as they went out and won the pole for Sunday’s race then led on four different occasion for 172 of the race’s 267 laps. He was easily throwing down the gauntlet for the rest of the Chase contenders as the man to beat. Looking for his fourth win of the season and first to start his quest for a sixth championship.
Until Keselowski again had something to say about it. While he was able to challenge Johnson during portions of the race leading his share of laps – he also led four times for 72 laps – he found himself second when the final round of pit stops began. Johnson pitted and came back on track, looking to cycle back to the lead. But when Keselowski pitted and then came back on track he ended up in front of Johnson.
Keselowski had blended back on the track in turn two as Johnson roared around and tried to go past. He did but only briefly as Keselowski carried his head of steam into turns three and four to take the position. After pit stops cycled through Keselowski, not Johnson, was in the lead and driving away with 25 laps to go.
“He did cut up early. It did impede my progress, I had to check up and wasn’t sure where things were going,” said Johnson after finishing second. “But it didn’t affect the outcome I don’t believe. The way he made quick work in traffic and stretched it out on me, I’m not sure I would have held him off. At the time it messed me up, but I don’t think it played an outcome in the race.”
Keselowski won the race by over three seconds. Johnson was clearly unhappy at the time, saying on the radio that Keselowski hadn’t come back up on track in the right spot. Crew chief Chad Knaus even left the pit box to plead his case to the nearest official. NASCAR did review the tape and said Keselowski didn’t do anything wrong.
“Just really proud of the team on all fronts,” said Johnson of the day. He now sits second in points, three behind Keselowski heading into New Hampshire.
“Overcame some adversity through our practice sessions, sat on pole, led a lot of laps today, fell some on pit road, race strategy, you name it, we had a very, very solid day. Of course we would have loved to have won the race, but we’ll take second and go on. This is a fantastic way to start the Chase.”
With his fourth win of the season and first in the Chase, Keselowski now sits in the point lead for the first time in his career. This is just his second appearance in the Chase. He too, said he did no wrong on Sunday, because there is no written rule about coming back on track from pit road.
“There is no enforced line like you see in other sports and that’s not a bad thing,” said Keselowski on the incident. “That’s just one more thing to monitor during the race. I don’t want to say a gentlemen’s agreement, it’s a policy down the backstretch, off turn two I think it said specifically in the driver’s meeting, and I feel like that’s what we did.
“You can make rules that count that down to the inches and just make it a pain in the ass for everybody that participates in the sport, or you can just have a rule like we do, and I felt like I was inside those guidelines. I think NASCAR agreed as well, based on their no call.”
Beating Johnson in the process was a bonus for Keselowki. Comparing the first race of the 10 week Chase to a heavyweight fight, one that he came out on top. But he knows there’s a long way to go and that Johnson won’t go down so easily the rest of the way. Both drivers, he believes, know how good the other one is.
But when it came down to it on Sunday, Keselowski was faster when it mattered most. Just don’t ask him if it was another mind game he’s trying to play with Johnson and the 48 team. He’s not saying but did say that seeing Johnson win all the time does start to take it’s toll on others.
“It’s not for me to speak about a mental edge,” believes Keselowski. “That’s for you guys to speculate. If you want to ask him [Johnson] about that, that’s fine but it’s not for me to speculate. But when you’re winning races and running up front like we did today, it means a lot to everybody. It means a lot for your own team, and it means a lot to others sometimes.
“I know that watching the 48 win quite often, that does have an effect over time, a psychological advantage. But it’s not for me to speak.”
As for Johnson, it’s just one week in a long Chase. Anyone can go on a roll and it’s going to take some time before the Chase field starts to really take shape. But if the summer months were any indication, Keselowski and Johnson could be racing and talking about each other a lot more over the coming weeks.
“I think you can see some trends from the big tracks and form opinions there,” Johnson said. “But this track versus Charlotte versus Texas, they’re all so different. Sure, you can maybe pick a favorite, but to really know is tough. And then it’s a long time between now and Homestead, so things can change before we get there, too.
“But big track wise, you can group that into it, but next week is short track racing, and we’ll see what happens on a short track. Then you’ve got Dover and Martinsville, which really shakes things up.”
Paulie Harraka Goes Back to School with Tutor Ted Musgrave
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[/media-credit]He may have just graduated from Duke, but the young racer from New Jersey, Paulie Harraka, is now going back to school, this time under the tutelage of veteran driver Ted Musgrave.
Harraka recently parted ways with Wauters Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series and made a run at his first Nationwide race at Richmond last weekend, all under the watchful eye of mentor and spotter Musgrave.
“Building off of the first half of the season, we felt this was the most logical next step for Paulie’s development,” Musgrave said. “Paulie’s got the talent and work ethic and now we need to get him the experience.”
Both Harraka’s and Musgrave’s goal was for the young driver to learn at Richmond and finish in the top-25. Harraka achieved that goal, running all the laps and finishing 25th in the Randy Hill Racing Ford.
“I really enjoyed working with the team,” Harraka said. “It was something that we put together at the last minute and so we set some modest goals.”
“Ted Musgrave has been spotting for me and mentoring me and guiding us as we decide what races I should do,” Harraka continued. “He felt like this was a good one for me to do.”
“I had never been to Richmond before but it was similar to many that we had been to in the past,” Harraka said. “The weekend went as we planned and as we hoped.”
While Harraka is unsure of when his next race will be, he most certainly enjoyed his time in the Nationwide car and at Richmond. In fact, he found it even more comfortable that his truck ride, especially since it was more like the K&N Pro Series cars that he has grown up racing and in which he had so much success.
“There is definitely potential that we will run more races in the Nationwide Series this year,” Harraka said. “Nothing has been decided yet.”
“But Richmond helped us build some positive momentum.”
“I definitely enjoyed being in the Nationwide car,” Harraka said. “It does drive different than the truck and I definitely enjoyed it.”
“It is closer to the K&N Pro Series cars that I’ve run in the past so I definitely enjoy the Nationwide cars even more.”
What Harraka appreciated most about running the Nationwide race, however, was the opportunity to continue going to school on the race track, with the voice of Ted Musgrave in his ear.
“This year is very, very much a learning experience for me,” Harraka said. “We knew that going into it.”
“The best thing that we’ve done is bringing Ted in,” Harraka continued. “He is serving in a lot of roles, not just coaching at the race track, but really helping guide our decisions about what’s best for me and for my development.”
“He was the one who said we needed to run the Nationwide race at Richmond and so we went and did it,” Harraka said. “We are following what he is advising.”
“Ted is leading the charge as to what races we run.”
Harraka first partnered with Musgrave when he raced for his first time at Dover. And the partnership has flourished ever since.
“Ted happened to be spotting for Ron Hornaday at the time,” Harraka said. “He mentioned that Ron was only running a few laps in practice.”
“Since it was my first time at Dover and my normal spotter wasn’t going to be there on practice day, I asked him if he would mind giving me some critical feedback,” Harraka continued. “Ted, being a great guy, was cool with that and he was really helpful to us at Dover.”
“I knew then that we wanted to get him more involved,” Harraka said. “Fortunately, he was willing to jump on board with us for the rest of the year and he’s been a huge asset.”
While Musgrave may not be physically training with the up and coming driver, he certainly is training Harraka as to how to approach his racing mentally and strategically.
“Ted’s not one to go on a two mile run with me,” Harraka said with a chuckle. “It’s definitely conversational more than anything else.”
“A lot of what he’s taught is how to think about different scenarios and different situations and how to prioritize what you worry about and what you don’t worry about,” Harraka continued. “He helps to think about how to position yourself throughout the race.”
“There are so many situations that you have to deal with and he’s been in those different scenarios at all levels,” Harraka said. “So, being able to draw from that experience, it’s just huge.”
What Harraka appreciates most in his schooling with Musgrave is his honest feedback, his consistency and his ability to help him grow and develop based on his past mistakes and successes.
“I’ve got other people that I can learn from and do lean on, but having someone who is there with you week in and week out is huge,” Harraka said. “Ted knows my strengths and my weaknesses as good as anybody.”
“He knows what I need to learn to get better,” Harraka continued. “To be able to have that continuity allows us to keep building on the things we’ve done.”
“He reminds me of what we did weeks ago so I can build on that.”
One of the biggest lessons that Harraka has been learning is that the path to racing success is often filled with twists and turns, on and off the track.
“One of my favorite quotes is that some of the best laid plans are changed often,” Harraka said. “When I got to Duke, I was engineering major, but when I graduated Duke, I was a markets and management major.”
“While I am a goal-directed person, you also have to be smart enough to be flexible and make changes when they are necessary,” Harraka continued. “And that’s what we’ve done.”
“The goal remains the same but we’ve just changed some of the action steps along the way.”
“The good thing is that we’re still moving forward,” Harraka said. “I have a fantastic group of people supporting me both on the business side.”
“And with Ted, we’re growing, learning and moving forward, just as you’d want to be.”
