Red Bull Racing continued it’s dominance of the Formula One qualifying grid with another front row qualifying sweep for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone.
Keselowski’s Fuel Outlasts Harvick’s
Brad Keselowski dominated the Feed the Children 300 at the Kentucky Motor Speedway leading 132 of 200 laps. His closest challenger, Kevin Harvick had an apparent miscue from his crew chief that cost him valuable time as there was some confusion as to whether Harvick was stopping for fuel in the final 10 laps. As Harvick slowed, Keselowski pulled away further even though Harvick’s crew chief called off the stop. That allowed Keselowski to conserve fuel more. The final 61 laps were run under green flag conditions.
Harvick finished second was said he thought that his car was great but there needed to be better communication from on top of the box. Kyle Busch finished in third after starting the field in 43rd as a result of him crashing during his qualifying effort. Busch was followed by Kasey Kahne who drove the JR Motorsport No. 7 Go Daddy car, his first time in that Chevrolet. Pole-sitter Elliot Sadler finished 5th and left Kentucky with the points lead even though he struggled at times during the race to get into the top 10.
Busch said about his night, ” I screwed up qualifying today and ‘fenced’ the NOS Energy Drink Camry. But, we had another one in the truck. The guys did a great job putting it together and getting it ready and just in time. Probably didn’t have as much time as they would have liked to have spent on it, but all in all we gave it the best we had. Probably was going to be about a fifth or sixth before all the fuel exchanges and everything going on there at the end. Thank all the guys. They did a great one for me tonight. ”
The win was Keselowski’s 13th in the series. One thing that was overheard in the media center was Keselowski explaining that his beer was better than Harvick’s. Both run in Saturday’s 400 mile race .
“This car was awesome. The boys at Penske Racing spent some extra hours on it and it feels good. I think we got more in the hopper. To see this team start coming along feels great.
“The guys at Discount Tire have been behind me, supporting me. They made this program possible so we could win the championship last year. (We) got banned from it this year, so now we’re just out here having fun.
“If you keep doing the right things long enough, you will be rewarded and today was a day of reward. I can’t wait to see a bunch of the Discount Tire guys this week bring them home a trophy,” Keselowski said.
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F1- British GP Preview
The 2011 British Grand Prix at Silverstone will sport a new look for teams, drivers and fans.
Will Power Looks For His Second Straight Win in Toronto
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[/media-credit]There are times that one driver’s misfortune can turn into another’s good fortune and that was the case for Will Power. When Helio Castoneves was on trial for tax evasion charges, Roger Penske was looking for another driver to potentially replace him.
As they say, the rest is history, but since getting together with Penske, that now has him working with both Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe.
“Both very good drivers,” Power commented. “I think that we all have a good relationship and work very well together. I think that we get the most of the car that we can because of each other’s feedback.”
It has also brought lots of success, including a special win at Sonoma last year.
“I think most my memorable win would have to be Sonoma last year after breaking my back there a year earlier and coming back and having a perfect weekend winning that race,” he said.
So far this year, things have been quite solid for Power as in the nine races this season, he has three wins, four poles, six top fives and seven top 10s.
“It’s been quiet, in one way, a little bit mixed up,” he said. “We’ve had a few different winners, but its just proven to be very tight, very competitive, and it’s a lot of fun. I’m enjoying it actually, more relaxed this year.”
The last race for the IndyCars didn’t work out that good for Power, however, as he wrecked on lap 90 after having contact with another car early on pit road.
“You don’t want to have two bad races in a row,” he said when asked if there’s added pressure this week. “It’s always possible, but I think I just need to put my focus on this weekend and forget about what happened, which I’ve done.”
Power’s chances at going back-to-back look strong as he led the final practice for the IZOD IndyCars on Friday.
“I think is great for racing because it has a slippery surface, very long back straight,” he said of the Toronto course. “It’s always good to put a good show on and it’s a track that you can come back from a lap down to win so it’s a place that everyone enjoys coming to.”
Through his experience in racing, Power has learned many lessons, though the one he calls the top lesson is patience.
“I think patience is definitely something in IndyCar that you really need,” he said. “I think that is the key to winning a championship – being patient at the right time. Its always about having a good balance between patience and aggression.”
