Brad Keselowski Shows Championship Swagger in Flag-to-Flag Win at Richmond
This was big.
Brad Keselowski made a statement.
He was going to be the guy the others were going to have to beat.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
“We’re real. This team is good," he said while being interviewed live for a post-race television audience.
And to prove it, Keselowski put on a dominating performance as he went flag-to-flag at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night to win the Federated Auto Parts 400, the regular-season finale before the start of the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup.
“We're ready. We want to run for another Cup,” Keselowski added.
If his performance was a preview of things to come, the Chase field had better take notice. And it’s likely that it did.
It’s no great surprise that Keselowski should now be the favorite. His four wins have all been in convincing fashion, beginning at Las Vegas in March and followed by wins at Kentucky and Loudon.
Throughout the year there were also plenty of top 10s; his win at Richmond made it a baker’s dozen.
Along the way there were bad weekends too, at Martinsville, Talladega and Sonoma when, despite his remarkable talents, the car just wasn’t there and neither were the finishes.
But when the car was there, Keselowski delivered. And on Saturday night, he had the best car out of 43, as well as the best team.
“This is more than just a fast car, this is a team that executed all night,” added Keselowski. “We had great pit stops and came out with the lead every time. That’s a testament to the pit crew. The race car was fast and made all the right moves, got through traffic and executed the restarts—everything went the way we needed it to go tonight, and that’s what you’ve got to do.”
As if to put an exclamation point at the end of a wildly successful weekend, the young man from Michigan, who grew up in a racing family, delivered to his team owner, the legendary Roger Penske, a 400th win.
Keselowski made his sweep of both the Nationwide and Cup races at Loudon in July look easy, winning both races in convincing fashion.
Yet he couldn’t hide his disappointment weeks later after not winning at his home track again this year. A third place in June and an eighth-place finish in August, after a brush with the wall, and Keselowski was more determined than ever, even if it meant there would be no glory this season in front of his home crowd.
He flexed his muscles again with a runner-up finish at Bristol. Then, last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, after qualifying on the front row, disaster struck and a dejected Keselowski had to settle with finishing 39th, his Ford Fusion damaged after an on-track incident.
So he turned his focus on Richmond and a final shot at something that no one else could have, something that would put him at the front of the pack—a fourth win. He started the weekend by winning the pole Friday afternoon, and after qualifying, he made it clear to everyone what his goal was for the weekend.
“We have three wins, and that is a great start to the season and something we can hang our hat on heading into the Chase, but there are five guys all tied for first, and I think we are all kind of about the same right now,” he said in the post-qualifying press conference. “It would be nice to put up another win and be kind of the lead dog so to speak. I think we certainly have a shot at that, and there is a lot left to go.”
The lead dog, indeed!
Over the next 10 weekends, things won’t go as smoothly as this one. There will be a bad one or maybe even two races ahead. But, this driver and this team are even more dangerous following adversity.
Make no mistake, this team is ready to take on the Chase field with a confidence that none of the other 15 drivers possess, their victory in the regular-season finale in a convincing display of precision and performance matched perfectly together.
After he pulled into Richmond International Raceway’s Victory Lane on Saturday night, Keselowski could hardly believe it. He had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.
“These are nights you don't forget as a driver and (that) you live for,” said a smiling Keselowski.
All quotes are taken from official NASCAR, team and manufacturer media releases unless otherwise stated.
Bob Margolis is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association and has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, the NHRA and Sports Cars for more than two decades as a writer, television producer and on-air talent.
On Twitter: @BobMargolis
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
