By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Sunday’s Pocono 400 ended with another Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski battle to the end, as the drivers finished 1-2 at Pocono Raceway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Though a late restart gave Keselowski a shot, the No. 18 of Busch gapped the No. 2 Team Penske driver in the opening lap, beating him to th checkereds by 2.224 seconds.
“It was pretty much all we had. Not quite enough,” Keselowski said.
Since winning in 2011, Keselowski has yet to return to Pocono Victory Lane in the now 15 starts that followed. Sunday’s result was Keselowski’s fourth runner-up finish at Pocono since 2014.
And with the aero package exagerating the difficulty to pass in any of the track’s three distinct turns, Keselowski had what he had.
“You had to be about three quarters of a second faster than someone [to pass],” he said. “With the parity the cars have with the rules, you’re not going to see that in the top 20. That’s the hand we’re dealt, we just try to make the most of it.
“He [Busch] had good strength. He had one of the fastest cars. Not only [that] but if you were a 20th place car and you got in the lead today, you were going to drive away. It’s just the way the rules work.”
Finishing third and fourth in the race’s two stages, a second-place race result gives Keselowski plenty of points gained toward the regular season championship in September. Despite losing the ultimate prize, Keselowski recognizes a good day when he sees one.
“We learned some things to tweak,” he said. “I’m proud of the team effort to make a lot of stages points and get a solid finish out of the day. It was a good all-around effort, just not the playoff bonus points and the win we were looking for. Still, a lot to be thankful for.”