By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
On fresher tires, Brad Keselowski has the upper hand on leader Denny Hamlin with two laps to go in the Brickyard 400.
But he had to get it done.
On a restart with four laps remaining, Keselowski jumped to the second spot behind leader Hamlin and wasted no time on applying the pressure.
“I got a little run on him off Turn 4 with two to go and got right up behind him through [Turns] 1 and 2,” Keselowski said. “Eventually, just barely took a peak of him off Turn 2 to get a run.”
From that point, the two hit doors down the backstretch and passed back and forth for the next half-lap. It was two drivers going for their first Brickyard 400 victory.
“We held each other pretty tight entering 3 and I knew going in with no air on the right side of the car, I was going to wreck us both,” he said. “I had to let him go and I tried to make another run on him for Turn 4 and that’s what I was able to do. It stuck and I was able to clear him.”
That’s when the Team Penske driver knew he had his second consecutive crown jewel victory in his pocket.
“Gosh, that was one of the best things I’ve ever heard in my life was ‘Clear’ off Turn 4,” he said. “The Brickyard coming to the white flag.”
Though it worked out with aggression and grit, Keselowski didn’t enter the fight with full confidence in his No. 2 Ford. Suffering from loose conditions, Keselowski knew he would compound the problem by attempting a pass on the inside lane.
“I knew we’d have a shot to run with Denny,” he said. “On that restart, the inside line had incredible grip and we drove from third to second entering Turn 1. I was extremely loose so I was nervous about that.
“I knew I was going to have to pass him on the inside. And when you do that, you get even looser. I knew it was a matter of settling in.”
With the pass in the clear, Keselowski scored the first Brickyard 400 victory for both himself and team owner Roger Penske and enters the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with back-to-back wins.
“What a day,” he said. “To me, a great finish. We weren’t good enough to beat [Hamlin] straight-up… and we didn’t. But we put ourselves in position to do it with great strategy and timing all the moves right on pit road and on the racetrack. I’m really thrilled for that.”
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