Keselowski hoping to maintain hot streak, contend for series title
By Jared Turner - SceneDaily Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
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No Nationwide Series driver has been more consistent over the last 2.5 months than Brad Keselowski.
Nor has any driver made up so much ground.
On the merits of eight consecutive top-10 finishes, Keselowski has moved from seventh to second in the series standings. During that stretch, the JR Motorsports driver also notched his first career win at Nashville Superspeedway and a pole at The Milwaukee Mile.
How confident is Keselowski entering Saturday night’s Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway?
Here's a sign: He's suddenly talking about winning a championship, which many believed to be a long-shot aspiration for any Nationwide-only driver at the beginning of the 2008 campaign.
“The season to date has been a great season,” said Keselowski, who trails points leader and Sprint Cup regular Clint Bowyer by 183 points. “We've had a lot of fun, a lot of accomplishments, specifically over the last month and a half, and looking forward to continuing that through the end of the season.
“We started out our first two races not quite the way we wanted to, and we've rebounded here, and we've been steadily making gains on the point leader, Clint Bowyer. And hopefully we can keep our performance up and make a run for the championship for the end of the year.”
The next stop on the road to a possible title is Gateway, a track where Keselowski has two Craftsman Truck Series starts and just one Nationwide start.
In that Nationwide start, which came in this race last season, he led five laps but finished 26th after getting caught up in accident.
Though Keselowski hasn’t logged a ton of laps around Gateway, crew chief Tony Eury Sr. is plenty familiar with the 1.25-mile oval.
Eury served as the crew chief on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s entry in what is now the Nationwide Series at Gateway in 1998 and 1999.
The two went to victory lane both years.
"Pops [Eury Sr.] had a lot of success at Gateway with Dale," Keselowski said. " ... So it’s really cool to have him in my corner heading into this weekend."
But that’s not the only reason Keselowski is feeling good about Gateway.
“The way we ran at Milwaukee and Phoenix [earlier in the season] turned around our program, so to speak, on the one-mile to half-mile flat tracks,” said Keselowski, who finished eighth and 12th, respectively, at the two venues.
If Keselowski continues his success next season, it will be without the Navy as a primary sponsor. The Navy announced last week that it would not return to Keselowski’s No. 88 car in 2009.
"My initial reaction is always disappointed,” said Keselowski, noting that he will return to the No. 88 full-time next season. “We had a great relationship with the Navy and still do have a great relationship with the Navy and look forward to finishing out the year and winning the championship for them.
“The performance has been of such to where it was somewhat surprising. But those issues are out of my hands, and there wasn't much I could do about it. So that's just the way it goes, you know. Life goes on.”
Keselowski says he just feels privileged to be in his position, driving for his Earnhardt Jr.-owned team.
“This has really been a dream season; [it has] really been a great year so far,” he said. “Just the past 12 months specifically a lot of good things have happened to me, and I've been very fortunate.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Brad Keselowski
Comments
5 responses to "Keselowski hoping to maintain hot streak, contend for series title"
Steve Caudy said:
Jul 16, 2008 at 4:04 PMGreat article! Brad's the next up and coming star of Nascar. Not to mention he is driving for a great owner and as well, a great crew chief. The young man has talent and is learning patience.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportBill said:
Jul 16, 2008 at 6:23 PMI think Brad is doing a great job.He is coming along fine for the Sprint series when he gets the nod from JR.and Hendrick. He seems focused for the run at the championship in the Nationwide series. I hope he wins it,it would be great to have a up and coming kid win it.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportemily bagwell said:
Jul 16, 2008 at 7:51 PMBrad has got to do okay with Pops in his stable. Just don't tone down your personality too much even though Junior has suggested that. Walk a thin line---don't become a Kyle Bush or Denny Hamlin. Go for the gold!!!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportbeth emerson said:
Jul 17, 2008 at 5:24 AMI think Brad is a good driver. He is a very nice young man. He has alot of talent that we have yet to see. I predict that he will win the championship this year. He has many years ahead of him in the cup series. Thank you to Dale Jr for seeing that.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportmilton morse said:
Jul 19, 2008 at 6:58 PMThis young man may be the best thing since sliced bread. However, someone needs to teach him about how to conduct himself on national television while the national anthem is being sung; and, standing around drinking a bottle of water is not it! He represents the U.S. Navy?
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