Brad Keselowski Sums Up “Unfortunate” Talladega End With Teams Finally Not Bending to Superspeedways
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USA Today via Reuters
Feb 3, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski (6) during media availabilities at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Tyler Reddick clinched Toyota’s inaugural victory at Talladega Superspeedway. He skillfully dodged a major collision involving multiple cars in the final stretch. Advancing from third position as he exited Turn 4, Reddick edged out his rivals by a mere 0.208 seconds at the finish line. However, despite starting fifth on the final turn, he maintained his No. 45 Camry on the outer lane of the 2.66-mile superspeedway. This was exactly when pole-sitter Michael McDowell also attempted to block Brad Keselowski, who was in second place.
The move caused McDowell to hit the wall after they made contact, and Brad Keselowski eventually slowed down and lost the pace. The sequence of events allowed Reddick to accelerate to his and 23XI’s first-season win but took away Keselowski’s chance of a pole finish.
Brad Keselowski is disappointed in being so close to victory in consecutive races
Keselowski had the momentum needed for victory, but contact with Michael McDowell prevented both drivers from securing the win. Despite finishing second, Brad Keselowski expressed disappointment and emphasized his desire for a victory. He finished at P2 on his last Cup Series run at Texas too. This time again, he was millimeters away from clinching the victory.
“Swipping high on Michael, and he ate a good job blocking. I turned back down and got a good push from Noah, and Michael came back down to block that. By then, we were kind of a freight train coming and just called it. Didn’t straddle it into the 34th car there, and there’s too much of a hit for him to be over-saved. It’s unfortunate; I thought we had a really strong J. I think we could get a 4-1-2-3 and get a workout. I’m glad to get a good finish, but really wanted to win,” Keselowski said.
There have been 108 races since Keselowski last won, and he is eager to get back to winning ways. After the race, he talked about all of that, including pit road strategies and fuel conversations.
At Talladega, Ford had a genuine chance to clinch the first Cup Series of the season. The top three drivers in the qualifiers were Ford drivers. But they couldn’t capitalize on their advantage. “We ran up front, and we were in a position to do that,” Keselowski added as he took the matter into his own hands, and it seemed like he desperately wanted to receive the checkered flag today.
Getting better at handling the challenges posed by superspeedways?
NASCAR teams are indeed getting better at handling the fast and intense racing at superspeedways like Talladega. They’re not letting the usual challenges of these tracks stop them. Instead, they’re learning and changing their tactics to stay competitive and perform well, showing they’re becoming more skilled and strategic in these high-speed races. In today’s race, the first two stages were devoid of any cautions. Finally, the third stage brought out the actual nature of ‘Dega’.
Is fuel conservation throughout, the drag race strategy helping the drivers achieve this feat? Keselowski tried the same today. “I mean I thought to have started the race with a lot of fuel conserve. Middle-racers, fuel conserve, but at the end there was no fuel conserve. We were running hard.”
He further noted that the end of the race was interesting due to multiple cars moving together, and various pit stop tactics. It is good to see that they are finally coming in line with the challenges. Going ahead, there can be even improved results while running on infamous tracks like these. Let’s wait to see how things turn out.
Written by:
Edited by:
Shivali Nathta