Different race, same story for Brad Keselowski.
That sums up Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway for the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford Fusion.
While teammate Joey Logano stole the win from Matt Kenseth for Logano’s fifth win of the season, Keselowski once again trailed his teammate, placing ninth.
Keselowski remains on shaky ground when it comes to advancing to the third round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Tied with Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick, all are seven points above the Chase cut-off line.
“It was just a long day where, kind of like last week, we weren’t very fast but as a team, we worked hard to get through it,” Keselowski said. “We just fought and didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot anymore than me driving the car and came out with a top 10.
“We want more than top 10s, we need to be winning races, we know that, but we’re not in the worst of positions to go to Talladega and have a solid day.”
In a sense, Keselowski is hoping Logano’s good fortune will carry over to the No. 2 and help him advance to Round 3.
“Yeah, that’s certainly not a bad thing for teams that are in a position like mine, where we’re gonna have to race with points or win Talladega,” Keselowski said. “It could be worse. I’m happy for Joey.”
Logano concurred with his teammate. After winning Charlotte last week, giving him an automatic berth in Round 3, Logano could have coasted Sunday. Instead, he saw a win for the taking and did.
“The fact that we’re the only team that can relax right now is gonna pay big dividends when we get to Martinsville,” he said of the opening race in the third round. “Everyone is a little bit nervous. Our goal is still to win the race.”
Logano’s crew chief, Todd Gordon, revels in the fact that his team has now added even more pressure to Chase teams heading into Talladega on Sunday.
“The opportunity after you win Charlotte is that winners go on, and if you can go ahead and lock everybody else out, it puts everybody else that’s a Chase contender on edge going to Talladega,” Gordon said. “It’s a great advantage.”
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