Keselowski Beats Dale Jr on Fuel
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
Brad Keselowski wasn’t supposed to make it to the end of Sunday’s STP 400 on fuel. But Keselowski had been saving gas throughout the final run. He was coasting through the corners with the clutch in. Easy in the gas and quick off of it – doing everything possible to save gas. Keselowski saved enough to take the win. And he didn’t even know he was the leader until 2 to go when he saw his name atop the leader board. Keselowski’s crew chief Paul Wolfe kept his cards close to the vest and kept the driver calm and cool.
“I didn’t know I was leading until two laps to go,” said Keselowski. “I was instantly mad at my guys for not telling me, but you get over that pretty quick when you cross the start-finish line first.”
“It all worked out at the end, and they talk about you when you’re in victory lane, that’s all that matters.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr thought the race for the win was between himself and Denny Hamlin as the final laps ticked off at Kansas Speedway Sunday afternoon. Crew chief Steve Letarte told him so.
“I was told that that was the race for the win,” said Dale Jr. “And I genuinely believe what Steve was telling me, because I didn’t think the 2 would make it. But he saved a lot of gas. He did a great job.”
Dale Jr: Pickle Juice & Pedialyte & Vodka?
Earnhardt had some interesting ideas for how to overcome the heat exhaustion that plagued all the drivers throughout the race.
“I want to lay by the pool and drink some vodka or whatever,” said Junior. “I’ll probably chug a lot of water tonight so I’m hydrated for tomorrow. I heard drinking pickle juice is good for you or Pedialyte. I’ll give it a shot. I got some of that
Earnhardt finished 2nd and stands 3rd in the point standings with still nothing in the win column for 2011.
What was your take on the race? Post your thoughts in the comments below.
Comments
29 Comments on Keselowski Beats Dale Jr on Fuel
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Great finish for Dale Jr and good pit strategy. Maybe if he had realized that Brad wasn’t going to run out of gas he would have stepped on it harder but then he might have run out of gas. Who knows? Congratulations to Brad. So far whenever he wins a cup race Jr is 2nd.
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Another excellent finish for Jr. When Jr. and Steve start coming back to these tracks in the second half and hopefully during the Chase, they will be tough to beat. Just look @ Charlotte…they have something SPECIAL cooking and I for one, wanna taste some of it……
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Good run fo Jr. We all knew he could do it. GO JR. 88
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It was almost a repeat of last weeks race. I was down on my knees in front of the TV last week and Today screaming “come on Jr win one for me” I wish Brad had run out of gas so Jr could have won, but, it wasn’t meant to be again this week. But Jr is coming so close now and I believe he will win one soon.the strange part about the race was that Jeff Gordon had run 2nd place or at least in the top 5 almost all the race except when Jr got in 2nd. Then all of a sudden, no team mate in sight to help him. But Jr is still #1 for me and he can do it on his own, without help, and I believe, it will be soon. All in all, it was a good race, just wish my #1man had won.Keep trying, Jr. go, go, go. love you Jr
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I throughly enjoyed todays race. The drivers that did well were not the ones chosen by the media. YEA!! Jr. had a very good day, I am seeing a lot of consistancy and that is good. Constant improvement means winning. I hoped Brad would run out of gas, but his winning is better than the other Penske driver. Racing is alot better so far this season, keep up the good work Jr., winning will come.
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mamadew88 Reply:
June 5th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
Yea Jr.! I’ll drink to that !!!!!!! That’s 2 in a row and the saying is “the third one is a charm” The next close one is yours. I am so proud of you and this will be your season to shine.
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AZomah Reply:
June 5th, 2011 at 6:51 pm
I agree mamadew, but I will take a glass of chardonnay, vodka messes up my innards. Just don’t tell Jr.
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Great call Steve made today Jr. to get you 2nd place finish was awesome to see ..that win is coming very close now ..just keep digging ..fans are behind you very loud and proud we are ..
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I really liked today’s race, I was very happy that jr. did that good, I am telling you he is going to win one soon. I think was a good move for Rick Hendrick to switch the crew chief to Steve Latarte. it gave jr. his confidence back and he now knows that he can win and will. I am so looking forward to next race, they are at Pocono Raceway and I think that’s where he might win.
Maryann Minnich
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Keep pushing forward. Confidence breeds success and success breeds confidence….. Jr is… IS… going to win and I think sooner then later…. It has been three years and I am still wavin his flag!!!!!
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I JUST LOVE,LOVE, JUNIOR. I’VE ALWAYS SAID GIVE HIM THE CAR AND HE WILL DRIVE IT.
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It was a good day for us jr fans. he is inching closer and closer and he will win. he now has a good crew chief and good cars, a winning combination.
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Great race today. Happy for Brad & Jr.
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I remember someone from the post before this one (the one about no help for JR at the Coke 600) that said Steve LaTarte wasn’t good at strategy. Apparently he is good, the 2 or 3 times that his strategy didn’t work out was just that, didn’t go their way. This time it did except for Brad conserving enough fuel and had a big enough lead. I wanted the win but after spinning out I’ll take a 2nd place, especially since he moved back up to 3rd and is only 1 point behind 2nd. Which means if he had won he would be 2nd in points by 4 points.
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AZomah Reply:
June 5th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
Wondered where you were. I am going to use some of my excellent english and say, he done good!! He said that they needed to work on qualifying, but I remember him once saying that qualifying messed up his innards. I think he meant setting up the car. Meaning that’s what they need to work on. Frankly, I enjoy watching him move up the field. In other words, I am not worried about qualifying. I read some article about nascar making changes in when they qualify. Why don’t they just go back to the draw again? After reading the previous article and the comments, I would say that the natives are getting restless.
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SouthernGuy8503 Reply:
June 6th, 2011 at 8:27 am
Good thing I’m bilingual with my 1st language being redneck and 2nd being English. I do try to use the English when I type though lol. But about qualifying, he said that everything feels out of control when he qualifies but he’s fine during the race. So I’m not sure if he’s talking about the car setup or himself mentally during qualifying because he used to be decent at qualifying. I think it’s just the setup of the car and that the car doesn’t feel nearly as bad during the race. Maybe the car is setup more for traffic. I remember saying in the post about the Coke 600 that I think he’s first win will be at a track that they’ve been to together already this year, so it would be the 2nd time there. Kansas he almost won only from a pit strategy, at the 600 he did it by pure driving even though it ended up being fuel mileage right at the end. I personally think JR is back now even though he personally won’t feel that until he gets his next win. During a post-race interview he did say they’re going to be around for awhile and they’ll get plenty of wins so don’t worry about that. Saying that shows he does have his confidence back or at least it’s almost 100%. They just have to work on qualifying and getting the car setup better sooner in the race which both might get better once they start to run tracks for a 2nd time together this year like I said.
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AZomah Reply:
June 6th, 2011 at 9:01 am
I agree about set up and second time at track, the Allstar race experience really helped them. I am very happy to see him with his confidence level up and enjoying driving again. Like I said, he will get to the winners circle! The team is consistently getting things together and that is what it takes.
Dale Jr…..Is baaaaaack!!!!!!!!
I just love it when all the Dale Jr. haters go away !!!
Denise
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GO # 88 your day is coming hero!!!!
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Jr., that win is getting closer all the time. Got to be helping his confidence level. Keep digging, Jr., it’s coming. JR. FANS ARE BEHIND YOU ALL THE WAY!!!
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Yes………..we are ready for the win. It’s coming
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Way to go Jr. & Steve. No matter how good a driver you are if your partner(crew chief) and yourself do not mesh it won’t work. There has to be a true partnership, trust & understanding. Its here now!!!!!
Not sure how Rick Hendrick could see that Lance McGrew could mesh with anyone. He needs to be in a dark room by himself.
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Great race, but when you haven’t won in as long as Jr, and ran out of gas to lose the race @ Charlotte. I don’t know, but I think Jr should have rolled the dice and mashed the pedal to trim his toe nails on the fan!
Just a thought……………..
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CONGRADULATIONS AGAIN TO DALE JR AND THE #88 TEAM. THEY DID A WONDERFUL JOB SUNDAY, ALSO CONGRADULATIONS TO BRAD, HE IS A GOOD KID, WAS PROUD IT WAS NOT A ROUSH SHOW AND WIN.
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carol Reply:
June 6th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
your right mama glad it wasnt the cry baby good job jr your day is coming luv ya carol
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Dale Jr. and the “88″ team did an excellent job on Sunday……Dale Jr. and his crew have improved this year and they are getting closer to victory lane……….Jr. and Steve are working great together and that means a a trip to victory lane in the very near future…………..All of the Dale Jr. fans are saying AMEN to your upcoming wins!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I wish Jr. read this stuff. I would say to him, your fans are all here for you, win or place, we know you always give it your all! GOOOOOO JR.!!!
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Tell me what you're thinking...
Marilyn Reply:
June 6th, 2011 at 12:30 am
Agreed! Sometimes the ones you call team mates aren’t really there for you.
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