Keselowski Saves Fuel, Wins Wild Race at Repaved Kentucky Speedway

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Brad Keselowski had his mojo working in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.

Saving just enough fuel to get to the finish line, Keselowski eked out a heart-thumping victory over Carl Edwards to win his second consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and his third at Kentucky Speedway.

But this was not the same bumpy, abrasive Kentucky Speedway where Keselowski went to Victory Lane in 2012 and 2014. This was a repaved, reconfigured 1.5-mile intermediate track fraught with treachery, especially when combined with the lower-downforce aerodynamic package in use for the race. Continue reading

Upcoming Kentucky Test Adds New Variables to Lower-Downforce Equation

Photo - Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images

For more than a third of active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, there will be no rest for the weary.

One driver from each Cup organization is eligible to participate in a test of newly repaved Kentucky Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. The test is a continuation of NASCAR’s proving-out process for a new lower-downforce competition package earmarked for 2017.

Last year, as the sanctioning body solidified the rules for 2016, races at Kentucky and Darlington were used as benchmarks for the progression toward lower downforce for the Cup cars. This year, in selected events, NASCAR is taking an additional 500 pounds of downforce and 125 pounds of sideforce away from the cars by chopping the size of the spoiler, reducing the surface area of the splitter, tapering the rear deck lid fin and eliminating rear axle offset. Continue reading

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wrecked Early at Michigan International Speedway

Photo - Josh Hedges/Getty Images

Photo – Josh Hedges/Getty Images

Vocal that he had a strong car for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. never really had the opportunity to showcase it after being eliminated in early race crash.

Shortly after a Lap 60 restart Earnhardt’s Chevrolet was in a three-wide battle with Chris Buescher (on the bottom) and A.J. Allmendinger (on the outside). Buescher’s Front Row Motorsports Ford broke loose and hit the left rear of Earnhardt’s car, which sent both he and Allmendinger into the backstretch wall.

The damage was too severe for both Earnhardt and Allmendinger to continue placing them 39th and 38th respectively in the finishing order. Continue reading

Logano is Two-for-Two with New Aero Package

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In the second race that featured NASCAR’s new lower-downforce package, Joey Logano lowered the boom—again. 

There was one major difference between Joey Logano’s victory in Sunday’s FireKeepers 400 at Michigan International Speedway and his win May 21 in the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte. This one counted in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings and punched Logano’s ticket into the Chase.

But it remained abundantly clear that Team Penske already has a handle on the aerodynamic configuration the sanctioning body is considering for 2017.
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Brad Keselowski Takes Checkers in Action-Filled Talladega Race

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Taking control in the final three laps of Sunday’s wreck-filled GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Brad Keselowski claimed his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at the 2.66-mile race track and solidified his spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Choosing the top lane for a restart on lap 186 of 188, Keselowski powered his No. 2 Team Penske Ford past Kurt Busch with two laps left and crossed the finish line as a gaggle of cars wrecked behind him coming to the stripe. Continue reading