Keselowski Finishes 7th in Duel at Daytona

February 22, 2013

THE RACE - The First Daytona Duel Race at Daytona International Speedway (2.5-mile superspeedway, Daytona Beach, FL). No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion driven by Brad Keselowski.

· Brad Keselowski started the first Daytona Duel race in the 12th position based on his 23rd-place Daytona 500 qualifying effort on Sunday afternoon.
 
· As the race began, Keselowski – an adept restrictor-plate racer – quickly began working his way toward the front of the field.
 
· Keselowski worked his way inside the top-five within the first 10 laps, eventually settling into the fourth position just ahead of his teammate, Joey Logano.
 
· Keselowski maintained this position until lap 40 when crew chief Paul Wolfe called his driver to pit road.
 
· Wolfe was forced to switch from a planned two-tire stop to a four-tire stop as Keselowski slid on his Goodyear radials while coming to pit road.
 
· After restarting 15th following a late-race caution, Keselowski was able to race his way back to seventh place before the end of the event.
 
· Keselowski will begin his defense of the Sprint Cup title by starting 15th in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

“We definitely needed that. We missed it a little bit and weren’t as good as we needed to be, but I’m glad we had that opportunity. I’m not happy with just surviving, I want to win, but sometimes you have to find a silver lining every once in a while.  We’ll be better for the 500.” – Brad Keselowski after the first Daytona Duel race

“One of the great things about this schedule is that you have these Duel races that allow you to knock the rust off and see where you need to be better for the Daytona 500. I felt like our Miller Lite Ford definitely had speed in it. We have two more practices tomorrow to find a little bit more. Brad is a great restrictor-plate racer and I’m confident we’ll be fast on Sunday.” – crew chief Paul Wolfe following the first Daytona Duel race.