NASCAR Cup Series co-owner/driver Brad Keselowski looked primed to end his long winless streak and capture RFK Racing’s long overdue checkered flag.
Then, the 2012 Cup Series champion looked at the No. 6 Ford’s fuel gauge.
As soon as Keselowski crossed the start/finish line, capturing Stage 2 of Sunday’s Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart, the veteran knew all was lost when he entered the extended pit road at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
With rain shortening the event and handing new series points leader William Byron his circuit-best fourth win, Keselowski settled for P6.
“We were right where we needed to be but didn’t get the breaks we needed,” Keselowski said, as reported by NASCAR.com.
After starting 11th, Keselowski worked well with his teammate, Chris Buescher, and cruised to the lead on Lap 137.
With wet weather on the team’s radar, crew chief Matt McCall made a tough choice and brought Keselowski into the pits for fuel to start Stage 3. The team estimated the machine had “12-14 laps” of fuel remaining. The race ended up being called after 15 final-stage rotations.
“That was not enough (fuel),” Keselowski said. “I think we made the right call. We just needed the rain to be 10 minutes earlier or 10 minutes later.”
Keselowski, who led on the final lap during the spring race at Atlanta before finishing second, has not seen Victory Lane since April 25, 2021, at Talladega Superspeedway. He currently sits 13th in the points standings, however, with seven regular-season races remaining. He’s trying to remain patient.
“It’s part of the deal,” Keselowski said. “You win races you shouldn’t and you lose ones you probably should win. You have to take the punches as they come.”
As it turns out, it didn’t make a difference if Brad Keselowski had stayed out.
Crew chief Matt McCall says they would have been a couple of laps short anyway.
RFK is improving but Matt says there’s a long way for the teams to go. pic.twitter.com/0PpBeJVtFo
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) July 10, 2023
NASCAR Weekend Schedule
Here is a list of events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (All Times ET):
Friday
- 11:45 a.m.: Whelen Modified Tour garage hours
- Noon: Xfinity Series garage hours
- 3:15 p.m.: Whelen Modified Tour practice
- 5:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series practice
- 5:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying
- 6:45 p.m.: Whelen Modified Tour qualifying
Saturday
- 7 a.m.: Cup Series garage hours
- Noon: Xfinity Series garage hours
- 12:05 p.m.: Cup Series practice
- 12:50 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying
- 1:30 p.m.: Whelen Modified Tour garage hours
- 2:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series driver introductions
- 3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Ambetter Health 200 race
- 5:55 p.m.: Whelen Modified Tour driver introductions
- 6 p.m.: Whelen Modified Tour Mohegan Sun 100 race
Sunday
- 11:30 a.m.: Cup Series garage hours
- 1 p.m.: Cup Series drivers’ meeting
- 2:30 p.m.: Cup Series Crayon 301 race
New leader, the No. 24.
The fight for the Regular Season Championship is building. pic.twitter.com/iXuITBEiSz
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 10, 2023
NASCAR Cup Series Crayon 301 Entry List
Entry, Driver, Team, Car No.
- 1, Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 2, Austin Cindric, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford
- 3, Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing, No. 3 Chevrolet
- 4, Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 4 Ford
- 5, Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 6, Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing, No. 6 Ford
- 7, Corey LaJoie, Spire Motorsports, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 8, Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 9, Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 10, Aric Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 10 Ford
- 11, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota
- 12, Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, No. 12 Ford
- 13, Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 14 Ford
- 14, Ryan Newman, Rick Ware Racing, No. 15 Ford
- 15, AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 16, Chris Buescher, RFK Racing, No. 17 Ford
- 17, Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19 Toyota
- 18, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 Toyota
- 19, Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing, No. 21 Ford
- 20, Joey Logano, Team Penske, No. 22 Ford
- 21, Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing, No. 23 Toyota
- 22, William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 23, Justin Haley, Kaulig Racing, No. 31 Chevrolet
- 24, Michael McDowell, Front Row Motorsports, 34 Ford
- 25, Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports, No. 38 Ford
- 26, Ryan Preece, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 41 Ford
- 27, Noah Gragson, Legacy Motor Club, No. 42 Chevrolet
- 28, Erik Jones, Legacy Motor Club, No. 43 Chevrolet
- 29, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, No.45 Toyota
- 30, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., JTG Daugherty Racing, No. 47 Chevrolet
- 31, Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 32, Cole Custer, Rick Ware Racing, No. 51 Ford
- 33, Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 54 Toyota
- 34, Ty Dillon, Spire Motorsports, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 35, BJ McLeod, Live Fast Motorsports, No. 78 Chevrolet
- 36, Daniel Suárez, Trackhouse Racing, No. 99 Chevrolet
WE. GOT. NEXT! 💯#MoheganSun100 | #Ambetter200 | #Crayon301 pic.twitter.com/KYvT3I7WUU
— New Hampshire Motor Speedway (@NHMS) July 10, 2023
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