Brad Keselowski’s Talladega win makes all three Team Penske drivers in the Playoffs & All-Star Race

Calling Team Penske the hottest organization in the NASCAR Cup Series this season wouldn’t be an understatement, especially after Brad Keselowski collected his first win of the season at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend giving all three Penske drivers a victory this year locking them into the Playoffs and the NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway (June 13).

Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney kicked the trips to Victory Lane off this season at Atlanta Motor Speedway (3/21/21) then Joey Logano followed it the very next weekend in the inaugural race on the Bristol Dirt (3/29/21) and Keselowski rounded out the trifecta of winners last weekend at Talladega.

Looking to Kansas Speedway this weekend, don’t be surprised if Team Penske’s success continues. Joey Logano (2014, 2015, 2020) is tied with Jeff Gordon (2001, 2002, 2014), Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2011, 2015), Kevin Harvick (2013, 2016, 2018) and Denny Hamlin (2012, 2019, 2020) for the series-most wins at Kansas with three each. Brad Keselowski (2011, 2019) also has multiple victories at the 1.5-mile track. Though Blaney has yet to win at Kansas, he has made 12 series starts at the track posting six top-10 finishes; including a best-finish of third in 2017. He finished seventh in the first Kansas race last season.

Keselowski will be looking to keep the recent momentum flowing this weekend at Kansas. Keselowski has made 22 series starts at Kansas posting one pole, two wins, six top fives and 12 top 10s. He finished runner-up to Denny Hamlin in this race last season.

Team Penske are winners top to bottom

Blaney's first Cup win was at Pocono.

And just like that, Team Penske wins their fifth race of the season to retake the series lead in victories for 2020 following Ryan Blaney’s valiant effort to hold off several hard charging competitors to win in another photo finish at Talladega Superspeedway. It was Blaney’s fourth career victory and second consecutive at Talladega. He is now the eighth different driver to win consecutive races at Talladega in the NASCAR Cup Series joining Pete Hamilton (1970 sweep), Buddy Baker (1975 sweep, 1976), Darrell Waltrip (1982 sweep), Dale Earnhardt (1990, 1993-94, 1999 sweep), Sterling Marlin (1995-96), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2001-2003) and Jeff Gordon (2007 sweep).

“The whole year really, but the past month and a half has been really good for us,” said Blaney following his win in Talladega. “We've had some really good runs. We've had really fast cars, had a chance to win I feel like every race the last month and a half.“

With all three of Team Penske’s drivers having wins this season, they now have guaranteed spots in the Playoffs – Joey Logano (two wins: Las Vegas, Phoenix), Brad Keselowski (two wins: Bristol, Charlotte) and Ryan Blaney (Talladega) - making this doubleheader weekend at Pocono a great opportunity to pad their stats as all three have previously won at the 2.5-mile raceway.

Heading into this weekend, Joey Logano is second in the driver standings, 23 points behind Kevin Harvick in the standings lead. Logano has made 22 series starts at Pocono posting one win (2012), four top fives and eight top 10s. In the two Pocono races last season he finished seventh in June and 13th in July.

With his win last week Ryan Blaney hopped two spots in the driver standings to third; just two points behind his teammate Logano in second and 25 back from the series standings lead. Blaney has made eight series starts at Pocono putting up four top 10s and grabbing his first series career win back in 2017. In the two Pocono races last season he finished 12th in June and 10th in July.

Brad Keselowski is fifth in the driver standings following Talladega, 49 points behind Kevin Harvick in the standings lead. Keselowski has made 20 starts at Pocono posting one win (2011), 10 top fives and 12 top 10s. In the two Pocono races last season he finished runner-up in June and eighth in July.

Team Penske is tops at Talladega

Team Penske has four wins in 2020.

You do not have to be a statistician to know who the best at Talladega has been as of late – Team Penske. Over the last 11 races at Talladega Superspeedway, Team Penske has celebrated in Victory Lane in seven of them (63.6%); including the most recent - last October’s race, when Ryan Blaney beat Ryan Newman in a thrilling photo finish.

In total, Team Penske has eight wins at the Alabama track among three drivers - Brad Keselowski (four wins: 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017), Joey Logano (three: 2015, 2016, 2018) and Ryan Blaney (2019).

Despite the crew chief shake up to start the season, all three Team Penske drivers are in the top five in points with a third of the season in the books. Leading the way are veterans Keselowski and Logano, who have both secured their spots in the Playoffs with wins this season (two wins each) and both have racked up Playoff points through stage wins. Logano is currently third in the driver standings, 29 points back from Kevin Harvick in the standings lead, and Keselowski is fourth in the standings; 51 points back from Harvick.

But this weekend, could be the one Blaney takes the spotlight and gets his first win of 2020. Just one point behind his teammate Keselowski, in fifth in the driver standings, Blaney is the highest ranked driver without a win this season. But he has been incredibly consistent posting six top fives (tied for series-most) on the year.

“I enjoy speedway racing. It's just kind of a different deal,” said Blaney. “I'm excited to see the new rules package. We are going to get a firsthand look at it right in the race, no practice. I'm excited to see what that does.”

Blaney has made 11 starts at Talladega posting one win, two top fives, three top 10s and an average finish of 19.0.

He continued, “As far as the momentum side, yeah, you feel good for sure, stringing together some decent runs. But it is hard to kind of carry that over to Talladega. You just never know what can happen.”

Team Penske finished fifth (Logano), 13th (Keselowski), and 15th (Blaney) in the Spring Talladega race last season, then in the Fall they finished first (Blaney), 11th (Logano), and 25th (Keselowski).

Team Penske Atlanta Post-Race Report

Brad Keselowski was 8/1 to win at Atlanta. 

Team Penske Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race Report
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race: Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500
Date: February 24, 2019

No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang – Brad Keselowski

Start: 19th
Stage 1: 11th
Stage 2: 12th
Finish: 1st
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 325/325
Laps Led: 33
Driver Point Standings (behind first): 6th (-15)

Notes:

Brad Keselowski held off a fast closing Martin Truex Jr. to win the Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500 Sunday afternoon at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Keselowski became the all-time winningest driver in Team Penske history with the victory, his 60th overall since joining the organization, surpassing Mark Donohue. The victory was Keselowski’s first of the 2019 season and his second in 11 Cup series races at Atlanta. He also gave Mustang its first victory in the Cup series.

That Keselowski was physically able to compete on Sunday afternoon was an impressive accomplishment. On Saturday afternoon, Keselowski missed much of the final practice session due to flu-like symptoms but was able to make two runs toward the end of the session. Keselowski was able to recover overnight and ran the 500-mile race on Sunday as scheduled.

The driver of the Autotrader Ford Mustang started 19th in the 325-lap race and steadily worked his way through the field during Stage 1. He finished 11th when the segment concluded on lap 85.

During Stage 2, Keselowski continue to climb up the leaderboard. He was up to fifth-place when he made a scheduled green flag pit stop on lap 126 for four tires. But during the stop the jack broke, costing Keselowski precious seconds on pit road and positions on the track. He recovered and was able to finish 12th when the stage ended on lap 170.

Keselowski restarted 13th when the race went green on lap 177.Once again he steadily worked his way through the field and was up to eighth position when the fourth caution slowed the race on lap 223. As the laps ticked away, the balance on the No. 2 Mustang was more free, which translated into more speed. He was third when he made a scheduled four-tire stop under green on lap 270. Four laps later the caution waved in the midst of the green flag cycle of stops. Keselowski was the first car one lap down and received the free pass back onto the lead lap. He pitted for four tires on lap 278 during the caution and restarted third when the race went green.

From there, Keselowski simply drove to the front. He took the lead from Joey Logano on lap 293 and steadily pulled away from the field. But as the race entered its closing laps, Martin Truex Jr. loomed larger and larger in Keselowski’s rearview mirror. Truex Jr. caught Keselowski on the final lap of the race but couldn’t find a way past, with Keselowski beating his rival to the checkered flag by two car lengths (officially measured at .218 seconds).

No. 12 PPG Ford Mustang – Ryan Blaney

Start: 26th
Stage 1: 6th
Stage 2: 4th
Finish: 22nd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 324/325
Laps Led: 41
Driver Point Standings (behind leader): 14th (-33)

Notes:

· Ryan Blaney’s strong run in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway was spoiled by a couple late race mishaps. The driver of the No. 12 PPG Ford Mustang showed speed throughout the event, including lead the first laps of his Cup Series career in his fourth start at the 1.54-mile speedway.

· Blaney started 26th and quickly made his way to 14th position, prior to the lap 35 competition caution. He reported to crew chief Jeremy Bullins that his Ford Mustang had good initial turn, but was tight on exit. Bullins called for an air pressure adjustment and a piece of tape on the nose to go along with four new Goodyear tires.

· Blaney continued his charge to the front on the restart, making a couple aggressive moves to get himself into the top-10 and eventually knocking on the door of the top-five. Blaney would finish in the sixth position and the end of Stage 1. On lap 88 he pitted for service that included four tires plus an additional air pressure to help with a loose condition.

· Blaney fought his way to fourth early on the restart and spent the majority of the second stage in that position. He continued to report that his Mustang slid the nose in both the center and exit of the corners. The crew continued to work with air pressure adjustments to keep the car turning. Blaney finished fourth when Stage 2 concluded on lap 170.

· Under the second stage break, Blaney pitted on lap 223 and the crew made a slight air pressure adjustment to keep the PPG Ford Mustang snugged up in the center of the turns. Good pit work by the team got Blaney out in the second position for the restart on lap 227.

· On the restart, Blaney grabbed the lead from Kevin Harvick on lap 231 and led the next 41 laps, his first laps led at Atlanta.

· Unfortunately the team’s strong day went bad late as a pit road miscue and late-race tire problem forced extended service for the PPG crew. When the checkered flag waved, Blaney would be scored in the 22nd position.

Quote: “We had an awesome PPG Ford today. Atlanta has been a place I’ve struggled at in the past so to be competitive and lead some laps felt good today. We had a car that could’ve one but late race issues cost us a chance to win that was super disappointing. We’ll move on and get ready for the West Coast swing.”

No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang – Joey Logano

Start: 27th
Stage 1: 7th
Stage 2: 6th
Finish: 23rd
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 324/325
Laps Led: 22
Driver Point Standings (behind leader): 5th (-12)

Notes:

· Joey Logano started Sunday‘s Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 from the 27th starting position for the debut race of the new aerodynamic and engine package at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Logano wasted little time, gaining 11 positions in the first eight laps of the race, moving from 27th to 16th. Logano reached the top-10 by the lap 35 competition caution. On the pit stop, the team made an air pressure adjustment, added tape to the nose to correct the loose condition the driver was experiencing in clean air. Unfortunately, Logano was blocked into his pit box and lost several positions on the exchange.

· Through the second half of the first stage, Logano rallied back, picking up all the lost track position and more, moving to the seventh position by the lap 85 stage break, gaining four valuable points. Unfortunately, the team again found themselves blocked in on pit road, dropping to the back portion of the top-20.

· Through the second stage, Logano worked his way forward, with what he described as “probably the best car here” through the opening two stages. The only issue he reported was being slightly free throughout most of the runs, but the fourth run the handling had improved in the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang over the previous run.

· Through the third stage, Logano climbed to the third position, trailing teammate Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 PPG Mustang and the No. 19 of Martin Truex Jr. Logano remained quiet on the radio for the opening laps of the second run of the stage. With 72 laps remaining in the race, Logano relinquished the third position to teammate Brad Keselowski in the No. 2 Autotrader Fusion, who had steadily become one of the best cars in the race.

· At lap 272, as the No. 22 team was preparing to pit, the caution flag was displayed for an incident on pit road. The caution came at the perfect time for the Logano as he and the No. 1 were the only cars on the lead lap as the rest of the field had pitted. On the ensuing restart, Logano was able to keep the lead with 41 laps remaining.

· Unfortunately, Logano would have to make an unscheduled pit stop due to loose rear wheels from the previous stop, dropping Logano off the lead lap and in a position to fight for the lucky dog position. Complicating matters, the team had to pit on the white flag lap to ensure all remaining lugnuts were tight.

Quote: “We brought a really fast Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang today. We won the track position battle all day after getting blocked in on the first two stops. We were really strong on the long run, could pass cars and put ourselves in position to win. That part gives me confidence in what we prepared in the off-season on this new engine and aero package. Unfortunately, the loose wheel ended the day we should have had.”

Indianapolis NASCAR Cup Series Notes: 2018 Brickyard 400

The Brickyard has four equally flat, tight turns. 

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard
The Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Date: Sunday, September 9
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 1 p.m. ET
Radio: IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400 miles (160 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 50),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 100), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 160)

Team Penske Is Hitting On All Cylinders

Team Penske’s 1-2 finish Sunday night at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway was not only historic in the big picture, but course-corrective in the near future. The team shows up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 (at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) feeling as confident as ever at team owner Roger Penske’s most decorated venue.

Penske has 17 Indianapolis 500 wins – including one this May - but is still looking for his first victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ crown jewel event at the track – now the sport’s regular season finale.

Of the three Team Penske drivers, Joey Logano boasts the best Indianapolis record with six top-10 finishes in nine starts in the No. 22 Ford, including three top-five finishes in the last four years.

Sunday’s Darlington winner Brad Keselowski has four top-10 finishes in eight Indianapolis starts. The driver of the No. 2 Ford turned in his best Indianapolis Motor Speedway finish last year, finishing runner-up. His 99 laps led – over six races – is the most time out front for the Penske trio.

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, has been the victim of some tough Indianapolis luck. He has DNFs in two of his three starts – including the past two years. However, Blaney led his first laps at the track last year and finished third in both the first and second stages before being eliminated in a crash in overtime.

Keselowski and Logano (Talladega) both have wins heading into the 10-race Playoffs, which begin next week in Las Vegas, while Blaney has secured his Playoff berth with a 12th-place season ranking.


7-Time Go-Time

Seven-time Monster Energy Series champion Jimmie Johnson heads into Indianapolis already in possession of four race-winning trophies (2006, 2008-09, 2012). But this season, he suits up at the historic track eager to snap a season-long winless streak at the venue where he’s won more than any of the other active competitors – and double that of any driver entered this weekend.

Johnson has six top-three finishes in 16 starts, including a runner-up in 2013 to add to his four-trophy haul. But the veteran is looking to lead his first lap at the track since that runner-up finish. He finished 27th in 2017 after being caught up in a crash while racing for the lead – part of a tough streak of three DNFs (at Kentucky, Indy and Pocono) in a span of four races.

But Johnson has proven himself to be a master of the “Big Races,” the “Crown Jewels” of the sport – winning the Daytona 500, Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Brickyard 400 a combined total of 12 times. He is one of only four drivers to have won all four of those races.


The Big 3 In Indy

It’s a been two races since one of the Monster Energy Series’ “Big 3” last hoisted a trophy – the longest streak of the season between victories for championship leader and six-time winner Kyle Busch, seven-time winner Kevin Harvick and four-time winner Martin Truex Jr.

But the trio arrives in Indianapolis with plenty of reason to feel optimistic about righting their dominating ship. Busch has won two of the last three Brickyard 400s – sweeping the Xfinity Series and Monster Energy Series races in both 2015 and 2016. He has 10 top-10 finishes in 15 Indy starts. He won the first two stages last year but crashed with Truex late in the race.

Harvick won the 2003 Brickyard 400 from the pole position. He has 11 top-10 finishes in 17 starts including the past four years. His best finish in that span was a third place in 2015.

Truex is the only member of the “Big 3” still looking for that first Indianapolis Motor Speedway victory. In fact, the tough 2.5-oval has been a challenging venue for the reigning Monster Energy Series champion. He has three top-10 finishes in 13 starts and has led only 11 laps total. His only top five – a fourth-place in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota – came in 2015. He and Busch crashed out together last year.


Don’t Count Out Menard, Newman and Kahne

Three times since 2010, the Brickyard 400 winner hoisted his only trophy of the season at Indianapolis. And for those three drivers – Paul Menard, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne – a win Sunday would be a game-changer, vaulting them into the Playoffs after a sub-16th place ranking for the regular season.

Menard won his first – and, so far, only – Monster Energy Series race at Indianapolis in 2011. It is the only top-five in the race for the driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. He has two career top 10s, a 10th-place in 2016 in addition to his stunning victory.

Newman’s 2013 triumph – from the pole position – was a day of much glory for the Indiana native. It was his only win of the season and qualified him for the Playoffs in his last season driving for Stewart-Haas Racing.

And Kahne’s win last year in his final season with the Hendrick Motorsports team was as dramatic and heartfelt as they come. Only 19 of the 40 cars were running at the end of the race, which concluded in near-darkness. It was a trophy with great meaning for Kahne, who won two Night Before the 500 USAC races coming up the ranks and was runner-up in the 2005 Brickyard race.


Larson Is So Close

At only 26-years old and a strong weekly contender, Kyle Larson has proven himself full of talent and this season…also full of resiliency. The popular Chip Ganassi Racing driver led a dominating 284 of Sunday’s 367 laps at Darlington only to finish third behind Team Penske teammates Keselowski and Logano.

It’s the third time this season the Californian has led at least 100 laps in a race and not won. In fact, for all his effort – 14 top-10s and eight top-fives in 25 starts – Larson is still looking for his first trophy of 2018. For one of the sport’s most diverse racers, Indianapolis certainly would be a prime place to score that first win of the year.

Larson has three top-10s in four starts at IMS. He leads all drivers in percentage of laps run among the top-15 (88.9 percent) and boasts the best average running position (9.8) among those drivers with more than one start.

His team owner Chip Ganassi has five Indianapolis 500 wins and won the 2010 Brickyard 400 with Larson’s teammate Jamie McMurray.


Sunoco Rookie Promise

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Sunoco rookie William Byron is the only driver entered in the Brickyard 400 that can boast a perfect record at the notoriously tough Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Byron won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the track last year in his only start at the famed facility. He led the last 16 laps and took a .108-second victory over former Brickyard 400 winner Paul Menard and perennial Cup championship favorite Joey Logano.

Byron could use a little of that positive juju. He finished 35th last week at Darlington Raceway, retiring his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with engine problems. After back-to-back top-10 finishes at Watkins Glen, N.Y. (sixth) and Pocono, Pa. (eighth) a month ago, he has three finishes of 23rd or worse since; two of them 30th or worse. He’s still 22nd in the points standings, despite the recent troubles and leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year race over Bubba Wallace.

Wallace, meanwhile, has also suffered through a tough summer stretch. He is looking for his first top-20 since a 14th-place finish at Daytona in July. He’s crashed out in two of the last five races and is coming off a 26th-place finish at Darlington last week. He has finishes of 23rd (2015) and 14th (2016) in two Xfinity starts at Indy.


RACE REWIND

Last year’s Brickyard 400 was the second-longest one in the event’s 24-year history – going 418 miles instead of the scheduled 400. Kasey Kahne won under caution, beating Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman, Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth. Sixteen cars were on the lead lap.

Kahne’s win in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet came from the 19th starting position and was the farthest back a winner has come since Tony Stewart won the race in 2005 after starting 22nd.

It was the first win for Chevrolet since Jeff Gordon’s victory for the same Hendrick Motorsports organization in 2014. Chevrolet is the all-time winning make in the race with 17 wins in 24 races, including 12 consecutive victories between 2003-2014.

Keselowski record-setting fast Friday during first Kobalt 400 practice

Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were each 10/1 to win Kobalt 400 pole.

Wasn't the low downforce package supposed to to slow the Sprint Cup cars down?

You wouldn't know it by looking at the insane speeds produced Friday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor speedway during the first official Kobalt 400 practice session because three drivers topped the track qualifying record led by Brad Keselowski who laid down a lap at at 195.327 mph.

Second fastest on the speed chart with a lap of 195.263 mph was Keselowski's Penske teammate Joey Logano and he was followed by Kurt Busch (195.235), all of whom topped Jeff Gordon's qualifying record of 194.679 mph set last year. Richard Childress Racing showed speed again just like last week's practice at Atlanta with Paul Menard (194.496) fourth and Stewart Haas Racing's Brian Vickers (194.398) was fifth driving the No. 14.

Rounding out the top-10 fastest drivers in the session were Kasey Kahne (194.189), Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson (with the identical lap at 194.126) were recorded seventh and eighth-fastest respectively, while rookie Chase Elliott (194.105) was ninth and RCR's Ryan Newman (193.952) was 10th fastest. A Toyota finally showed up on the chart with Matt Kenseth being 11th fastest.

Qualifying to determine the starting lineup for Sunday’s event will be later this evening at 4:45 pm (PT – On FOX Sports 1).

Friday Practice 1 Speeds

Atlanta Practice 1 Notes: Did Chevy catch up with low downforce?

Last year's Atlanta winner, Jimmie Johnson, had the 12th fastest lap.

LAS VEGAS -- Six of the first seven best times during Atlanta's only practice Friday were powered by Chevrolet led by Kyle Larson (192.902 mph) and the other was a Ford -- a non-Team Penske Ford. The new low downforce package used this weekend for Sunday's Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 gave Team Chevy some problems last season in the two races it was introduced at Kentucky and Darlington.

Toyota, which won both low downforce races in 2015 with Joe Gibbs, could only muster the eighth fastest lap with Martin Truex Jr. (190.078) during the 85-minute session. It was believed by a few experts that Gibbs and Penske would have a similar advantage as they did last year at Kentucky and Darlington. But early indications suggest otherwise.

However, most of the top times were run while in mock-qualifying trim. Early on, most of the Gibbs Toyota's were topping the charts while in race trim. Larson was fast throughout, though, and his fastest lap overall came on the final of just nine laps turned.

Saturday's lone 80-minute practice session (11:30 pm ET) will be critical in determining just how skewed Friday's practice times are. Being fast on the long run and conserving tires will determine who wins the race. At this juncture, don't downgrade the Gibbs' stable -- any of them. They should perform well -- better than most -- in all the average speed categories.

Practice 1 Speeds

Starting Lineup