Column: Brad Keselowski’s Optimistic Despite Challenging Early NASCAR Cup Season

Column By: HOLLY CAIN / NASCAR – DARLINGTON, SC – The last Spring weekend Brad Keselowski spent in Darlington, S.C., he left South Carolina with a big trophy. It was the first victory the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion had earned as co-team owner at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

As importantly it marked a highlight in a challenging new role as owner and driver.

Darlington, in particular, has been a recent highlight reel for Keselowski whose average finish (6.4) in the last five races in best in the field. He has plenty of reason to be optimistic about this Spring run of races – at Darlington, Bristol, Tenn. and Talladega, Ala. – venues where he is a multi-time winner.

He comes to South Carolina without a single lap led and is still looking to claim his first top-10 of the eight-race season. His best showing in the No. 6 RFK Ford is 11th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He’s finished 26th in the two races (at Homestead,Fla. and Martinsville, Va.) leading into Darlington.

“I feel like we’re doing all the right things and get to where we need to be, we just haven’t gotten the results,’’ said Keselowski, who qualified 20th for Sunday’s race, “We haven’t qualified as well as we liked to have.

“In the race we haven’t been able to put together for a number of reasons some of it in our control, a lot of it not in our control, so it’s been frustrating. But kind of have the feeling we’re getting the bad luck out of the way early in the season, that’s kind of the overwhelming sentiment and if we stay the course, it will come back to us.’’

VETERANS HAVE THE DARLINGTON EDGE

Darlington Raceway is known as the track “Too Tough to Tame” – and perhaps too that end, its long and distinguished list of winners includes a noticeable group of veterans. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with four victories, another four runner-up finishes and also bests the grid in top-fives (13), top-10s (18) and overall average finish (8.2).

NASCAR Hall of Famers such as Jimmie Johnson (three wins), Bill Elliott (five wins) Jeff Gordon (seven wins) and the late Dale Earnhardt (nine wins) were all so good at the 1.366-mile oblong oval.

“This sport is so week-to-week it’s hard to say [the track favors veterans] but you can’t argue with results,’’ said Hamlin, who has led laps in the last 10 consecutive Darlington races – and has led more than 100 laps five different times in his career.

“It lends itself to the best drivers and the best teams. I think it’s a great combination of, you’ve got to have everything. … the driver has to just be really good at his craft and know when to push and when not to.

“It’s going to be mentally taxing knowing you’ve got to hit your marks just perfectly,’’ he continued. “And just the mental side of it, with 35 other guys that aren’t there to let you win. It’s really hard to navigate that. .. it just takes its toll, it has for me on my body and mind every time I race here. As far as the veteran side of it, I think certainly it seems that those that have lots of experience on this track and more than likely the guys have been successful because they know that feel they need to be fast here and continue to replicate it.”

AN EVERYDAY EARNHARDT THROWBACK

There is no question that NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar is a huge fan of the late seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt. The driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet recently purchased online a Chevrolet pick-up truck with a paint scheme identical to one of Earnhardt’s iconic No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolets. He says it’s his “daily drive” and actually drove the truck from his Charlotte-area home to Darlington for the race this weekend.

“Basically I wanted something old-school car wise,’’ said Hocevar, who posted a photo of the truck parked at Darlington on his social media. “I just thought it would be fun and interesting to have. So I got it.’’

ZILISCH TO MAKE SECOND CUP START

On Thursday of this week, Trackhouse Racing announced that 18-year old driver Connor Zilisch will make his second NASCAR Cup Series start for the team in the sport’s longest race, the May 25 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The North Carolinian Zilisch is in his first fulltime NASCAR Xfinity Series season driving the No. 88 Chevrolet as a development driver for JR Motorsports and has already won an Xfinity race this year – from the pole position – claiming the trophy at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) road course in March. He’s currently sixth in the Xfinity Series championship standings.

“It’s awesome to have the opportunity to race in one of NASCAR’s coolest events,” said Zilisch, who has shown great talent competing in endurance races – winning in his class in both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring IMSA races last year.

“The Charlotte 600 is one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. It’s going to be a physical and mental challenge because that race is so tough.”

NASCAR HOLDS COMPETITION MEETING WITH XFINITY SERIES DRIVERS

NASCAR officials met with the entire field of Xfinity Series drivers early Friday morning before any track activity at Darlington Raceway – a meeting triggered by an especially aggressive showing for the series at the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway short track a week ago – a race so chaotic that Chase Elliott – a former Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series champ – called it “embarrassing” for the sport.

Although aggressive moves characterized much of the second half of the race, a big wreck on the final lap started up front with then leaders – Joe Gibbs Racing’s Taylor Gray and JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith – precipitated some angry confrontations post-race. Gray (off track) and Smith (on track) were both penalized for their actions.

Veteran Austin Hill was the big beneficiary of the on-track situation between the two, driving through the melee up front to claim his second win of the year – credited with only leading that last lap. Hill shared that the meeting went well and that he expects his fellow drivers to be more mindful of the way they race going forward, calling NASCAR very “firm” in its morning message.

“I think it’s going to calm down a lot more than you think today,” Hill said of Saturday afternoon’s Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington. “We’ll have to wait and see but I think we’re all going to still be aggressive and trying to win the race but it’s going to be a very respectful race.”

The series’ next trip to Martinsville in late October determines which four Playoff drivers advance to the Championship 4 with a shot to win the 2025 title.

“NASCAR made it very clear they don’t want to be in the ball-and-strike business, they don’t want to be making all these calls so they said for us to help them with that,’’ Hill said. “They [NASCAR] also said if they have to step in and start making calls and black-flagging people and parking people and all those things, they’ll do it. I agree with where NASCAR stands with that but I also think we in the Xfinity Series need to do a better job going forward and not putting it in NASCAR’s hands.’’