Keselowski gets back to business at Richmond

(By Greg Engle)

Posted: Thursday,April 30th, 2009

By Bill Marx ,Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service)

Brad Keselowski might have won last week’s Sprint Cup race at Talladega, but it has been eight months since last won in the Nationwide Series. And as exciting and important as that victory was, Keselowski isn’t going to let it shake his racing priorities.

“My goal this year is to win a Nationwide Series championship for JR Motorsports, and that won’t change because of the Cup win,” Keselowski said.

Heading into Friday night’s Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway, Keselowski is sixth in the standings. Last year, besides winning twice in the Nationwide Series for his first two NASCAR victories, he finished third in the standings.

“What was kind of lost in this whole deal is the fact that we scored our fourth top-10 in a row in the Nationwide car, and we are very much in the championship picture,” he said. “It seems we have found our groove, and we are coming up on tracks that I feel very confident racing at.”

Keselowski, 25, might have confidence at RIR, but it is not reflected in his results at the track. Richmond is Keselowski’s second-worst Nationwide track. He has no top 10s in five races, and his average finish is 28.6. He has fared worse only at Fontana (0-for-6 with a 32.7 average finish).

But those numbers aren’t dragging down Keselowski.

“I grew up racing short tracks, and I’ve really come to respect the history this track has and what it means to racing,” he said. “My dad getting his only win there is pretty cool, and I only wish I could have been there to see it (1997 truck race). I’d love to follow in his footsteps and get this Delphi Chevrolet into victory lane. We’ve been so close these past few weeks and we are ready to make it happen.”

Three to watch

Mark Martin, No. 5: Martin, the winningest driver at Richmond, is making his first Nationwide start at the track since 2005. There is little reason to believe he has forgotten how to race at a track in which he has five wins, 14 top fives and 19 top 10s in 24 races. In the five races he didn’t finish in the top 10, four were DNFs (three crashes and an engine failure).

Matt Kenseth, No. 16: Kenseth will be in the No. 16 Friday night, not his usual No. 17. He’ll still be easy to find, though. Look up front. Although Kenseth is winless in 17 starts, he has 14 top 10s, 11 in the top five. He has finished second three times and third five times.

Kevin Harvick, No. 33. While looking for Kenseth, you’ll likely see Harvick, too. He has four wins in 16 starts, with 12 top 10s, 10 in the top five. All four wins came in Richard Childress cars; this will be his fifth Richmond start in his Kevin Harvick Inc. No. 33 Chevrolet.

Track chatter

Joey Logano: “Richmond is a pretty unique short track. It has a lot of the characteristics of a speedway. The corners are fast and sweeping. There is a lot of room to really charge the corner if the car is working right. You can easily race side-by-side. The races are at night, which is always cool. Racing under the lights makes everything better. You never hear drivers say that they dread going to Richmond because the racing is so competitive. I don’t know if it’s the perfect short track, but it’s close.”

Matt Kenseth: “Richmond is a great little short track that drives like a speedway. It is fast, but small so all the fans are close to the action. Both ends of the track are different. Turn 2 is a real tight turn, and Turn 4 is more sweeping. You try to run on the bottom for a fast lap, but also have to be able to make the top work to pass.”

Fast facts

What: Lipton Tea 250
Where: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN/Sirius XM Satellite Ch. 128
Track layout: .75-mile oval
Race distance: 250 laps / 187.5 miles
2008 winner: Denny Hamlin
2008 polesitter: Kasey Kahne
Points leaders: 1. Kyle Busch, 1,219; 2. Carl Edwards, 1,157; 3. David Ragan, 1,139; 4. Jason Leffler, 1,082; 5. Joey Logano, 1,063; 6. Brad Keselowski, 1,041; 7. Jason Keller, 925; 8. Scott Lagasse Jr., 886; 9. Justin Allgaier, 885; 10. Michael McDowell, 879.

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