By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief
AVONDALE, Ariz. – For the second consecutive weekend, Brad Keselowski struggled on a Saturday.
The 2012 Sprint Cup champion qualified seventh in the Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, but struggled with a daunting pace put forth by the Toyota’s of Joe Gibbs Racing, led by a victorious Kyle Busch.
Keselowski managed to lead nine laps, but overall struggled at the bottom half of the top 10 before settling for ninth. The finish is a rough one for all involved as Keselowski was also the highest finishing Ford.
Last week, Keselowski could only muster 15th in a tough weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
If there is one positive though, it is that Keselowski went on to win the Sprint Cup race the next day in Las Vegas.
Keselowski, 32, picked up his second top 10 of the season in the XFINITY Series, but admitted that it wasn’t the day anyone wanted on the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford.
“It wasn’t what we wanted by any means today,” Keselowski said. “The Discount Tire Ford was just tight all day at both ends and we were never able to get it freed up at all.
“I thought Brian Wilson made a nice call there at the end to roll the dice to stay out and try to catch a caution but it didn’t work out for us. I had to come down for gas and we ended up right where we were all day. We had about a 7-10th place car today and that is where we ended up.”
Image: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
