Keselowski’s XFINITY struggles continue for second consecutive week

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

About Joey Barnes 600 Articles
Joey Barnes is the Founder of Motorsports Tribune, an outlet that began with the goal of helping aspiring journalists break into and grow the industry. A regular on the racing scene since 2013, the journey for Joey started by covering a Grand-Am event at Circuit of The Americas in his home state of Texas. He has since primarily focused on the IndyCar Series, with appearances in the garages of NASCAR, paddocks of Formula 1, IMSA and World Endurance Championship, while also occasionally engulfing clouds of dust at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and select Supercross rounds. With previous stops at Autoweek, IndyCar.com, Motorsport.com and RACER, among others, Joey evolved from the singular task as a freelance writer to advanced roles behind the copy desk and alongside some of the best editorial teams in the business. Recognized as a multi-time award winner by the National Motorsports Press Association, Joey currently resides in Dallas-Fort Worth with his trusty four-legged canine companion, Rocket.

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