NASCAR At New Hampshire: Brad Keselowski Returns To Championship Contender

When Brad Keselowski left New Hampshire Motor Speedway after a 35th-place finish in July, he was 23rd in points and outside the window to make the Chase

Leaving the track this weekend, Keselowski is not only in the Chase, but third in the standings, 11 points behind Tony Stewart.

Making the Chase with three wins in the regular season, Keselowski was unable to use the bonus points as one of the two wild card recipients. Starting the Chase in 11th, Keselowski has recorded two top-fives in the first two races and has once again shown he is a contender for the championship.

Keselowski credited the team’s turnaround over the past 10 weeks to “hard work and focus” and said his team is is performing at a high level.

Admittedly nervous about Sunday’s race at New Hampshire, Keselowski said the team made the proper adjustments throughout the race to put them in position to get a solid finish.

“We did the things we needed to do,” he said. “We weren’t as fast as we wanted to be but we worked on our car, adjusted on it and got it where we could race with it there at the end and just had good strategy and pulled out a second. We probably weren’t a second-place car but we worked hard and made something happen.”

That has been the hallmark of the No. 2 team throughout the past few months. Despite their struggles throughout the weekend, they continue to adjust on the car, remain confident in their decisions and make the most of their situation.

“We still have a long ways to go, a really long ways,” he said. “There’s eight big races left.”

Of those eight races, Keselowski feels their best tracks are among the final five or six, “maybe with the exception of Texas.”

Many wondered if Keselowski could carry the regular season momentum into the Chase and remain a serious contender for the title. Sitting 11 points out of the lead with two top-five finishes, Keselowski is starting to once again defy the odds this season.