READY TO ROAR
Keselowski leads Penske to sweep at top of Pocono grid
LONG POND, Pa. — Brad Keselowski has the best start at Pocono for a race he can’t wait to finish.
Win or lose — and, yes, Keselowski wants to win even with a Chase berth in the bag — the end of the race means the 2012 Sprint Cup champion is one week closer toward NASCAR’s version of the playoffs.
With the summer racing season just heating up, Keselowski is already antsy for September.
“I am ready to go run for the championship right now,” he said. “I am hungry for it. I think we have a good opportunity and I really want to win a second championship.”
Up first, he is trying to earn his second career win at Pocono Raceway. Keselowski led a Team Penske first-row sweep with his first pole of the season, turning a lap of 181.726 mph Friday to edge teammate Joey Logano.
The Pocono pole capped a banner weekend for team owner Roger Penske. Simon Pagenaud, Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya qualified 1-2-3 for Penske for this weekend’s first IndyCar race at Belle Isle.
“The IndyCar side always sets the bar really high,” Keselowski said. “That’s not a bad thing. That’s part of having a great effort with a great group. I look at their side and they’ve done a tremendous job the last few years of winning races. We’re trying to do the same.”
He’s done a pretty good job in 2016, winning at Las Vegas and Talladega, with eight top 10s.
With two victories, Keselowski already is locked into a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Keselowski, who won the last 500-mile race at Pocono, said racing with a playoff bid secured creates different kinds of challenges during the summer before the Chase field is set in September.
“It is a really interesting dynamic to the current format and creates this period of anticipation with acknowledgment that you just have to keep racing,” he said. “I think trying to keep that pace and keep the excitement and energy up through these few months is a tough task but one that we will have to take up.”
Keselowski stopped by the Pocono media center, then returned a few hours later after he won the pole.
“If I come twice, then people hate me,” he said, laughing.