Brad Keselowski, driver
of the No. 88 Navy
Accelerate Your Life
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
SS, scored his first
NASCAR Nationwide Series
win in Saturday’s
Federated Auto Parts 300
at Nashville
Superspeedway. The win
was a first for the JR
Motorsports No. 88 team
and the first-ever
NASCAR win for the U.S.
Navy.
Keselowski’s win in
the Navy Chevrolet
came in his 49th
series start, and
snapped Toyota’s
eight-race win
streak in the
Nationwide Series.
His mom [Kay
Keselowski], dad
[Bob Keselowski] and
brother [Brian
Keselowski] all
joined the new
winner in Victory
Lane at Nashville.
BRAD KESELOWSKI,
DRIVER OF THE NO. 88
NAVY ACCELERATE YOUR
LIFE CHEVROLET ON
HIS FIRST WIN IN THE
NATIONWIDE SERIES:
Q: TELL US ABOUT
YOUR RUN…
BRAD KESELOWSKI –
“We had a strong
car. There was no
doubt about that. It
came down to
strategy and track
position. We pitted
with 40 laps to go
or something like
that. Everyone else
had about 30 laps on
their tires and we
were going to have
to dig hard to get
by them and we did.
We were digging and
we were passing them
one at a time and it
seemed like it was
taking forever, but
it was working. I’d
just caught up to
Clint [Bowyer] and
the yellow came out
with about 12 laps
to go. That’s just
what we needed to
catch up to the 99.
It jumbled the field
up. I really thought
I was going to be
able to get by
Clint, but I thought
David [Reutimann]
was going to drive
away, but for some
reason David didn’t
go. I got behind
him, took the air
off of him and the
next thing I knew we
were by David and I
knew I could take
down Clint. It was
just history from
there. We had a
great car and made
the right moves on
pit road and on the
track and that’s
what it takes to win
in this series and
in this sport.”
Q: IF THE RACE HAD
STAYED GREEN, DO YOU
THINK YOU WOULD HAVE
HAD ENOUGH TIME TO
CATCH DAVID?
KESELOWSKI –
“Not a chance. We
were catching him,
but we would have
needed 30-40 laps. I
could see him up
there. As a driver
you put up marks of
I’m here and he’s
there, and you’re
watching the closure
rate and kind of
calculate it in your
head and there was
no way unless he
made a mistake. I’ve
been on the other
side of that. I’ve
been in that
situation where
you’re running up
front and driving
away and the yellow
comes out and you’re
just like ‘AAHHHH.’
The shoe was on the
other foot today.”
Q: WHAT ARE THE
EMOTIONS OF FINALLY
WINNING AND THE
CELEBRATION? WHAT’S
IT FEEL LIKE TO
FINALLY GET THE
MONKEY OFF YOUR
BACK?
KESELOWSKI –
“I don’t know if
it’s a monkey off my
back. I don’t know
that I’ve been here
that long. It’s not
like I came into
this sport winning.
I feel like I paid
some dues. I did
some stuff with
lower level teams.
When you’re doing
that with lower
level teams and
you’re breaking down
every week and
you’re blowing up or
whatever it is that
happens, you always
question yourself,
‘Why am I doing
this?’ and then when
you catch that break
like I did to drive
for Dale [Earnhardt
] Jr. and the U.S.
Navy Chevrolet and
that kind of
validates or
vindicates you. Then
I’ve got a team that
keeps getting better
every week and I
keep getting better
every week to go
with it. I felt like
this was just a
matter of time.”
Q: WHAT KIND OF
COMMUNICATOR IS TONY
EURY SR.? HOW DO YOU
GUYS WORK TOGETHER?
KESELOWSKI –
“When you’re a young
driver in the sport,
you need all the
help you can get.
You need veteran
leadership and
that’s what Pops
brings for us and
brings to me. When
you’re a younger
driver, you need a
stronger crew chief,
you need somebody
who can whip you
into shape and
that’s what Pops is
for me. Sometimes as
you get better it
turns into the exact
opposite, but he’s
what I need for
where I am in my
career right now.”
Q: ARE YOU GOING TO
LEARN HOW TO PLAY
THE GUITAR SO YOU
CAN PLAY YOUR NEW
TROPHY?
KESELOWSKI –
“I’m terrible at
Guitar Hero I’ll say
that right now. I
guess I’m going to
have to learn how to
play. I can’t really
have a guitar and
not know how to
play. That’d be
wrong. I’ve got some
learning to do I
guess.”
Q: THIS RACE WAS
YOUR LAST WITH KEITH
COLEMAN LAST SEASON.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT
THE IRONY OF THAT?
KESELOWSKI –
“Wow. There’s a lot
of irony there. Yes,
this was my last
race with the team I
was with before I
got with Dale [Earnhardt
Jr.] and it was
about as bad as it
could get. We
brought a road
course car here. It
broke down about
five times. I was
afraid I was going
to knock the wall
down and get myself
hurt it was so bad.
That was one of
those low points
where you ask
yourself ‘Why am I
doing this? I need
to get out of here
before I get myself
hurt.’ The team
folded up right
after that and I was
left without a job.
The rest was kind of
history of how I got
with Dale [Earnhardt
Jr.]. There’s a lot
of irony with that.”
Q: WHEN DO YOU THINK
DALE EARNHARDT JR.
WILL CALL TO
CONGRATULATE YOU?
KESELOWSKI –
“I don’t know. I
haven’t heard from
him yet. I heard his
satellite went out
with 10 to go, so
I’m sure he’s crying
pretty good right
now. I’m really
happy for him. He’s
paid a lot of dues
in this deal as an
owner. He doesn’t
need to be an owner.
He’s plenty popular
enough not being an
owner. I’ve said
that a million times
and I’ll continue to
say that. He’s here
to win. He’s gone
through some low
points himself as an
owner. To be able to
win for him and to
be able to prove
that we can do it –
that makes you feels
pretty good. To be
able to prove that
he picked the right
guy with me, I’m
pretty happy with
that.”
Q: THEY SAY THE
FIRST ONE IS THE
HARDEST TO GET. NOW
THAT YOU’VE GOTTEN
OVER THAT HURDLE, DO
YOU THINK THEY’LL
START COMING IN
BUNCHES?
KESELOWSKI –
“You hate to be
cocky and say that,
but you’d like to
think so. I feel
like we’ve had a
shot at winning a
lot of races, but we
haven’t caught any
breaks. There’ve
been some races
where we were fast
enough and we didn’t
execute – we made a
mistake, and there
have been races were
we haven’t been fast
enough, but ran a
perfect race. This
was one of those
races where we made
zero mistakes, had a
relatively fast car,
maybe not fast
enough to beat the
No. 20, but mistake
free. That’s what’s
it takes to win
races – being
mistake free.”
Q: DO YOU THINK
YOU’VE FINALLY
GAINED THE
CONFIDENCE THAT IT
TAKES IN THIS SPORT
TO NOT WORRY ABOUT
WHO’S DRIVING WHAT,
BUT JUST TO GO OUT
AND DO YOUR BEST?
KESELOWSKI –
“I feel like the
confidence has been
here since the start
of the year. The
merger with the
Hendrick Nationwide
team meant a lot to
me as a driver. It
was a big vote of
confidence. In
knowing that we were
going to have
equipment that could
win this year. When
you feel like you
have equipment that
you can win with,
you forget about the
rest, or at least I
do anyway. You
forget about who
you’re competing
against and know
that on any given
day if you run the
car right, you have
a shot at winning.
That’s where the
confidence comes
from.”
TONY EURY SR., CREW
CHIEF OF THE NO. 88
NAVY ACCELERATE YOUR
LIFE CHEVROLET FOR
JR MOTORSPORTS ON
KESELOWSKI’S FIRST
WIN:
Q: WHY DON’T YOU
TELL US HOW THINGS
WENT TONIGHT FOR
YOUR DRIVER’S FIRST
WIN?
TONY EURY SR. (CREW
CHIEF) –
“Well we started the
night off. We were
pretty happy with
our car last night
in practice When the
race started we were
a little tighter
than we wanted to
be. That was
something we weren’t
expecting. We were
expecting to be
loose. When you
start the race tight
it’s usually pretty
hard to free cars
up. We worked on it
every stop. We just
kept adjusting on it
until we got it free
in. He said it was
tight off, but he
was getting free in
and he said didn’t
want us to do
anything else to it
We made a couple
adjustments there
for in and off and
on that last stop it
worked out.”
Q: DESCRIBE WHAT
HAPPENED WHEN BRAD
DIDN’T COME TO PIT
ROAD WHEN YOU CALLED
HIM IN ON LAP 79?
EURY SR. –
“I was going to stop
for fuel only if
those guys stopped.
That was our plan. I
really didn’t want
to pit at all. I was
kind of hoping that
everybody else would
stay out. It’s kind
of hard for them to
hear you in the car
when you’re talking
to them anyway and
it was a last minute
deal to try to get
him on pit road for
fuel. It was only 13
laps on the tires.
At some race tracks
it would have killed
us, but the way the
cautions came out
tonight it didn’t
hurt us at all. We
actually saved a set
of tires there at
one time. That made
those guys do it
later on just
because they knew
other people had
tires on pit road. I
don’t think it would
have hurt us that
bad, but when
everybody else
starts pitting and
whenever you’ve got
fuel and they stop,
you’ve got to stop
with them. I think
our team car, the
No. 5 car, stayed
out there too long
that first time and
he got lapped he
stayed out there so
long. You’ve got to
watch out for that.
I don’t really think
it hurt us that
bad.”
DALE EARNHARDT JR.,
CO-OWNER OF JR
MOTORSPORTS ON THE
NAVY TEAM’S WIN AT
NASHVILLE:
Q: HOW EXCITED ARE
YOU ABOUT BRAD’S WIN
LAST NIGHT?
EARNHARDT JR. –
“Very excited. We’ve
been waiting for
this for a long,
long time, and I
knew it would happen
with Brad and Tony (Eury)
Sr. Putting them
together, I knew
they were going to
give us the
opportunity to win
sooner or later.
Bringing Rick
Hendrick’s deal over
to JR Motorsports
was a big part of
it. It has made our
program better.
Having Tony Sr. is a
big part of it. He
has made the team
better this year,
and Brad is one of
the reasons, too.
It’s a big deal for
Brad and his family.
His mom was there.
I’m glad for him,
and I’m really happy
for Tony Sr. It’s a
pretty big deal.”
Q: IT SEEMS LIKE
YOUR TEAM HAS BEEN
KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
THE LAST SEVERAL
WEEKS…
EARNHARDT JR. --
“Yeah, we’ve been
really working hard
to make it happen
for the Navy, for
Brad, and everybody
at JR Motorsports.
Everyone there
deserves it. They
truly deserve it.”
Q: WHAT DOES THE WIN
SAY ABOUT YOUR
PROGRAM? DOES IT
FURTHER LEGITIMIZE
IT?
EARNHARDT JR. --
“Absolutely I think
it does. It makes us
a legitimate
contender for the
championship this
year. There are a
lot of different
things that will
change for our
program and help our
program. I think it
really gives us a
stronger footing in
the series, our
ability to be there
and compete a few
more years.”
Q: MARK MARTIN HAD
GOTTEN JR
MOTORSPORTS A WIN
(MARCH 1 IN THE
SAM’S TOWN 300 AT
LAS VEGAS MOTOR
SPEEDWAY), BUT WAS
IT NICE TO GET ONE
WITH ONE OF THE GUYS
YOU BROUGHT UP?
EARNHARDT JR. --
“Yeah, it’s nice to
win with Brad
because he’s a
full-time Nationwide
driver, and even
more so because we
built the team from
the ground up. It’s
gratifying because
we started it from
scratch. That’s
pretty cool.”
Q: FOR YOU
PERSONALLY, IS THE
WITH FOR THE NO. 88
TEAM MORE SPECIAL
THAT THE ONE MARK
GOT YOU?
EARNHARDT JR. --
“The win with Mark
was different
because of his
history and
statistics, and what
he means to this
sport. It was a
pretty big deal to
have a win with him.
Obviously that 5 car
means a lot to Rick.
The partnership with
me and Rick is more
evident within the 5
team. The 88 team we
started on our own,
but his influence in
that team and his
ability to make our
whole program better
is pretty evident. I
don’t know if it
happens this soon
without his help
this year. The two
wins were definitely
different but
equally as important
for the company.”
Q: WHERE WERE YOU
WATCHING IT? WERE
YOU WATCHING IT ON
DIRECTTV WHEN IT
BLACKED OUT?
EARNHARDT JR. --
“Yeah, the TV went
out with about 10 to
go.”
Q: WAS THAT
FRUSTRATING?
EARNHARDT JR. --
“Yeah, pretty
frustrating.”
Q: SO, WHAT DID YOU
DO?
EARNHARDT JR. --
“I was on the
internet, and a
buddy of mine was
telling me what was
going on. He was
watching it on
cable, and gave me
the play-by-play.”
Q: DO YOU WISH YOU
COULD’VE BEEN THERE?
EARNHARDT JR. –
“Yeah, I wish I
could’ve been
there.”
