FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: KENTUCKY NOTES
Kentucky Speedway will host NASCAR races Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week as all three of the sport’s top touring divisions hit the 1.5-mile track. The NASCAR XFINITY Series starts things off with back-to-back events on Thursday and Friday night while the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series competes Saturday evening. The NASCAR Cup Series caps off the week with an afternoon race on Sunday.
FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT KENTUCKY
· Ford has 2 all-time series wins at Kentucky.
· Brad Keselowski has both Ford victories and three overall at Kentucky.
· Keselowski has 3 wins, 4 Top-5s, 6 Top-10s and 1 pole in 9 career Kentucky starts.
FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT KENTUCKY
· Ford has 8 series wins at Kentucky.
· Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney have two each with Ford.
· Cole Custer won this event last season.
FORD IN THE GANDER RV & OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES AT KENTUCKY
· Ford has 3 series victories at Kentucky.
· Greg Biffle won the inaugural race at the track in 2000 with Roush Fenway Racing.
· Ben Rhodes registered ThorSport’s first win with Ford at this track in 2018.
FORD AND HARVICK CONTINUE HOT STREAK
Ford and Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick have been on a roll since NASCAR returned to action on May 17. Ford has won 5-of-12 events during that time, including four by Harvick, who just captured his second straight Brickyard 400 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ford leads all manufacturers with nine wins this season, which is one less than it had last year. Harvick is on top of the regular-season point standings by 85 points with 10 races remaining before the playoffs begin. In addition, Ford holds a 41-point lead in the manufacturers’ race.
BRISCOE CONTINUES ATOP NXS STANDINGS
Ford Performance development driver Chase Briscoe continued his breakout season as he won for the fifth time, winning on his home track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday. That marked the second straight victory for Briscoe, who increased his lead in the series point standings to 21, and third in the last four races. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver now has seven career series wins and is within reach of his stated goal of eight victories in 2020.
KESELOWSKI LOVES KENTUCKY
There’s no denying that Kentucky Speedway has been one of the best tracks for Brad Keselowski, who has three MENCS wins, including two in the last six years with Ford. Included in that streak is a win in his championship season of 2012, and a track-record 199 laps led in his 2014 victory. While he also has three career wins at Las Vegas and Bristol, the only place where Keselowski has won more is Talladega Superspeedway, where he has five series triumphs.
FUSION FUEL MILEAGE
Keselowski stretched his fuel the final 72 laps and held off Carl Edwards to win the Quaker State 400 in 2016. After grabbing the lead on lap 200 of the 267-lap event, Keselowski went into full conservation mode 20 laps from the finish and briefly lost the lead to Matt Kenseth with seven laps to go. Kenseth, however, was forced to pit road one lap later after running out of gas, and Keselowski regained the lead. With Carl Edwards bearing down on him, Keselowski radioed to crew chief Paul Wolfe that he was out of gas with two laps remaining, but his No. 2 Miller Lite Fusion continued plugging along and made it across the finish line 0.175 seconds ahead of Edwards. The win was Keselowski’s fourth of the season and second straight after taking the checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway.
BATTLING BACK IN 2014
Ford got its first NCS victory at Kentucky Speedway in 2014 when Keselowski dominated most of the event. After he and teammate Joey Logano combined to lead the first 216 laps, Keselowski found himself with some ground to make up thanks to an ill-timed caution. Kyle Busch inherited the lead with 49 laps to go after being on pit road when Aric Almirola hit the wall. He stayed out while Keselowski and the other leaders pitted a couple of laps later. Keselowski came out of the pits sixth and immediately began moving toward the front. He eventually passed Busch with 20 laps to go and was never threatened from that point forward. As dominating as he was on the track, Keselowski created just as much buzz afterwards when he cut his hand shaking a champagne bottle in victory lane. The incident resulted in a delay of post-race photos as he went to the care center for what ended up being four stitches.
JACK BACK IN KENTUCKY
Jack Roush graduated in 1964 from Berea College in Berea, KY, which is approximately 100 miles south of Kentucky Speedway. Roush, who earned a degree in mathematics, immediately took a job with Ford after graduating and has been associated with the company ever since. Roush Fenway Racing has 137 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, but Kentucky Speedway is one of only three tracks where he has yet to reach Victory Lane (Chicagoland, Indianapolis).
FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT KENTUCKY
2014 – Brad Keselowski
2016 – Brad Keselowski
FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT KENTUCKY
2003 – Bobby Hamilton Jr.
2005 – Carl Edwards
2007 – Stephen Leicht
2013 – Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney
2015 – Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney
2019 – Cole Custer
FORD NASCAR GANDER RV & OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT KENTUCKY
2000 – Greg Biffle
2003 – Carl Edwards
2018 – Ben Rhodes
