Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Race Winner WAS PATIENCE THE KEY TO WINNING HERE TODAY? “At Talladega, patience is a bit of an oxymoron ‘cause you know you’ve got to go hard to win this race. I went hard a little bit early there with Kurt (Busch) and got with him. I want to start by saying I’m sorry Kurt if you’re watching. Been a great friend and great teammate when I worked with you, that was the last thing I wanted to see happen, just a miscommunication on our part. Sorry about that, but great at the end. Great racing. It was awesome. I think it was a perfect combination of the tandem and the pack racing. It just fit our Miller Lite Dodge perfect. It was just really strong with that combo. My guys did a great job all weekend.”
WALK US THROUGH YOUR STRATEGY AT THE END OF THE RACE. “Well, I’m sure there are a lot of drivers that are going to watch the replay of the last lap. I had this whole plan if I ever got in that situation where I was leading. I thought about it and thought about it, dreamed about what to do and sure enough, going into three, it was just me and Kyle (Busch). And I knew the move I wanted to pull. It worked because the guy running second should have the advantage, but I had this move all worked up in my mind. Now everybody has seen it and they know it, but I’m glad I was able to get a win with it. I went into Turn 3 high and pulled down off of Kyle and broke the tandem up. That allowed me to drive untouched to the checkered flag. It wasn’t easy to convince myself to do that, but it was the right move. I’m glad it worked. “Kyle did a great job. It was nice working with him. We’ve had an up-and-down history and it was nice to work together to get a 1-2 finish. I know he wanted to win too. This win is really big for our Miller Lite team ‘cause two wins with the Wild Card and all, that almost makes you immune to missing the Chase. This team is going to be strong come Chase time. The best is yet to come with the Miller Lite Dodge.
“Man, it feels good to win here in Talladega. I got my first win here with the (James) Finch bunch and I’m sorry how it worked out us spinning Kurt. I want to say sorry to them. I didn’t mean for that to happen. You know, it’s just a great Talladega race, great finish and I’m glad to come out on top with the Miller Lite Dodge.”
YOU MENTIONED THE SPIN WITH KURT BUSCH. WAS THAT DUE TO PACK RACING AND EVERYBODY BEING SO CLOSE? “Yeah, well we had a group behind us that was running us down, pushing each other. And I knew if we didn’t go right then, we were going to get swallowed by the pack with four to go and we would never get our track position back. So I got a run on Kurt and I decided to use it to push him. I don’t think he wanted to go; I don’t think he knew what was going on behind him and he tried to stay low and stay in line. I was just pushing too hard. I should have let him go. I hope he’s not too mad at me. That’s not what I wanted to see happen. He’s been a great teammate, a great friend as well. So I’m sure we’ll talk about it and hopefully he’s okay.”
YOU WERE A LITTLE BIT EVERYWHERE TODAY, MOSTLY MID PACK FOR A WHILE. DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE RACE IT LOOKED LIKE YOU DECIDED TO GO TO THE FRONT. WAS THAT THE PLAN OR WAS THAT HOW THE RACE UNFOLDED? “At Talladega you don’t have a plan. You go up front and you race your butt off all day long. You either get to the front or you don’t and that’s what we did.”
Paul Wolfe (Crew Chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) “It’s definitely exciting for everybody on this Miller Lite Dodge team. We typically haven’t had a lot of luck here at these plate races, but you know we just played a smart race all day. Brad did a great job. He kind of knew what he needed to do there at the end and he was able to do it. Great team effort.”
A.J. Allmendinger (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 15th “My guys did a good job, fast motor, fast racecar. I’m happy the 2 car won. I had a chance to win the race until it all went down the drain. On the restart, everybody was getting after it. I tried to block, if Denny (Hamlin) was already there, my apology. Everybody on the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge and the Penske organization gave us fast racecars. We had a chance to win. I’m happy the 2 car won.”
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Race Winner WAS PATIENCE THE KEY TO WINNING HERE TODAY? “At Talladega, patience is a bit of an oxymoron ‘cause you know you’ve got to go hard to win this race. I went hard a little bit early there with Kurt (Busch) and got with him. I want to start by saying I’m sorry Kurt if you’re watching. Been a great friend and great teammate when I worked with you, that was the last thing I wanted to see happen, just a miscommunication on our part. Sorry about that, but great at the end. Great racing. It was awesome. I think it was a perfect combination of the tandem and the pack racing. It just fit our Miller Lite Dodge perfect. It was just really strong with that combo. My guys did a great job all weekend.”
WALK US THROUGH YOUR STRATEGY AT THE END OF THE RACE. “Well, I’m sure there are a lot of drivers that are going to watch the replay of the last lap. I had this whole plan if I ever got in that situation where I was leading. I thought about it and thought about it, dreamed about what to do and sure enough, going into three, it was just me and Kyle (Busch). And I knew the move I wanted to pull. It worked because the guy running second should have the advantage, but I had this move all worked up in my mind. Now everybody has seen it and they know it, but I’m glad I was able to get a win with it. I went into Turn 3 high and pulled down off of Kyle and broke the tandem up. That allowed me to drive untouched to the checkered flag. It wasn’t easy to convince myself to do that, but it was the right move. I’m glad it worked. “Kyle did a great job. It was nice working with him. We’ve had an up-and-down history and it was nice to work together to get a 1-2 finish. I know he wanted to win too. This win is really big for our Miller Lite team ‘cause two wins with the Wild Card and all, that almost makes you immune to missing the Chase. This team is going to be strong come Chase time. The best is yet to come with the Miller Lite Dodge.
“Man, it feels good to win here in Talladega. I got my first win here with the (James) Finch bunch and I’m sorry how it worked out us spinning Kurt. I want to say sorry to them. I didn’t mean for that to happen. You know, it’s just a great Talladega race, great finish and I’m glad to come out on top with the Miller Lite Dodge.”
YOU MENTIONED THE SPIN WITH KURT BUSCH. WAS THAT DUE TO PACK RACING AND EVERYBODY BEING SO CLOSE? “Yeah, well we had a group behind us that was running us down, pushing each other. And I knew if we didn’t go right then, we were going to get swallowed by the pack with four to go and we would never get our track position back. So I got a run on Kurt and I decided to use it to push him. I don’t think he wanted to go; I don’t think he knew what was going on behind him and he tried to stay low and stay in line. I was just pushing too hard. I should have let him go. I hope he’s not too mad at me. That’s not what I wanted to see happen. He’s been a great teammate, a great friend as well. So I’m sure we’ll talk about it and hopefully he’s okay.”
YOU WERE A LITTLE BIT EVERYWHERE TODAY, MOSTLY MID PACK FOR A WHILE. DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE RACE IT LOOKED LIKE YOU DECIDED TO GO TO THE FRONT. WAS THAT THE PLAN OR WAS THAT HOW THE RACE UNFOLDED? “At Talladega you don’t have a plan. You go up front and you race your butt off all day long. You either get to the front or you don’t and that’s what we did.”
Paul Wolfe (Crew Chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) “It’s definitely exciting for everybody on this Miller Lite Dodge team. We typically haven’t had a lot of luck here at these plate races, but you know we just played a smart race all day. Brad did a great job. He kind of knew what he needed to do there at the end and he was able to do it. Great team effort.”
A.J. Allmendinger (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 15th “My guys did a good job, fast motor, fast racecar. I’m happy the 2 car won. I had a chance to win the race until it all went down the drain. On the restart, everybody was getting after it. I tried to block, if Denny (Hamlin) was already there, my apology. Everybody on the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge and the Penske organization gave us fast racecars. We had a chance to win. I’m happy the 2 car won.”
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