Chastain finishes 2nd and Blaney 7th in Phoenix

Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 19 Draw-Tite Ford F-150, made his 13th start for Brad Keselowski Racing (BKR) and his second start at Phoenix International Raceway during Friday night's Lucas Oil 150 after qualifying his F-150 in the pole position earlier in the day for his second pole of the year.

Chastain got off to a solid start leading the first 35 laps before making his first pit stop under the second caution due to a tire issue on the No. 32. Crew chief, Chad Kendrick changed four tires, where most of field only took two tires. Chastain restarted fifth on lap 41, but before the field could make it back around the no. 94 spun and brought out caution number three.

On lap 78, Chastain radioed in explaining to Kendrick he had a vibration all the way around his F-150. Kendrick eased the young driver and assured him the team would execute a plan on the next pit stop.

During the fourth caution on lap 85, Chastain brought his Draw-Tite Ford to pit road for right sides only and fuel. Chastain entered pit road third and restarted first with 57 to go due to an exceptionally fast pit stop by the BKR crew.

During the final restart Chastain grabbed the lead with 10 to go, but fell one position short of the victory, coming home in second place for the second time of the season, leading 63 of 150 laps.

The No. 19 BKR team now sits fifth in the NCWTS owner points standings, 53 points back from first.

Ryan Blaney (@RyanBlaney22), driver of the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford F-150, made his second career start at Phoenix International Raceway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) during the Lucas Oil 150 on Friday night after qualifying in the 26th position.

By the time the first caution came out on lap 35, Blaney had made his way all the way up to the 17th position with a strong Cooper Standard Ford. Crew Chief, Doug Randolph brought Blaney to pit road for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Blaney restarted 15th when the field went back to green on lap 41.

When the No. 9 brought out the fourth caution on lap 85, Randolph brought Blaney to pit road for the second time to change four tires, fuel and make an air pressure adjustment. Blaney entered pit road ninth and restarted 11th on lap 93.

With 10 to go, on the final restart, Blaney found himself restarting in the sixth position, climbing 20 spots from where he began the race to only drop one position and finish seventh on a very humbling day at PIR. The Cooper Standard team worked diligently to place inside the top ten with one race of the season remaining.

The No. 29 BKR team currently sits sixth in the NCWTS driver points standings, 98 points back from first.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING "We had a really fast Draw-Tite Ford tonight, proud of our pole winning qualifying effort. I wish I could have held on just a little bit longer, but I'm so happy for my team and thankful for the opportunity Brad and Draw-Tite have provided me this year. I'm really looking forward to returning home to Florida next weekend with the goal of putting our Melon 1 Ford F-150 in victory lane." - Ross Chastain

"We didn't get the finish we wanted here in Phoenix, but it all started with our tough qualifying run. The Cooper Standard team worked really hard to give me a good piece tonight. We were able to make up several spots, but ran out of time at the end of the race to close in on the top five. I'm looking forward to getting to Homestead next weekend and finishing out 2013 strong." - Ryan Blaney

Brad Keselowski Racing