Brad Keselowski Racing NCWTS Preview: Talladega Superspeedway
Keys to the Race
Run at the front of the pack to avoid the Big One
Handling not as important at Talladega, which means two or no tires on pit stops might be an option
Drivers must keep an eye on the temperature gauge because engine overheating could be a factor
Practice laps will be minimal to keep trucks intact for the race
It’s all about execution: drivers must perform well on restarts while pit crews must excel on pit road
Very important for crews to pack fuel tank full on pit stops
No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford F-150
Enters Talladega fifth in the NCWTS championship standings, 10 points ahead of the sixth-place cutoff
Tied for the lead in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings
Will be making his first NCWTS Talladega start
Has one previous start at Talladega – a third-place finish in 2016 ARCA Racing Series race
Scored third-place finish in 2017 NCWTS season-opener at Daytona International Speedway in his first restrictor-plate race in a truck
Primary Cooper Standard Ford F-150 is “Harry” – the same chassis that Briscoe drove in Daytona
Average combined superspeedway finish in NCWTS and ARCA is 3.3
Leads all drivers in laps completed (2702 of 2706, 99.85 percent)
Chase Briscoe: “I don’t think there’s anything you can do to really prepare to go into a Playoff cutoff race at Talladega, because there’s so much out of your control. We’ve got a 10-point buffer between us and the cutoff, and in the old system, you could feel relatively comfortable with that and just focus on having a clean race. The stages changed everything. There’s 20 points that you can gain or lose in those stage points, and that could be the difference between advancing or not, so we have to keep our Cooper Standard Ford F-150 up front the entire race. Everyone here is going to be praying that we can to stay out of the Big One, because you know it’s imminent. The guys who do that are essentially the ones who are going to get to the next round."
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