Page 21 - ARUBA TODAY

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SPORTS Tuesday 4 sepTember 2018

Brad Keselowski puts aside

struggles with Darlington win

By PETE IACOBELLI Sunday night, led a whop- Larson sat for his late-night
AP Sports Writer ping 284 of 367 laps, yet left media session mostly with-
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — in third place behind Kesel- out emotion, putting the
Brad Keselowski took nearly owski and his Team Penske best spin on his latest close
the entire season to break teammate Joey Logano. call. He was happy to lead
through to victory lane. It was the eighth time this so many laps, to have a
Kyle Larson will have to wait year — and 38th time in his fast car, to know that his
a little bit longer. five full-time Cup seasons team may have the power
Keselowski overtook Lar- — Larson finished in the top to contend in the playoffs,
son's dominant car by a five without winning. Larson where Larson has already
few feet coming out of the led 200 laps in Bristol's spring clinched a spot in the 16-
pits on the final caution, race and wound up sec- team field.
then took off on the restart ond after Kyle Busch's text- " I feel like we've kind of
to win the Southern 500 — book bump-and-run move been stale up until this
a satisfying moment in a five laps from the end last weekend," Larson said. "We
season of struggles for the April. had a (recent) good test
former NASCAR champion. Larson led 101 laps at Kan- at Richmond. We learned
"That's how this sport rolls," sas a month later u ntil some things with some dif-
said a smiling Keselowski. eventual winner Kevin Har- ferent components, and I
"That's how life rolls. You've vick got him on a restart felt like it really helped our
just got to keep pushing for- and Larson's Chip Ganassi car there." Brad Keselowski stands by his trophy after winning the NASCAR
Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, Sept. 2,
ward and make the most of Racing machine tangled Next up comes the break- 2018, in Darlington, S.C.
the opportunities and know with Ryan Blaney, costing through to the checkered Associated Press
the breaks will come your him a shot at the win. flag.
way just as they fell against "I mean, this is my fifth Cup Keselowski understands and it's not there, you think, "They recharge your bat-
you previously. That's part season, and I've run sec- how difficult it is to run up what if I never get another teries so much because
of the perseverance it ond or third a lot," said the front and not have the win car capable of winning." the season is such a death
takes to be successful." 26-year-old Larson. "I guess to show for it. He believes Keselowski recalls his early march, especially when
Larson knows all about per- you get used to the disap- his Penske Ford was good days in the Cup series when things aren't going well," he
severance. He had stron- pointment or whatever you enough to win several the machines he had were explained.
gest car at Darlington on want to call it." times this year until critical not capable of keeping up. Larson sounds like his bat-
errors on his part ruined the When that changed, Kes- teries are still fully charged.
chance. elowski's career and con- He's confident that if his
When drivers don't capital- fidence took off. "There's team brings more cars to
ize on those opportunities, it almost a point in time you tracks like the one he had
can lead to doubts about take that for granted," the at Darlington, good things
when they'll come around 34-year-old driver said. "You will happen. Keselowski
again, Keselowski said. start to see that slip away sees that, too.
"You just never know when and you think to yourself, "Kyle Larson's going to win
you're going to get a win- 'Oh, my God, this could be this race one day," Kes-
ning race car again," he it.'" elowski said. "And when
said. "You hope it's every That's why the win at Dar- that day comes, he'll think
week. You enter every lington, he said, was so im- about this one and how
weekend thinking that. But portant and in his words, this one probably slipped
you get to the race track "refreshing." away."q