Toyota was dominating NASCAR, until Talladega
It’s the first time a Ford driver has won a race in the 2017 NASCAR playoffs. Actually, it was the first time a non-Toyota car won in the playoff’s. Until yesterday, Toyota had won the first 4 playoff races.
Yet, Ford’s swept all restrictor plate tracks in the entire 2017 season. They capped off the sweep yesterday at Talladega Superspeedway.
Yesterday at Talladega, Toyota only led 26 of the 188 lap race at Talladega. That’s only 13% of the race. That’s in stark contrast to the other tracks.
Alternatively, it was a race dominated by Ford. Brad Keselowski won the race on the Team Penske Ford. Additionally, Ford drivers collectively led 114 of the overall laps. A total of 60% of the laps were led by Ford cars.
Related: Brad Keselowski comments on speed of Toyota
“Oh wow,” Brad Keselowski states.
“Not as much downforce as we want for the mile and a half’s.”
-Brad Keselowski
“It’s nice to see Ford’s sweep the plate tracks this year. I think it speaks to the package we have. Not as much downforce as we want for the mile and a half’s. But, not a lot of drag for these types of tracks,” Keselowski explains the plate racing dominance of Ford race cars.
“We’d probably like to have both. So, we’ll make the most of what we got and it was good for here.”
The last Ford win came on July 1st. That was also a plate track. The Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway was won by Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
This doesn’t mean the Toyota’s have lost speed. It more or less just shows why they have speed elsewhere. The Toyota’s have more downforce, which in turn, hurts them at the restrictor plate races.
Related: Ricky Craven comments on Toyota dominance
Talladega
“It is a track where I think I can control my on destiny. If I can avoid the wrecks,” Brad Keselowski talks about his win.
Upcoming NASCAR races for Ford
“I know we got a great shot at Martinsville,” Brad Keselowski discusses upcoming NASCAR races.
“The mile and a half’s have not been our strong suit. Who knows? Jimmie Johnson wasn’t that fast on the mile and a half’s last year. They found a way to get it done, where it counted at Homestead. That could be us too.”
“I look at Kansas and Texas as being somewhat similar [to Homestead] because they’ve been repaved. They’re never gunna be identical but it’s still the same philosophies.”
“Aerodynamics are so important at those tracks. If we can find something at Kansas that’s going to be really important for the next round,” Keselowski concluded.
Links
Ford Performance
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Team Penske
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Brad Keselowski
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Talladega Superspeedway
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