"Carrying momentum is key" at Pocono Raceway, says Brad Keselowski ahead of NASCAR M&M's Fan Appreciation 400

RFK Racing driver and co-owner Brad Keselowski will drive his #6 KOHLER Generators Ford Mustang at the Pocono Raceway this weekend for the 2022 M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400. Keselowski had a clean run in New Hampshire last weekend, scoring his season-best finish after collecting seventh place.

With 21 races under his belt, Keselowski has only four top-ten finishes and zero top-five finishes so far. Following a P7 in New Hampshire, he is looking forward to turning his season around in the remaining races.

Pocono Raceway has always been one of Brad Keselowski's favorite tracks, and he hopes to perform much better than he did in New Hampshire. However, this is the first time the Next Gen car will be visiting this track, and according to Keselowski, the cars tend to get "loose off the corners," and managing that will be hard.

Speaking to the media ahead of the race, Brad Keselowski gave his thoughts on racing at Pocono. He said:

“There’s obviously not a ton of experience with the new car at Pocono. From what I understand the cars can get really loose off the corners, so trying to manage that is going to be tricky, but will make it fun as well.”

He added:

“We put together a complete run last week at Loudon, so carrying momentum is key from here on out to continue to build on our program.”

The upcoming race will mark Keselowski’s 25th start at Pocono Raceway and the 22nd start of the season. His record on track for the past 24 starts has been quite impressive. He won in 2011 after leading 19 laps.

Furthermore, he has visited the top-ten positions 15 times at Pocono, with his average finish in the track standings at 10.6. Last year, he scored a top-five finish after finishing third, and this weekend, he only needs to add more effort to get to the checkered flag.

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Brad Keselowski is still struggling to make it to the playoffs in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series

Keselowski's average starting position stood at 11.3 with one pole back in 2016 and 11 starts in the top-ten position. Apart from the Cup Series races, he has also competed in other series on the same track; in 2017, he won the Xfinity Series race on the same track. Judging by his record, it’s pretty clear that Brad Keselowski has the potential to win this year’s Pocono race.

However, it hasn't been smooth sailing for him. The 2022 season has been tough on him; he has had average performances in most races so far. He’s also the only driver who has been handed a tough penalty this season, which has affected him greatly, especially in the driver standings.

He currently stands below the cutline for the 2022 playoffs, which means he’s in the must-win state. His teammate Chris Buescher is also below the cutline in the playoffs, meaning the entire RFK team is still struggling to make it to the playoffs with six remaining races. If Keselowski makes it to the playoffs, it is guaranteed that 10 points will be deducted from his record due to the L2 level penalty handed to him in March 2022.