LAS VEGAS (AP) - Brad Keselowski has mixed feelings about his strong start to his Sprint Cup title defense.
While Keselowski has three top-four finishes in easily the best beginning of his career, he also doesn’t have a victory. He started on the pole in Las Vegas on Sunday and finished third, failing to make much of a run at winner Matt Kenseth and runner-up Kasey Kahne.
Keselowski is second in the points standings behind Jimmie Johnson after consecutive fourth-place finishes at Daytona and Phoenix, followed by this career-best Las Vegas effort.
“I feel like we’ve had a shot at winning all three,” Keselowski said. “That’s something to be really proud of. We certainly had the speed to do it the last two weeks, and the execution to do it at Daytona. Just caught a bad break and didn’t quite execute it here today.”
Keselowski acknowledges the championship changed his expectations for his team.
“I want to win,” he said. “It’s a different perspective, because I’m not happy with a top-five. I want to win. The last three weeks, really the last two weeks _ I’m sure when I get home tonight, I’m going to go home and throw around some pillows and punch some things, because we’ve had a shot at winning all three races and come up short, whether it’s circumstances or bad luck or today just a little bit of execution.”
Perhaps Keselowski can get into Victory Lane next weekend at Bristol, with its lower speeds and paint-trading shenanigans on the short track. That’s where Keselowski got the first of his five wins last season on the way to his first series championship.
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