Brad Keselowski, driving the No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang, won the race held at Virginia 529 College Savings 250. It was Keselowski’s fifth victory of the season in Hertz colors and 11th win for Ford in 2013. This is the first year of the team’s partnership.
Keselowski started the race, which was held on the night of September 6, 2013, at the fourth position. He worked his way into the bottom line after giving up several spots during the initial laps. This is the preferred line on the Richmond International Raceway, known as the victory lane.
He made his first pit stop at lap 69, where Jeremy Bullins, the chief crew, adjusted the air pressure and track bar. Keselowski had earlier radioed Jeremy that the No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang was tight in the center but loose on the exit and corner entry. By the time he made another pit stop at lap 135, he had worked his way into the top five cars.
Brian Scott was in the lead for most of the race in his No. 2 racer, but Keselowski eventually passed him at lap 240 during a late-race restart. He again held Scott at lap 245 and cruised to the win.
When Scott was asked about the race, he said Keselowski was involved in a questionable restart. However, Keselowski responded that the restart box was a zone, and they had gone right at the start without giving Scott a second to catch up.
Asked what it meant to win the 1,000th nationwide series race, Keselowski said he was still too close to the race to understand it well. He said the question could only be answered well with the benefit of hindsight.
Explaining that it was a great honor to win such a distinguishing race, Keselowski appreciated every member of the No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang team. He gave Jeremy more credit than himself for positioning them where they had a very fast car, particularly during the last few runs. He said that whether he was making passes or restarts, he was simply making executions as everything came together for the team.