Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, looks on in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Series Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 15, 2012 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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ROCHESTER HILLS (WWJ) - Rochester Hills native Brad Keselowski has a big opportunity this weekend as he can become the first Michigan born driver to capture NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Championship with a 15th or better finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday.
As WWJ’s Sports Anchor Ryan Wooley reports Keselowski and five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson are the only two drivers in contention for the title and it’s truly Brad’s to lose as he enters the race with a 20 point lead, which means Johnson could actually win the race but as long as Keselowski finishes in 15th or better, he takes home the title.
The Championship would also not only be special to the born and bred Michigander but team owner and Birmingham’s own Roger Penske as well, as he has won countless races, including a record 15 Indianapolis 500s, but never a Sprint Cup title in almost 30 years of trying.
The closest the state of Michigan has come to having a born and bred champion was the late Benny Parsons who was born born in Wilkes County, N.C., in 1941, but joined his parents after high school at their new home near 7 Mile and Woodward in the late 1950s and won the Cup title in 1973.
Qualifying for the race will begin on Friday at 6 p.m. with the the green flag dropping on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Find more information on the race, click on here.
