NASCAR BGN: Jason Keller readies for Darlington action after strong Atlanta finish
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
March 14, 2001
Atlanta, The Toughest Top 10 . . . Jason Keller captured his first top 10 at Atlanta Motor Speedway with a seventh-place finish in the Aaron's 312. Keller scored his fourth straight top-10 finish in the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division season. Keller's seventh-place finish was not easy. By lap 20 they had already made two pit stops and were in 40th position.
"I called in to Steve (Addington) at lap three and told him I couldn't drive the car," said Keller. "It was so loose that it took everything I had just to keep it on the track. We pitted twice early and the Albertson's crew made every change to the car they could think of. We were back so far in the race so quick that I never thought we would finish in the top 10.
"The guys made a great call by keeping me out there when the rest of the field made their first green flag pit stops. We made up the positions we lost plus quite a few more. Most of the time when you need a caution, you rarely see it. But when that yellow flag came out and I knew we would be on the same pit schedule as the leaders, I couldn't believe it. You hear drivers talking about a team effort, but this was just unbelievable. The team just keeps getting better. They made the calls from the pits that put us in the top 10."
Darlington, Home-State Track... Keller is a proud native of South Carolina. He has always lived in and around Greenville, and would love to win in the state where he grew up.
"When I was a kid I used to race go-karts near Darlington all the time," said Keller. "My dad and I would drive by the speedway on our way to races and I would think to myself how great it would be to run Darlington. I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to, and now I'm about to race my 16th race there.
"Darlington is the most distinguished track in South Carolina. It ties the South Carolina boys together. Any driver from this state aspires to win at Darlington. Anytime you win close to home you have more family and friends around, and they get the opportunity to experience the win with you."
About The Track... Keller knows it's not going to be easy to capture a win at Darlington. The track has been on the NASCAR Busch Series schedule since the series' inception in 1982.
"Darlington is so different from most of the modern tracks," Keller said. "At many of the newer tracks the groove is uniform all the way around the track and both ends are symmetrical. But Darlington is unique in the fact that the groove is inconsistent from one end of the track to the other. The surface is wore out and hard, so you can easily slide all over the track. It is a ton of fun though when your car is running well."
Text provided by Heather Kincel
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