Rochester Hills native Brad Keselowski’s win at Kentucky last weekend marked the second time this season Ford has won consecutive races.  The last time Ford captured three straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events was in June 2005 (Dover, Pocono and Michigan), according to Warren native Dan Zacharias of Ford Racing.

What's more, Zacharias said, Ford’s six Sprint Cup wins this season through 17 races match the entire single-season totals for 2012 and 2013.

The Sprint Cup drivers run at Daytona International Speedway this weekend.

Hunter Masling at MIS

Hunter Masling thought the text message from Brad Keselowski was a joke.

“I thought it was somebody messing with me,” the NASCAR front-tire changer said.

Indeed, Keselowski sent the text. The driver of the No. 2 Penske Racing Ford wondered if Masling would be on the pit crew for his Sprint Cup car.

Masling had been working as the front-tire changer for the No. 22 Penske car in the Nationwide Series.

Following the Memorial Day weekend race at Charlotte, where Keselowski finished 10^th, the Rochester Hills native sought to change his pit lineup.

So he texted Masling. Masling said yes.

“It’s a lot different,” Masling said.

Masling has worked on the No. 22 Nationwide crew all season.

The Louisiana native made his third Sprint Cup start with Keselowski at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

In Masling’s first two races, the No. 2 car had back-to-back runner-up finishes.

“That was just a coincidence,” Masling said with a smile. “It’s fun.”

Last year, in order to get Cup experience, a Penske pit coach “farmed out” Masling to the No. 93 Sprint Cup car driven by Travis Kvapil.

“It’s a whole different level (with Keselowski),” Masling said, noting that he now pits for a Sprint Cup championship contender.

“You don’t want to make a mistake,” he said. “If you do, you want it to be a minute one.

“I’ve got to keep doing what got me here.”

Next weekend, Masling pulls “double duty.”

He’ll pit for the No. 22 during the Nationwide race at the Road America course in Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon, and then go by team plane to California for a road-course race in Sonoma, Calif.

“It shouldn’t be too bad,” he said of the itinerary.

Brad Keselowski has this thing about fear: He doesn't give in to it.
"It's my job not to be scared," the 28-year-old NASCAR Sprint Cup driver said. "It's my job to go out there and drive as hard as I can and not worry about those things, and find my way to victory lane."
Speed, and the risks that come with it, are prime topics of discussion at Michigan International Speedway this weekend.
On Thursday, nine drivers put down laps of 200 mph or faster on the repaved 2-mile oval.
The Sprint Cup qualifying record is 194.232 mph, but it could fall Saturday as the field is set for Sunday's 400-mile race.
Keselowski, a Rochester Hills native, likes the idea of going faster and faster.
"I don't think speed is a bad thing," he said. "I think it's what attracts all of us to the sport at some level.
"So, I think, (the increased speed at MIS) is a great opportunity to showcase our sport in a new way, and, you know, I hope that the race is a safe race, but I think this is a great opportunity to do something we have not seen in a Cup car, ever."
Expect Keselowski to try to get the most out of his No. 2 Dodge.
"If you're driving a race car, it shouldn't be stable at any speed," he said. "When your car is stable and comfortable, it's not fast."