Keselowski plays repair man in rush to fix Daytona 500 car

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla (AP) — Brad Keselowski worked overtime to get his Ford ready for Daytona 500 qualifying. Keselowski moonlighted as a crew member when he grabbed tools in the garage and helped repair his car after he was in a fender-bender during practice.

The 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion stayed for at least four hours with his Team Penske crew and banged out the metal on a car that sustained moderate damage on the right side.

"I don't want to take too much credit," Keselowski said during Sunday's qualifying session. "A lot of people did a lot more than I did."

Keselowski did take the blame for the accident that happened a day earlier as he was set to hit the track for the second practice. He pulled out of the garage when a competing car slowed in front of him. Keselowski hit the brakes to avoid the car and instead struck a fence post.

"Was he tweeting at the same time?" fellow driver Kurt Busch cracked. "I don't know how he hit that fence over there."

Unlike some drivers, Keselowski refused to leave his Penske crew behind to handle all the repair work. His team put the final touches on his car early Sunday morning, and Keselowski posted the 23rd-fastest speed in pole qualifying.

"I thought we were going to be a little faster than I was," Keselowski said.

BUBBA REMEMBERS

Bubba Wallace is honoring Kobe Bryant and the other helicopter crash victims as well as former Richard Petty Motorsports driver John Andretti on his Daytona 500 Chevrolet.

There was a decal on the trunk lid of Wallace's No. 43 Chevy that read "In memory of ..." and listed Bryant and the other victims.

Wallace also had a 43 decal that read #checkit4Andretti on his rear window. Andretti died last month at 56 after a three-year battle with colon cancer. Andretti drove for Richard Petty, Cale...