Despite gaffe, Keselowski has no plans to quit gambling

• The seemingly charmed pit calls of Paul Wolfe revealed a crack in the Bank of America 500
• Two weeks ago at Dover, it was Keselowski who had the fuel when Hamlin and Johnson didn't
• Driver of the No. 2 Dodge compares his team's strategy to football, blackjack

CONCORD, N.C. — Running on Empty was being piped through the PA at Charlotte Motor Speedway as Brad Keselowski's No. 2 Dodge rolled to a stop after Saturday's Bank of America 500.

It might have been the first time this season that the Jackson Browne tune was a fitting choice for fortunes of the Sprint Cup points leader, who has made a habit of playing every note of strategy perfectly with crew chief Paul Wolfe.

Shrewd tactics have helped thrust the Penske Racing team into first at the halfway point of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but Saturday night finally revealed a crack in their seemingly impervious blueprints for calling a race.

A risk to extend a fuel load by one extra lap backfired when Keselowski's tank ran dry just past the entry to the pits on lap 275 of 334. After coasting for a full circuit around the 1.5-mile track for a stop that took an interminably long to get his motor refired, he finished 11th after another stop — giving up a surefire top five on a night when title pursuers Denny Hamlin (second) and Jimmie Johnson (third) had the superior fuel mileage that Keselowski usually has.

It hardly seemed a demoralizing outcome, though, as Keselowski and Wolfe didn't exchange a cross word nor make apologies.

"This team, we're not going to put the prevent defense out there," Keselowski said. "We're going to go at you and try to sack the quarterback every time. Sometimes you're going to miss, and they're going to get a big play out of it. We have hit them a lot, that's why we're in the points lead, and we're going to keep after it."

It wasn't a disaster by any stretch for Keselowski, who still leads by seven points over Johnson and 15 over Hamlin. His Charger gained a couple of bonus points by leading a race-high 139 laps, and Wolfe's gambling style flawlessly propelled Keselowski from a 20th starting position into the lead on lap 38 with an out-of-sequence stop during the first caution period.

"What got us to this point is being aggressive with our strategy," Wolfe said. "We aren't going to change that approach as we run through the Chase. And 90% of time, it works out for us, and we get the finishes we want, and tonight we missed it a little bit."

A victory, which instead went to Clint Bowyer, would have marked Keselowski's third of the Chase and been a carbon copy of his win in the opener at Chicagoland Speedway.

Each race, Wolfe seems to play Keselowski on the opposite strategy of his rivals and yet somehow draws aces.

"They've just been getting the right breaks at the right time," Hamlin said. "They've been fortunate that the cautions haven't fallen where it's hurt them. Every time I do that, I get that caution, and it just kills us.

"I think they've looked at race histories and done a good job with their strategy, and that's part of racing as much as speed is nowadays. Strategy is just as important, and they've optimized it up until this race. They've done the best job at the strategy.

"I think they've taught a lot of people in the garage that you've got to be smarter in a lot more areas."

The influence was evident from monitoring radio chatter during Saturday's race. During the final half, "Save fuel!" was an incessant mantra on the channel of Johnson, who is notoriously weak at mileage.

But a curious two-tire call by crew chief Chad Knaus actually worked to Johnson's benefit Saturday. When the five-time champion plummeted from first to seventh on the ensuing restart, it afforded the chance at topping off his tank (with Hamlin) during the next caution.

It was the antithesis of Keselowski's victory at Dover International Speedway, where the cautions fell at inopportune moments for the faster cars of Hamlin and Johnson.

The final confluence of misfortune for Keselowski occurred right after Wolfe asked him to check his fuel pressure gauge with 58 laps to go and wait another lap to stop if it was stable.

It was ... until about 50 feet past the pit entry. The needle started fluctuating.

"That was the worst-case scenario," Keselowski said. "That's part of the breaks."

Those breaks usually go his way, and there didn't seem any concern they would again next time.

"Good run today," Keselowski radioed his team after only his second finish outside the top 10 in 15 races. "Win some, lose some. It's all good."

Wolfe said his driver's composure sets the tone for the team.

"It's tough to take, but we're still the points leaders, which says a lot about what we've been able to do," he said. "Just because we have an off night doesn't mean we're out of it or need to hit the panic button."

This might be comforting: Keselowski will be driving the same Dodge at the 1.5-mile ovals Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway that whipped the field on two tires at Charlotte.

Perhaps Saturday will be remembered as the night when a crew chief-driver tandem in only its second full season finally began to waver under title pressure.

But perhaps it'll be recalled as the race in which Keselowski and Wolfe proved the only duo that can beat them is themselves.

"I still feel we're going to be really tough," Keselowski said. "It's blackjack. You're not going to win every hand. When you got a bad deal, you have to try not to have too many chips on the table."