Sunday, May 1, 2016

Keselowski Survives Talladega to Win Geico 500

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Brad Keselowski won the Geico 500 from Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon.

Keselowski was one of the few cars that wasn’t involved in an accident on Sunday, where 33 of 40 drivers were involved in an accident.  Keselowski said staying up front helped him avoid the big accidents.
 
Photo courtesy Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
“That’s one of the tickets to staying out of the wrecks; stay out front,” Keselowski said.  “The guys at Team Penske gave me a great Miller Lite Ford, and this Fusion was hauling it.”

Keselowski said he got two big pushes on the final restart that helped him stay in the lead.

“As the leader, it’s really…out of your control, you need the cars behind you to push,” Keselowski said.  “Jamie McMurray behind me gave me a great push, then Kyle Busch gave me a push…to clear the 41 [of Kurt Busch].”

Austin Dillon was one of the many damaged cars, and was involved in two accidents during the race.  Despite his damage, Dillon was able to work his way to the front under the final run to finish third.  Dillon said it was a testament to his team and their new attitude.

“I’m so proud of our Dow Intellifresh guys, they worked their butts off,” Dillon said.  “We did 15 pit stops today, and what we’ve been really focused on going forward is trying not to panic.”

“No one panicked, they did their jobs, they fixed the car and what a run to the finish.”

Unofficial results:
1. Brad Keselowski
2. Kyle Busch
3. Austin Dillon
4. Jamie McMurray
5. Chase Elliott
6. Tony Stewart
7. Clint Bowyer
8. Kurt Busch
9. Ryan Blaney
10. Trevor Bayne
11. Landon Cassill
12. Michael Waltrip
13. Martin Truex Jr.
14. AJ Allmendinger
15. Kevin Harvick
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17. David Gilliland
18. Cole Whitt
19. Bobby Labonte
20. Greg Biffle
21. Michael McDowell
22. Jimmie Johnson
23. Matt Kenseth
24. Danica Patrick
25. Joey Logano
26. Paul Menard
27. Aric Almirola
28. Ryan Newman
29. Kyle Larson
30. Brian Scott
31. Denny Hamlin
32. Regan Smith
33. Casey Mears
34. David Ragan
35. Carl Edwards
36. Matt DiBenedetto
37. Chris Buescher
38. Michael Annett
39. Kasey Kahne
40. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Photo courtesy Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

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