Brad Keselowski Dominates at Kentucky

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Brad Keselowski dominated the Quaker State 400 for his second victory of the season on Saturday night.

Photo courtesy Todd Warshaw

Keselowski led a race-high 199 laps on his way to victory.  His car wasn’t the only strong Penske car on Saturday, as his teammate Joey Logano led 37 laps before dropping a cylinder and finishing ninth.

Keselowski’s second victory of the season also locked him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Keselowski started on pole, and he quickly jumped out to the lead after starting on the outside line.  He led until the first caution came out on lap 29 when Denny Hamlin cut down a front tire.  

Keselowski led the leaders back to the green flag on lap 35, and he led until the caution came back out again on lap 77.  That caution was for Kyle Larson hitting the wall after cutting down a tire.

Logano won the race off pit road, and he led the field back to the green flag on lap 85.  Keselowski was able to get around him two laps later, and he led until the caution came out on lap 126.

Logano won the race off pit road again, and he led the field back to the green flag on lap 131.  Keselowski restarted fourth, and he didn’t take the lead again until lap 148.

On lap 153, the caution came out for a spin by Alex Bowman.  Jamie McMurray slowed to avoid the spin, and he was hit by Aric Almirola.  

Logano came off pit road first, and he led the field to the restart on lap 161.  This time, he led the entire green flag run, as David Stremme spun on lap 176 to bring out the caution.

Keselowski stayed out under the caution, and he led the field back to the green flag on lap 182.  On the restart, Kyle Busch went 3-wide around Keselowski and Logano to take the lead.

On lap 214, Almirola hit the wall to bring out the final caution of the night.

Busch led the field back to the green flag on lap 220, and he used the clean air to get away from the field.  But once he got caught in lapped traffic, Keselowski began to reel Busch in.  On lap 248, Keselowski finally got around Busch for the lead, and he never looked back as he collected the checkered flag.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Kyle Busch

3. Ryan Newman

4. Matt Kenseth

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

6. Jeff Gordon

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Kasey Kahne

9. Joey Logano

10. Jimmie Johnson

11. Tony Stewart

12. Kurt Busch

13. Marcos Ambrose

14. Greg Biffle

15. Paul Menard

16. Austin Dillon

17. Carl Edwards

18. Michael Annett

19. Martin Truex Jr.

20. Casey Mears

21. Danica Patrick

22. AJ Allmendinger

23. Clint Bowyer

24. Just Allgaier

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

26. Brian Vickers

27. Reed Sorenson

28. Cole Whitt

29. Josh Wise

30. David Gilliland

31. David Ragan

32. Landon Cassill

33. Ryan Truex

34. Travis Kvapil

35. David Stremme

36. Alex Bowman

37. Jamie McMurray

38. Joe Nemechek

39. Aric Almirola

40. Kyle Larson

41. Mike Bliss

42. Denny Hamlin

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Daytona International Speedway for the July 4th weekend.  The Coke Zero 400 is next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

Photo courtesy Sean Gardner/Getty Images