Keselowski Wins at Talladega

Brad Keselowski won the Geico 500 from Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his first victory of 2021.

Keselowski ran up front for most of the day, but he didn’t get to the lead until the very final lap.  Matt DiBenedetto attempted to block a run from the high line, which opened up the bottom for Keselowski to come through.

Keselowski held off William Byron and Daytona 500 champion Michael McDowell at the line, and Keselowski said he knew a strong run was coming when the field came off of Turn 4.

“I saw it coming,” Keselowski said.  “Everybody’s just racing hard and pushing hard.  That’s Talladega.”

James Gilbert/Getty Images

The victory was Keselowski’s sixth at Talladega, which tied him with NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Keselowski said he never expected to tie two legends of the sport at one of the hardest racetracks on the schedule.

“We’ve been so close here, it just didn’t seem to want to come together the past couple years,” Keselowski said.  “I’ve been on kind of a four-year drought.  I’d have never believed I’d tie Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.; those guys are really legends.”

Keselowski was involved in an accident at the end of Stage 1 that saw his teammate Joey Logano go airborne.  Keselowski said his team was able to repair the damage to keep him in the race.

“We had an accident there early, and they recovered and got it fixed up to where I could keep running,” Keselowski said.  “Really proud of my team.”

“What an awesome day.  The whole race we had a couple chances to take the lead, but I just kept thinking to keep the car in one piece for the end.”

Unofficial results:

1. Brad Keselowski

2. William Byron

3. Michael McDowell

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Matt DiBenedetto

6. Kaz Grala

7. Tyler Reddick

8. Austin Dillon

9. Ryan Blaney

10. Cole Custer

11. Chase Briscoe

12. Anthony Alfredo

13. Ryan Newman

14. Ryan Preece

15. Aric Almirola

16. Ross Chastain

17. Christopher Bell

18. Kyle Busch

19. Bubba Wallace

20. Harrison Burton

21. Chris Buescher

22. Corey LaJoie

23. Daniel Suarez

24. Chase Elliott

25. BJ McLeod

26. JJ Yeley

27. Erik Jones

28. Cody Ware

29. Timmy Hill

30. Justin Haley

31. Martin Truex Jr.

32. Denny Hamlin

33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

34. Joey Gase

35. Kurt Busch

36. Josh Bilicki

37. Quin Houff

38. Alex Bowman

39. Joey Logano

40. Kyle Larson

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Larson Returns to Victory Lane in Las Vegas

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Larson won the Pennzoil 400 from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his first victory with Hendrick Motorsports.

Larson was dominant on Sunday and, along with his other Hendrick teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron, ran up front for most of the race.  Larson led a race-high 103 laps.

After winning in just his fourth start with Hendrick Motorsports, Larson said the victory was special.

“It was such an awesome race car,” Larson said.  “I could go wherever I wanted to; I knew we had a pretty good car once we got single-filed out.  Thank you so much Mr. Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for the amazing opportunity I’ve been gifted.”

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Larson returned to the Cup Series in 2021 after being suspended for most of the 2020 season for uttering a racial slur during an iRacing event amidst the COVID shutdown.

Larson said he was thankful to get a win for Rick Hendrick while driving a paint scheme in honor of the team owner’s late son.

“I know this is Rick’s most special paint scheme, for obvious reason, and it’s just an honor for me to be able to drive it,” Larson said.  “Our first time out with this color scheme…this is definitely special.”

Brad Keselowski finished second on Sunday, but he wasn’t able to catch Larson over the final stage.  After closing in following a miscue by Larson before the final pit stop, Keselowski was unable to make the winning pass and saw Larson pull away over the final 30 laps.

Keselowski said Larson’s ability to put the car wherever it needed to go was the difference in the race.

“He was really fast,” Keselowski said.  “He had a lot of speed in all the lanes, which was really impressive.  Usually you have to make a compromise, but they were really good.”

“If Kyle Larson wasn’t here, it would have been a dominant day.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Kyle Busch

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Ryan Blaney

6. Martin Truex Jr.

7. Christopher Bell

8. William Byron

9. Joey Logano

10. Erik Jones

11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

12. Austin Dillon

13. Chase Elliott

14. Chris Buescher

15. Ryan Preece

16. Matt DiBenedetto

17. Michael McDowell

18. Ryan Newman

19. Kurt Busch

20. Kevin Harvick

21. Chase Briscoe

22. Tyler Reddick

23. Ross Chastain

24. Anthony Alfredo

25. Cole Custer

26. Daniel Suarez

27. Alex Bowman

28. Bubba Wallace

29. Justin Haley

30. BJ McLeod

31. Garrett Smithley

32. Cody Ware

33. Quin Houff

34. Joey Gase

35. Josh Bilicki

36. Timmy Hill

37. Corey LaJoie

38. Aric Almirola

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

McDowell Surprises with Daytona 500 Victory

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Michael McDowell won the Daytona 500 from the Daytona International Speedway on Sunday night.

McDowell was running third headed down the backstretch while he pushed Brad Keselowski to the front. After Keselowski made contact with leader Joey Logano, McDowell was able to sneak past as a massive crash erupted in the pack.

McDowell was ahead of Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon at the time of the caution, which officially froze the field and awarded McDowell his first career victory in NASCAR’s biggest race.

McDowell said he was excited to pick up his first victory after 14 years in the Cup Series.

“Just can’t believe it,” McDowell said.  “So many years just grinding it out for an opportunity like this.  Such a great way to get a first victory."

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

With the laps winding down, a group of Ford drivers led the field.  Logano, Kevin Harvick, Keselowski and McDowell ran single-file until the final lap.  McDowell said the manufacturer teamwork helped give them all a chance at the victory.

“We had our Ford partners at the end and they all crashed; luckily I was able to make it through,” McDowell said. 

Elliott was second at the moment of the caution, and he said he knew he came up short when he saw the caution lights come on.

“I don’t think it was very close,” Elliott said.  “Got next to him and saw the lights come on, so I knew it was over right there.”

Elliott, who began his championship defense on Sunday, said he was just excited to finish NASCAR biggest event after having bad luck in years past.

“Staying out of trouble…that’s not something I’ve done a very good job of here in this race,” Elliott said.  “We finished one, so I’m pretty pleased with that.”

Unofficial results:

1. Michael McDowell

2. Chase Elliott

3. Austin Dillon

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Ryan Preece

7. Ross Chastain

8. Jamie McMurray

9. Corey LaJoie

10. Kyle Larson

11. Cole Custer

12. Joey Logano

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Kyle Busch

15. Austin Cindric

16. Christopher Bell

17. Bubba Wallace

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

19. Chase Briscoe

20. Joey Gase

21. Cody Ware

22. Kurt Busch

23. BJ McLeod

24. Josh Bilicki

25. Martin Truex Jr.

26. William Byron

27. Tyler Reddick

28. Kaz Grala

29. Quin Houff

30. Ryan Blaney

31. Chris Buescher

32. Anthony Alfredo

33. Matt DiBenedetto

34. Aric Almirola

35. Alex Bowman

36. Daniel Suarez

37. David Ragan

38. Ryan Newman

39. Erik Jones

40. Derrike Cope

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Keselowski Dominates in Richmond

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Brad Keselowski won the Federated Auto Parts 400 from Richmond Raceway on Saturday night to lock himself into the second round of the Playoffs.

Keselowski was dominant all night, and led a race-high 192 laps.  Keselowski took the lead for the first time in Stage 2, and he was able to control the race the rest of the way.

Keselowski’s team brought the same car to Richmond that won earlier in the year at New Hampshire, and he said he hopes to take the same car to Phoenix and fight for the Championship.

“I wanted to do a really cool burnout with it, but I want this car for Phoenix; it’s two-for-two,” Keselowski said.  “I don’t want to look too far ahead; we’ve got to get there.”

“If we can get to Phoenix, we’ll be really good.”

Martin Truex Jr. was strong on Saturday, but he wasn’t able to catch Keselowski on the final run, ultimately settling for a second-place finish.

Truex said he didn’t think he was going to run up front after struggling with his car’s handling early in the race.

“Never really got the balance right all night,” Truex said.  “It was slow on the short run early and slow on the long run late.  Somewhere in between we’d be pretty competitive, but we really couldn’t just put it all together.”

“Just solid every week.  Hopefully we can keep putting ourselves in the front and we can win races.”

Next Saturday, the Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the final race in the firsr round of the Playoffs, where four drivers will be eliminated from championship contention.

Austin Dillon, one of the underdogs going into the Playoffs, followed up his runner-up finish at Darlington with a fourth-place at Richmond with one of the fastest cars of the night to put himself 36 points above the cut line.

Dillon said a late-race pit miscue may have cost him a shot at contending with Keselowski for the victory.

“When we came to pit road, we were trying to bring everybody down,” Dillon said.  “I was going to hit the red box, so I had to make another lap.  That cost us three seconds.”

“I hope they keep doubting us.  We’re in a good spot and we’ve got a good round after that.  We’ll go to Bristol and do what we need to do to get to the next round.”

Unofficial results:

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Joey Logano

4. Austin Dillon

5. Chase Elliott

6. Kyle Busch

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Aric Almirola

9. Alex Bowman

10. Clint Bowyer

11. Tyler Reddick

12. Denny Hamlin

13. Kurt Busch

14. Cole Custer

15. Christopher Bell

16. Matt Kenseth

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

19. Ryan Blaney

20. Ryan Preece

21. William Byron

22. Erik Jones

23. Ryan Newman

24. Chris Buescher

25. Michael McDowell

26. Bubba Wallace

27. Corey LaJoie

28. Ty Dillon

29. Daniel Suarez

30. John Hunter Nemechek

31. Jimmie Johnson

32. Quin Houff

33. Brennan Poole

34. JJ Yeley

35. Joey Gase

36. Reed Sorenson

37. James Davison

38. Timmy Hill

Photos courtesy Jared C. Tilton and Sean Gardner (Getty Images)

Harvick Dominant in First Half of Michigan Doubleheader

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Firekeepers Casino 400 from Michigan International Speedway on Saturday afternoon in the first half of NASCAR’s doubleheader weekend.

Harvick dominated on Saturday, winning both stages on his way to collecting his fifth checkered flag of the season.

For the first time in a points-paying event NASCAR implemented a choose cone, allowing drivers to choose which lane they would restart in.  Chase Elliott was able to use this to get to the front after a string of late cautions, and he and Harvick battled for the lead over multiple restarts.

Harvick said he nearly showed Elliott the way to victory on one of those late restarts.

“I kind of showed my hand there a little early when I passed [Elliott] on the outside,” Harvick said.  “I knew that’s what I didn’t need to happen to us…I just had to keep him from going by us.”

Harvick won with the same car that went to victory lane at Indianapolis in July, and he will use it again in the second half of the Michigan doubleheader on Sunday.

Harvick said bringing a fast car to one of his best tracks helped him pick up the victory.

“This was an awesome car to drive today,” Harvick said.  “I think that the confidence is high when we come to Michigan; it’s a racetrack that’s been really good for us.”

Brad Keselowski finished second after failing to get by Harvick over the final two-lap shootout.

Keselowski said he and the rest of the field have work to do to compete with Harvick on Sunday.

“[Harvick] was just so fast,” Keselowski said.  “I’ve got a couple small ideas but…we’ve got some work to do.  Kevin’s just super-fast on the straightaways, but doesn’t really give up anything in the corner.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Kyle Busch

6. Denny Hamlin

7. Chase Elliott

8. Joey Logano

9. Bubba Wallace

10. Kurt Busch

11. Erik Jones

12. Jimmie Johnson

13. Christopher Bell

14. William Byron

15. Matt DiBenedetto

16. Aric Almirola

17. Matt Kenseth

18. Tyler Reddick

19. Clint Bowyer

20. Chris Buescher

21. Alex Bowman

22. Corey LaJoie

23. Ty Dillon

24. Daniel Suarez

25. Ryan Preece

26. JJ Yeley

27. Quin Houff

28. Ryan Newman

29. Michael McDowell

30. Reed Sorenson

31. Austin Dillon

32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

33. Timmy Hill

34. Cole Custer

35. Garrett Smithley

36. John Hunter Nemechek

37. Brennan Poole

38. James Davison

39. Joey Gase

Photos courtesy Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Keselowski Dominant in New Hampshire

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Brad Keselowski won the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon for his third win of 2020.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Keselowski had a fast car all day, and battled Denny Hamlin throughout most of the race.  The two drivers restarted up front to begin the final stage of the race, and Keselowski was able to get to the lead and pull away from Hamlin.

Keselowski said his team has pushed him to continue to elevate his performance this season.

“I probably needed a kick in the ass,” Keselowski said.  “This whole team’s been a kick in the butt for me; they make me a little better.”

Keselowski led a race-high 189 laps on Sunday, including the final 80 laps.

After the dominant performance, Keselowski said a run like this was what his team needed to contend.

“We’ve had a lot of great races this year with the 2 car,” Keselowski said.  “We just hadn’t really gone out and dominated a race.  We’re right there…I’m in a great spot here and hungry for more wins.”

“I don’t want to stop here.  I want us to keep going and I know this team can do it.”

Unofficial results:

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Denny Hamlin

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Joey Logano

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Matt DiBenedetto

7. Aric Almirola

8. Cole Custer

9. Chase Elliott

10. Tyler Reddick

11. William Byron

12. Jimmie Johnson

13. Austin Dillon

14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

15. Alex Bowman

16. Ryan Preece

17. Kurt Busch

18. Clint Bowyer

19. Michael McDowell

20. Ryan Blaney

21. Ryan Newman

22. Ty Dillon

23. Bubba Wallace

24. Erik Jones

25. Chris Buescher

26. Daniel Suarez

27. Brennan Poole

28. Christopher Bell

29. JJ Yeley

30. James Davison

31. Garrett Smithley

32. Quin Houff

33. Timmy Hill

34. Joey Gase

35. Corey LaJoie

36. John Hunter Nemechek

37. Matt Kenseth

38. Kyle Busch

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Hamlin Wins at Kansas

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the Super Start Batteries 400 from Kansas Speedway on Thursday night for his fifth win of the season.

Hamlin had a fast car throughout the night, but had to chase down Kevin Harvick following the final restart.  After pulling away, Brad Keselowski slowly reeled Hamlin back in.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Hamlin was able to hold off Keselowski over the final 12 laps to pick up his second-consecutive Kansas victory.

Hamlin said he was able to make his car work where Harvick’s couldn’t to get the win.

“I saw [Harvick] getting loose,” Hamlin said.  “Usually when you’re loose, you aren’t able to run up high, and that was the benefit for us to be able to get that momentum going.”

Hamlin said he feels he has a perfect team that can help him win any weekend.

“We can win any given week and that’s something that’s really hard to come by,” Hamlin said.  “I don’t know if we had the best car; we definitely had a Top 3 car all day, but just went and got it there at the end.”

Keselowski took four tires during the final caution while Hamlin only took two, but Keselowski ran out of laps to chase Hamlin down.

Keselowski said the Joe Gibbs Racing cars were too good on restarts, which ended up being the difference.

“We were pretty equal; [Hamlin] had two tires, I had four tires, but he was just really strong on restarts,” Keselowski said.  “He and the Gibbs cars could pull everybody by about a car length on the restarts, and they did a great job taking advantage of it.”

“Thought [we were] even on the racetrack, just a little bit behind on the restarts.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Erik Jones

6. Aric Almirola

7. Cole Custer

8. Alex Bowman

9. Kurt Busch

10. William Byron

11. Kyle Busch

12. Chase Elliott

13. Tyler Reddick

14. Clint Bowyer

15. Ty Dillon

16. Michael McDowell

17. Matt Kenseth

18. Daniel Suarez

19. John Hunter Nemechek

20. Ryan Blaney

21. Corey LaJoie

22. JJ Yeley

23. Christopher Bell

24. Quin Houff

25. Josh Bilicki

26. Garrett Smithley

27. Austin Dillon

28. Ryan Newman

29. Joey Gase

30. Brennan Poole

31. Reed Sorenson

32. Jimmie Johnson

33. Chris Buescher

34. Ryan Preece

35. Joey Logano

36. Matt DiBenedetto

37. Bubba Wallace

38. Timmy Hill

39. BJ McLeod

40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Keselowski Wins at Bristol as Elliott and Logano Falter

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Brad Keselowski won the Supermarket Heroes 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Keselowski started on the pole, but he had to come from behind on the final restart.  Keselowski was running third when Chase Elliott and Joey Logano got together racing for the lead.  After inheriting the lead, Keselowski held off Clint Bowyer to pick up his second race win since NASCAR returned from the Coronavirus shutdown.

Keselowski said the victory was a testament to his team’s attitude throughout the race.

“Things have been going our way, from the luck of the draw on qualifying to the last few laps there,” Keselowski said.  “I’m so happy for the team; this is a never give up effort, and that’s what we’re becoming as a team.”

Keselowski said a late-race pit call helped put him in position to take advantage of the incident between the leaders.

“Right at the end, we came in and took tires on the lefts,” Keselowski said.  “I could see Joey and Chase, they were getting really racy there.  I knew if I just kept my eye open something good might happen, and sure enough it did.”

Elliott led the field to the final restart, but Logano was able to get by with four laps to go.  Elliott drove under Logano racing for the lead, and the two got together and hit the wall.

Elliott said his car got loose under Logano trying to get to victory lane.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

“I think I just got loose and got up into him,” Elliott said.  “Trying to get a run underneath him…as soon as I turned off the wall, I had zero chance in making it.”

“I feel like that was my shot.  I hate we both wrecked, but you can’t go back in time now.  I’ll certainly take the blame.”

Logano got out of his car on pit road and had a heated discussion with Elliott after the incident. 

Logano said he was upset with the way Elliott handled the wreck.

“He wrecked me; he got loose underneath me,” Logano said.  “The part that’s frustrating is afterwards…I had to force an apology, which to me is childish.”

Unofficial results:

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Clint Bowyer

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Kyle Busch

5. Erik Jones

6. Austin Dillon

7. Kurt Busch

8. William Byron

9. Christopher Bell

10. Bubba Wallace

11. Kevin Harvick

12. Ryan Preece

13. John Hunter Nemechek

14. Michael McDowell

15. Ryan Newman

16. Matt Kenseth

17. Denny Hamlin

18. Daniel Suarez

19. Timmy Hill

20. Martin Truex Jr.

21. Joey Logano

22. Chase Elliott

23. Chris Buescher

24. Brennan Poole

25. JJ Yeley

26. Garrett Smithley

27. Quin Houff

28. BJ McLeod

29. Aric Almirola

30. Gray Gaulding

31. Matt DiBenedetto

32. Corey LaJoie

33. Joey Gase

34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

35. Cole Custer

36. Tyler Reddick

37. Alex Bowman

38. Bayley Currey

39. Ty Dillon

40. Ryan Blaney

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images