It was a race Erik Jones lost when he hit the wrong switch on his dashboard, killed the engine and slowed under caution late in the race.
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Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick – 599; B. Keselowski – 595; Kurt Busch – 583; C. Edwards – 566; J. Logano – 533; Kyle Busch – 521; M. Truex Jr. The Sprint Cup Series teams already had their work cut out for them thanks to the track’s repaved surface and the new aerodynamic package NASCAR is trying this weekend.
Brad Keselowski’s calm demeanor was never more evident than his cool response to a tense moment.
Brad Keselowski became the first three-time victor at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night, overtaking Kevin Harvick on lap 201 and holding on for a NASCAR Cup series victory.
Jones passed Busch coming out of Turn 4 with 25 laps to go.
Keselowski didn’t have enough fuel to do donuts and had to be pushed to victory lane. I just didn’t think it was going to carry the speed like the inside would.
“As you saw, some of the guys running fifth or sixth peeled off with maybe 15-16 to go and then it was kind of decision time on what do we do. But there’s nothing you can about it, and freaking out ain’t going to help anything”.
Keselowski took the lead from Kevin Harvick after a restart on lap 200 and held it the rest of the way, except for Lap 261, when Matt Kenseth took the top spot and immediately came to pit road for fuel.
Harvick hasn’t won since the fourth race at Phoenix, but has posted 13 top-10 finishes in 17 starts.
Daniel Suarez finished third after chasing Busch to the final yellow flag, then losing the runner-up spot to Dillon on the last restart. “It’s been a long, long time for the JGR XFINITY Series program and for me it’s been a long time”. He crossed the line 0.175 seconds ahead for his series-leading fourth race win of the season and second in the past seven days. The Penske Racing driver pitted just four times and made the most of his gas tank down to the last drop, withstanding one last charge from Edwards. Those final laps were still nerve-wracking for Wolfe, but he’s been in this situation before with Keselowski and things have turned out well. “It’s a testament to our guys to have the fuel mileage that we did to be able to get back what I burnt early in the run”.
“I don’t think there’s a driver here that didn’t have a handful at some point in Turn 3 tonight”, Newman said. With higher banking in Turns 1 and 2, drivers were able to attain top speeds down the back straightaway mindful that doing so set them up for disaster in the reconfigured, flatter Turn 3. He lamented the smoothing of front-stretch bumps that he said added character to Kentucky, but he quickly adapted to the improvements and new NASCAR rules that reduced downforce and sideforce.
– At Newton, Iowa, Simon Pagenaud will start on the pole for the fifth time this season at Sunday’s IndyCar series race at Iowa Speedway. Competition and track officials took as many measures as possible to synthetically age the track, but the racing groove remained a narrow path for the duration of the 267-lap race, making passing a dicey proposition and contributing to 11 yellow flags, a figure that tied a track record.
“I thought he (Keselowski) was out of fuel, and he wasn’t”, said Edwards after the race.
HARD HIT: Logano’s No. 22 Ford was knocked out after hitting the wall, an impact that left him 38th and red-faced. “It’s just the way it goes, I guess”.
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Cup cars will feature a different Goodyear tire package from last months test after the manufacturer noticed blistering afterward.
