Keselowski takes victory in chaotic Talladega race

Autosport

Penske’s Brad Keselowski took a hard-fought NASCAR Sprint Cup win at Talledega ahead of Kyle Busch in was an incident-packed finish around the famous speedway.

Keselowski led in the closing stayed and held his nerve despite a late spate of cautions, the first of which occurred with just over 20 laps left.

As the frontrunners ran close, Jimmy Johnson was turned around by Kurt Busch, who in turn spun into Paul Menard and triggered an incident involving more than a third of the field.

Once those without terminal damage were fixed up in the pitstops cycle, the drivers ran for another handful of laps before the next big wreck came during the closing stages.

Matt Kenseth was pitched skywards and flipped into the infield barrier after contact with Danica Patrick, who took a hard hit into the wall along with Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick.

Kenseth had enjoyed a solid run until then, having set the early pace from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.

The first caution of the day occurred when Dale Earnhardt Jr was spun across into teammate Kasey Kahne, after making adjustments to his car on pit road which made his car loose in the dirty air.

Earnhardt’s day went from bad to worse when he brought out the third caution of the day, after he was tipped into the barrier by Carl Edwards.

The crash put both of them out and ended Edwards’ run of Sprint race wins.

Keselowski was one of a number of drivers to make aggressive moves during the race and, having bided his time in the middle of the pack, got his reward when a run on Kyle Busch on the high part of the track allowed him to slot in ahead.

Polesitter Chase Elliott showed good pace towards the end but was rebuffed by Keselowski and fell back to fifth in the final four-lap sprint, handing the Penske driver a clear run to the chequered flag and allowing Busch to secure second as chaos ensued behind between Harvick, Martin Truex Jr and Ricky Stenhouse among others – with Stenhouse rolling into the barrier.

PosDriverTeamCar
1Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord
2Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
3Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet
4Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet
5Chase ElliottHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
6Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet
7Clint BowyerHScott MotorsportsChevrolet
8Kurt BuschStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet
9Ryan BlaneyWood Brothers RacingFord
10Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord
11Landon CassillFront Row MotorsportsFord
12Michael WaltripPremium MotorsportsToyota
13Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota
14A.J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet
15Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet
16Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord
17David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord
18Cole WhittPremium MotorsportsChevrolet
19Bobby LabonteGo FAS RacingFord
20Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord
21Michael McDowellCircle Sport-Leavine Family RacingChevrolet
22Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
23Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
24Danica PatrickStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet
25Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord
26Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet
27Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord
28Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet
29Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet
30Brian ScottRichard Petty MotorsportsFord
31Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
32Regan SmithTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet
33Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet
34David RaganBK RacingToyota
35Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota
36Matt DiBenedettoBK RacingToyota
37Chris BuescherFront Row MotorsportsFord
38Michael AnnettHScott MotorsportsChevrolet
39Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
40Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
Ty DillonStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet

Keselowski takes victory in chaotic Talladega race

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