Keselowski Wins Texas Xfinity Race, Gives Owner Championship to Team Penske

David Kent/TNS

FORT WORTH, TX – RIS – Brad Keselowski won the Xfinity race at Texas Motor Speedway with a fast car and a little bit of luck. Keselowski grabbed the lead from Coors Light Polesitter Austin Dillon on Lap 189 of 200 after a restart with 16 laps left in the race. The No. 22 Ford finished 1.137 seconds ahead of the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Kevin Harvick, who passed Dillon for the runner-up spot with four laps left.

The victory was Keselowski's second of the season, his second at the 1.5-mile speedway and the 34th of his career. The eighth win of the season for the No. 22 Ford (accomplished by Keselowski and teammates Ryan Banley and Joey Logano) clinched the third straight Xfinity Series owner's championship for Roger Penske’s Team Penske.

"To get our team owner, Roger Penske, No. 4 as far as championships go, I'm really proud of that," said Keselowski, who also won a series title as a driver in 2010. "When I came to Team Penske in 2010, we didn't have any, and now we have four in five years, so I'm really proud of that accomplishment."

In his last four starts at Texas, Keselowski has won twice and finished second twice. In his last 12 Xfinity Series starts at this track, Keselowski has posted 11 finishes of seventh or better.

In the early going, Harvick and all-time victory leader Kyle Busch dominated the opening laps and came to pit road running 1-2, respectively, for pit stops under caution on Lap 79, but a broken shifter proved Busch's undoing, as his No. 54 Toyota was limited to fourth gear and fell out of the running for the victory. Under that same caution, the second of the race, Harvick returned to pit road twice because of a loose wheel and spent the bulk of a subsequent 34-lap green-flag run regaining the positions he lost.

Kyle Larson also took a turn at the front of the field, leading 50 laps before a tire rub finally popped his left rear on Lap 176 and sent his No. 42 Chevrolet and out of the lead, handing the top spot to Harvick, who was in close pursuit.

Harvick came to pit road with the lead but left in third place under caution on Lap 181, leaving Keselowski and Dillon to battle for the top position after a restart on Lap 185.

"First off, Austin Dillon was really good and he was one of the toughest guys to beat," Keselowski said in Victory Lane. "He ran a heck of a race. Harvick looked really good, Kyle Busch looked really good and Kyle Larson I thought was going to run away with the race until he had that flat.

"There was a lot of competition out there today, and that makes this win very special for the whole Discount Tire Ford team." 

Erik Jones ran fourth behind Keselowski, Harvick and Austin Dillon, with Ty dillon taking the fifth spot. Chris Beuscher came home 11th but moved closer to the series title. With two races left, he leads eighth-place finisher and reigning series champ Chase Elliott by 24 points.

"It isn't comfortable yet," Buescher warned. "It is a cushion that we have, and I guess you average that out to 12 spots per race, so if we go out and finish top-10 the last two, we should be in good shape. That would be cutting it too close for comfort, but we need to just have some solid runs the next two weeks."

The next two weeks means Phoenix and the final race at Homestead, Florida.  With a shrinking lead, the next two weeks can’t get here soon enough for Beuscher.

Unofficial Race Results: 11th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, Texas Motor Speedway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Lap, Pts, BPts, Status, TLd, LLd
1) 2, Brad Keselowski(i), No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, 200, 0, , Running, 6, 62
2) 8, Kevin Harvick(i), No. 88 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet, 200, 0, , Running, 2, 24
3) 1, Austin Dillon(i), No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet, 200, 0, , Running, 2, 54
4) 3, Erik Jones(i), No. 20 GameStop/Call of Duty Black Ops III Toyota, 200, 0, , Running, ,
5) 9, Ty Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet, 200, 39, , Running, ,
6) 5, Daniel Suarez #, No. 18 ARRIS Toyota, 200, 38, , Running, ,
7) 11, Brian Scott, No. 2 Albertsons/Sanderson Farms Chevrolet, 200, 37, , Running, ,
8) 10, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 200, 36, , Running, ,
9) 4, Regan Smith, No. 7 Suave Men Chevrolet, 200, 35, , Running, ,
10) 14, Elliott Sadler, No. 1 OneMain Financial Ford, 200, 34, , Running, ,
11) 12, Chris Buescher, No. 60 AdvoCare Ford, 200, 33, , Running, ,
12) 13, Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 South Point Chevrolet, 200, 32, , Running, ,
13) 18, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Uncle Bob's Self Storage Chevrolet, 200, 32, 1, Running, 1, 1
14) 6, Kyle Busch(i), No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 200, 0, , Running, 2, 6
15) 17, Ryan Reed, No. 16 Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford, 200, 29, , Running, ,
16) 24, Ross Chastain #, No. 4 teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet, 200, 28, , Running, ,
17) 20, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 AllSouthElectric.com/RepairableVehicles Chev, 200, 27, , Running, ,
18) 19, Dakoda Armstrong, No. 43 WinField Ford, 200, 27, 1, Running, 1, 3
19) 7, Darrell Wallace Jr. #, No. 6 Fastenal Ford, 199, 25, , Running, ,
20) 23, Ryan Truex, No. 98 Carroll Shelby Engine Company Ford, 199, 24, , Running, ,
21) 25, Blake Koch, No. 8 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Toyota, 198, 23, , Running, ,
22) 21, Landon Cassill, No. 01 teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet, 198, 22, , Running, ,
23) 15, JJ Yeley, No. 28 JGL Racing Toyota, 197, 21, , Running, ,
24) 26, Mason Mingus(i), No. 97 VroomBrands Chevrolet, 195, 0, , Running, ,
25) 32, David Starr, No. 44 Zachry Toyota, 194, 19, , Running, ,
26) 30, Joey Gase, No. 52 Donate Life Texas Chevrolet, 193, 18, , Running, ,
27) 22, Ray Black Jr.(i), No. 15 Burnie Grill Chevrolet, 192, 0, , Running, ,
28) 33, Eric McClure, No. 24 Reynolds Wrap Toyota, 190, 16, , Running, ,
29) 38, Martin Roy, No. 90 Gamache Truck Center Chevrolet, 190, 15, , Running, ,
30) 29, Derrike Cope, No. 70 Ehydrate/MD Resort Chevrolet, 189, 14, , Running, ,
31) 37, Derek White, No. 13 Braille Battery/Grafoid Chevrolet, 188, 13, , Running, ,
32) 39, Mike Harmon, No. 74 Hunky Monkey Clothing Company Dodge, 180, 12, , Running, ,
33) 16, Kyle Larson(i), No. 42 ParkerStore Chevrolet, 178, 0, , Accident, 3, 50
34) 35, Harrison Rhodes #, No. 0 teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet, 102, 10, , Engine, ,
35) 31, Morgan Shepherd, No. 89 Courtney Construction Chevrolet, 42, 9, , Handling, ,
36) 28, Mike Bliss, No. 14 Toyota, 40, 8, , Transmission, ,
37) 36, Josh Reaume #, No. 40 Braille Battery/Grafoid Dodge, 14, 7, , Suspension, ,
38) 27, TJ Bell(i), No. 26 JGL Racing Toyota, 12, 0, , Electrical, ,
39) 40, Mario Gosselin, No. 92 BuckedUp Chevrolet, 9, 5, , Vibration, ,
40) 34, Jeff Green, No. 19 Premier Barter Exchange Toyota, 4, 4, , Transmission, ,

# = Rookie, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led.
Average Speed: 139.607 MPH, Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 08 Mins, 56 Secs., Margin of Victory: 1.137 Seconds
Lead Changes: 17 among 7 drivers, Cautions: 4 for 23 laps