Keselowski Wins Richmond Race in Duel with Kyle Busch

AP Photo? Steve Helber

RICHMOND, VA - RIS - Brad Keseloski dueled Kyle Busch and won the NASCAR Xfinithy Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond Intenational Raceway on Saturday night.  Keselowski took the lead in traffic from Kyle Busch with 16 laps to and went on to score his second win of the season and 36th career in the series.
 
“I knew Kyle wasn’t going to just let me have it so I had to force something there,” Keselowski said of his winning move. “Whenever you make a pass for the lead and the win by going three-wide it is really damn cool. I am glad to be able to do that with the Fitzgerald Ford. It is good to be back in victory lane.”
 
Keselowski drove his Team Penske Mustang to the first series win using the new composite body that made its debut Friday night.
 

“I am happy to get another win in this series, it is a lot of fun and the first one in these new bodies,” he said. “At least you know it isn’t an aero advantage. A great night at Richmond. I am proud of my whole team.”
 
Keselowski led four times for 34 laps.
 
“He had a better long-run car, every time, every run he was able to get by us after 50, 45 laps, whatever it was,” Busch said. “We were working each other pretty hard there earlier in the run. I thought I beat his tires up, but he was able to come back up through there.”
 
Ty Dillon, Daniel Hemric and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top five. The finish allowed Sadler to lock up the regular season championship and he earned an additional 15 playoff points with the accomplishment.
 
“That was big for us,” Sadler said. “We’ve been working all year to put ourselves in this position We’ve had some really good cars over the last few weeks. We’re looking forward to Chicagoland next weekend.”
 
Christopher Bell, William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brennan Poole completed the first 10 finishers.
 
Cole Custer and Matt Tifft secured playoff spots.
 
The NASCAR Xfinity Series moves to Chicagoland Speedway next Saturday afternoon for the final race of the regular season.

Total Race Length - 250 Laps - 187.5 Miles
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 3 22 Brad Keselowski(i) Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford 250 5 1 0 Running 4 34
2 1 18 Kyle Busch(i) NOS Energy Drink Toyota 250 6 2 0 Running 5 182
3 16 3 Ty Dillon(i) Rheem Chevrolet 250 1 4 0 Running 1 16
4 8 21 Daniel Hemric # Blue Gate Bank Chevrolet 250 4 3 48 Running 1 13
5 11 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Chevrolet 250 7 36 Running
6 14 20 Christopher Bell(i) TOYOTA.com Toyota 250 2 10 0 Running
7 6 9 William Byron # AXALTA Coating Systems Chevrolet 250 9 32 Running
8 9 7 Justin Allgaier Hellmann's Chevrolet 250 10 6 35 Running
9 5 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.(i) Degree Deodorant Chevrolet 250 8 5 0 Running
10 2 48 Brennan Poole DC Solar Chevrolet 249 27 Running
11 7 11 Blake Koch LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 249 26 Running
12 12 16 Ryan Reed Lilly Diabetes Ford 249 25 Running
13 13 19 Matt Tifft # Tunity Toyota 249 24 Running
14 4 00 Cole Custer # Haas Automation Ford 249 7 27 Running
15 18 5 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 249 22 Running
16 15 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet 249 21 Running
17 25 42 Tyler Reddick BBR/Jason Aldean Chevrolet 249 20 Running
18 31 28 Dakoda Armstrong JGL Racing Toyota 249 19 Running
19 10 2 Paul Menard(i) Richmond/Menards Chevrolet 248 9 8 0 Running
20 30 14 JJ Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota 248 17 Running
21 17 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet 248 3 24 Running 1 5
22 23 23 Spencer Gallagher # Allegiant Chevrolet 247 15 Running
23 26 33 Brandon Jones PhoneSkope Chevrolet 247 14 Running
24 20 24 Dylan Lupton Nut Up Toyota 247 13 Running
25 22 98 Casey Mears GEICO Military Ford 246 12 Running
26 19 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 246 11 Running
27 24 90 Brandon Brown Mid Atlantic Wrecker Service/W.G.Speeks Chevrolet 246 10 Running
28 21 4 Ross Chastain teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 245 9 Running
29 35 8 Tommy Joe Martins Circle Track Warehouse Chevrolet 244 8 Running
30 38 01 Harrison Rhodes teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 243 7 Running
31 34 07 Spencer Boyd Grunt Style Chevrolet 242 6 Running
32 39 0 Garrett Smithley teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 241 5 Running
33 36 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge 233 4 Running
34 40 40 Bobby Earnhardt TLC Resorts/Circle S Ranch Chevrolet 229 3 Running
35 29 99 David Starr Steely Lumber Chevrolet 216 2 Clutch
36 28 52 Joey Gase Donate Life Virginia Chevrolet 164 1 Rear Gear
37 37 78 John Graham Magellan Aviation Group Chevrolet 78 1 Rear Gear
38 32 13 Timmy Hill OCR Gaz Bar Dodge 33 1 Overheating
39 33 15 Reed Sorenson(i) Flex Seal Liquid Chevrolet 17 0 Vibration
40 27 93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet 8 1 Electrical
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 55 Mins, 15 Secs. Average Speed: 97.614 MPH Margin of Victory: 3.008 Seconds