Keselowski Wins Third Straight Cup Race in a Wild One at LVMS

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LAS VEGAS, NV – RIS – Brad Keselowski won his third Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race in a row in what turned out to be a wild South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Keselowski used the bottom lane to put a lot of distance between his No. 2 Ford and the rest of the field in a two-lap shootout for the win.

Keselowski came into the 10-race postseason of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with more momentum than any other driver, and this triumph offered further proof that he is one of the primary contenders for the title.

"To start off the playoffs with the win, that's really strong," Keselowski said. "We nailed the pit stops and the restarts when it counted and that put us in position. Really, really proud of the team today."  Twelve playoff drivers were involved in collisions

Kyle Larson placed second while Martin Truex Jr. finished third.

The 34-year-old, sitting fourth in the playoff standings heading into the race, was forced to survive a tumultuous catalog of events that provided thrills and spills at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, before holding off Kyle Larson and defending NASCAR champion Martin Truex Jr. over the closing two-lap overtime period as caution flags flew at the end.

The conditions were brutal of the drivers as temperatures in the car were well over 100 degrees.  Whether that was the cause for the carnage is open to debate, but it sure did not help any.

The race came under yellow three times during the final 20 laps, plus a red-flag stoppage with two laps remaining, leading to overtime. But each time Keselowski was able to answer the bell by blasting clear, especially when it mattered most at the end — as he pushed away from Truex and left him and Larson to battle for second.

Most of the season, many have used Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex, Jr. as the “Big 3,” who have won 16 of the 27 races run thus far.  Keselowski has been bidding to be the fourth member of that clubs now with consecutive wins at Darlington, Indianapolis, and now Ls Vegas.

Harvick, winner of seven races during the year, had his day ruined by a wreck in Turn One of Lap 147, before angrily criticizing the quality of the Goodyear tires in a subsequent television interview, describing the equipment as like a driving version of “Russian roulette.”

His problems also took out unfortunate pole sitter Erik Jones, who was unable to avoid plowing into Harvick on the high line and had his race ended by the resulting damage to put him in increased danger of playoff elimination when the first cut comes in two weeks’ time.

He wasn’t the only one.  A clear majority of the playoff drivers had trouble, and seven-time champ Jimmie Johnson finished 22nd.  Points leader Kyle Busch had been finding things tough all day, then got loose on Lap 232 and found himself on the infield. However, despite never contending for the lead, Busch was able to keep his No. 18 running and ultimately placed seventh thanks to the numerous incidents around him.

In the end, it was Keselowski’s day.  Truex led the most laps at 96, but Keselowski led 75 circuits and the on that matters most. Keselowski’s three wins have been late-race affairs, with Keselowski having great restarts at the end.  Today, he also got good, fast pit stops.

Though this race seemed more like a short track, they go to a real one next weekend at Richmond International Speedway, under the lights.  

Unofficial Race Results for the Inaugural South Point 400 - September 16, 2018
Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Las Vegas, NV - 1.5 Mile Paved

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 13, Brad Keselowski (P), No. 2 Autotrader Ford, 272, , 1, 8, 75, 6, 50, Running
2) 11, Kyle Larson (P), No. 42 DC Solar Vegas Strong Chevrolet, 272, , 10, 4, 24, , 36, Running
3) 10, Martin Truex Jr. (P), No. 78 5-hour ENERGY Toyota, 272, 1, 3, 3, 96, 1, 52, Running
4) 2, Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Pennzoil Ford, 272, 7, 6, 2, 46, , 42, Running
5) 6, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 PPG Ford, 272, , 8, , , , 35, Running
6) 16, Aric Almirola (P), No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 272, 9, , , , , 33, Running
7) 4, Kyle Busch (P), No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 272, 6, , 1, 1, , 35, Running
8) 19, Daniel Suarez, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota, 272, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 22, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Liberty National Chevrolet, 272, 10, , , , , 29, Running
10) 20, Paul Menard, No. 21 Menards/Aquafina Ford, 272, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 18, Austin Dillon (P), No. 3 DOWFROST Chevrolet, 272, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 25, Regan Smith, No. 95 Procore Chevrolet, 272, , , 1, 10, , 25, Running
13) 23, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Rehydrate Ford, 272, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 29, AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger ClickList Chevrolet, 272, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 28, Chris Buescher, No. 37 Natural Light Race Day Resume Chevrolet, 272, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 32, Corey LaJoie, No. 72 Dragonchain Chevrolet, 272, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 36, JJ Yeley(i), No. 23 Steakhouse Elite Toyota, 272, , , , , , 0, Running
18) 37, Landon Cassill(i), No. 00 StarCom Fiber Chevrolet, 272, , , , , , 0, Running
19) 9, Alex Bowman (P), No. 88 Valvoline Chevrolet, 271, 3, 9, , , , 28, Running
20) 34, Ross Chastain(i), No. 15 Xchange of America Chevrolet, 271, , , , , , 0, Running
21) 8, Kurt Busch (P), No. 41 Haas Automation Ford, 271, 4, 2, , , , 32, Running
22) 17, Jimmie Johnson (P), No. 48 Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet, 270, , 4, , , , 22, Running
23) 15, Clint Bowyer (P), No. 14 One Cure Ford, 270, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 26, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 32 Zynga Poker Ford, 269, , , , , , 13, Dvp
25) 35, * Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 96 American Soldier Network/Xtreme Concepts Toyota, 269, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 33, * Kyle Weatherman, No. 99 StarCom Fiber Chevrolet, 269, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 27, David Ragan, No. 38 MDS Transport Ford, 268, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 38, BJ McLeod(i), No. 51 Jacob Companies Ford, 268, , , , , , 0, Running
29) 24, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Speedco/Rotella Ford, 265, , , , , , 8, Accident
30) 14, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 SunnyD Ford, 251, , , , , , 7, Accident
31) 40, * Reed Sorenson, No. 7 Chevrolet, 246, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 3, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 245, , , 1, 1, , 5, Accident
33) 39, * Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 Rewards.com Toyota, 231, , , , , , 0, Running
34) 30, Ty Dillon, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 218, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 12, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 GEARWRENCH Chevrolet, 211, , 5, 1, 5, , 8, Accident
36) 7, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 211, 5, 7, , , , 11, Accident
37) 21, William Byron #, No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet, 210, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 31, Bubba Wallace #, No. 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet, 164, , , , , , 1, Front Hub
39) 5, Kevin Harvick (P), No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford, 147, 2, , 2, 14, , 10, Accident
40) 1, Erik Jones (P), No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 147, 8, , , , , 4, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (*) non-charter team

Race Comments: Brad Keselowski won the Inaugural South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his 27th victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: No. 51 (rear gear change), No. 3 (unapproved body modification).
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 28 Mins, 15 Secs.
Total Race Length - 272 Laps - 408 Miles
Average Speed: 111.849 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.276 Seconds
Caution Flags: 12 for 59 laps: Laps: 82-87 (End of Stage 1 [47]);
90-93 (No. 17 Incident Turn 3 [21]);
112-115 (No. 13 Incident Frontstretch [37]);
149-156 (No. 4, 20 Incident Turn 1 [95]);
162-166 (End of Stage 2 [43]);
184-187 (No. 24 Incident Turn 3 [72]);
213-222 (No. 1, 9 Incident Turn 4 [00]);
234-237 (No. 18 Spin Turn 4 [15]);
248-250 (No. 11 Incident Turn 4 [18]);
253-256 (No. 17 Incident Backstretch [15]);
263-265 (Debris in Turn 3 [23]);
267-270 (No. 34, 15, 32, 41, 38 Incident Turn 3 [Red Flag 10:37] [88]).
Lead Changes: 23 among 9 drivers: 0;
J. Logano (P) 1-33;
K. Harvick (P) 34-37;
Kyle Busch (P) 38;
D. Hamlin (P) 39;
R. Smith 40-49;
K. Harvick (P) 50-59;
M. Truex Jr. (P) 60-112;
B. Keselowski (P) 113-124;
M. Truex Jr. (P) 125-150;
B. Keselowski (P) 151-161;
J. McMurray 162-166;
K. Larson (P) 167-177;
B. Keselowski (P) 178-183;
K. Larson (P) 184;
B. Keselowski (P) 185-201;
M. Truex Jr. (P) 202-218;
B. Keselowski (P) 219-221;
J. Logano (P) 222-234;
B. Keselowski (P) 235-237;
K. Larson (P) 238-239;
B. Keselowski (P) 240;
K. Larson (P) 241-250;
B. Keselowski (P) 251-272.
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Brad Keselowski, No. 2 
Busch Pole Award: Erik Jones, No. 20 188.121 mph
Fastest Lap: Joey Logano, No. 22 
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Roush-Yates Engines, No. 2 
Moog Go the Extra Mile: Kyle Larson, No. 42 crew chief Chad Johnston, 0.381 seconds
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: William Byron, No. 24