Nationwide - Keselowski Stretches His Fuel Mileage to Win at Kentucky

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Brad Keselowski dominated Friday night's Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway, leading 132 of the 200 laps, but it came down to fuel mileage at the end.  Keselowski conserved enough to take the checkered flag.

Keselowski's only real challenge came from Kevin Harvick, who was also in fuel conservation mode.  But Harvick's crew made a crucial mistake in the closing laps, calling Harvick to the pits for fuel, then changing their minds at the last minute and telling him to stay out.  A car had spun out and they were looking for a caution that never came.  Harvick couldn't make up the lost time, allowing Keselowski to cruise to a 1.180-second victory.

It was Keselowski's first win of the season and the 13th of his career.  It was his first win at Kentucky Speedway in his fourth start.

On Lap 134, Robert Richardson spun and backed into the wall to bring out the fifth and final caution of the race.  Keselowski took fuel only and was the first off of pit road.  Keselowski pulled away on the restart and led the rest of the way.

Kyle Busch started in the rear of the field after wrecking in practice and switching to his backup car.  He quickly worked his way toward the front, but never challenged Keselowski and Harvick.  He finished third, followed by Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler.  (Race results)

Sadler took over the lead in the series points standings from Reed Sorenson, who finished 17th.  Sorenson had pit troubles earlier in the race, leaving the pits with the track bar wrench still in the back of the car.  Sadler now leads Sorenson by four points.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-27) is third, followed by Justin Allgaier (-43) and Jason Leffler (-73).

Cup -- Keselowski's Fuel Strategy Pays Off at Kansas

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Brad Keselowski's fuel strategy paid off with a win in Sunday's STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.  Keselowski got 57 laps out of his final tank of gas and finished 2.813 seconds ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Just like last week's Sprint Cup race at Charlotte, a long green flag run at the end made it a fuel mileage race.  And also like last week, Earnhardt came up on the wrong end of the fuel strategy game.  Junior ran out of gas on the way to the win at Charlotte and coasted home with in seventh place.  This week, he finished second waiting for Keselowski to run out.

It was Keselowski's second Cup win; he got his first win at Talladega in April 2009, sixty races ago.  His previous best finish at Kansas Speedway was 13th in 2009.

Earnhardt should have had enough gas to move up and put some pressure on Keselowski.  Earnhardt made his last stop on Lap 215, five laps later than Keselowski.  But he was in fuel conservation mode at the end and didn't try to force the issue.  The same was true of  Denny Hamlin, who, like Earnhardt, also ran out of gas at Charlotte.  Hamlin also had to conserve at the end and finished third.

Jeff Gordon finished fourth.  Carl Edwards was fifth.  They were the top finishers among those that had to top off with gas in the closing laps.  (Race results) 

Tony Stewart appeared to have the winning strategy.  He pitted on the same lap as Keselowski and had a big lead, but his crew finally decided they didn't get enough gas in the car.  He pitted for a splash in the closing laps and finished eighth.

Polesitter Kurt Busch dominated, leading 152 of the 267 laps, including most of the latter stage of the race.  He didn't get the caution he was looking for, and his final splash of gas gave him a ninth-place finish.

Edwards's lead in the series points standings got four points larger.  He now leads Jimmie Johnson by 40 points.  Earnhardt moved into third place, just one point behind Johnson.  After an eleventh-place finish, Kevin Harvick dropped two spots to fourth, 43 points behind Edwards.  Kyle Busch is fifth, 60 points back.

Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman round out the Top Ten.  Hamlin is eleventh, just one point behind Newman, and Greg Biffle is just five points out.  Jeff Gordon could claim one wildcard spot in the Chase.  Keselowski is now seven points behind Paul Menard to crack the Top Twenty; if so, Sunday's win would make him eligible for the other wildcard spot.

NASCAR: NNS -- Gateway: 5-Hour Energy 250 Results

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When the caution came out in the closing laps of Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Gateway International Raceway, Brad Keselowski came to pit road and took four tires.  The gamble paid off as he was able to slice through the competition to win the 5-Hour Energy 250.

Keselowski appeared to be on his way to a second-place finish behind his Penske Racing teammate Justin Allgaier when Danica Patrick spun into the wall after contact from Stephen Wallace.  The top three cars -- Allgaier, Keselowski and Carl Edwards -- took four tires and lined up for the restart behind Reed Sorenson and Josh Wise, who stayed out, and Mike Bliss and Jason Leffler, who took two tires.  Bliss got into the rear of Sorenson and got him loose, then got by him for the lead.  Keselowski pulled even with Bliss with the white flag in sight.  His four tires beat Bliss's two through Turns One and Two and he pulled away to win by 0.227 seconds.

It was Keselowski's 12th career Nationwide win, his fifth of the season and his first at Gateway.  He had victory in sight in the July race at Gateway, but Carl Edwards punted him into the wall in the final turns, and he finished 14th.

They were three abreast for third place with Allgaier, who led a race-high 88 (of 200) laps, nosing ahead of Leffler and Edwards.  (Race results)

With the win, Keselowski has all but locked up the Nationwide Series championship.  He now leads Edwards by an insurmountable 485 points with just three races remaining.  In fact, Keselowski will clinch the championship in two weeks at Texas if he finishes just nine points better than Edwards.  He can also clinch at Texas just by finishing 20th or better.  (Points standings)

Keselowski and Edwards started in the back of the field after relief drivers qualified their cars for them.  They were busy with Cup practice and qualifying at Martinsville, and showed up just long enough to race.  They both quickly worked their way through the field.  Keselowski took the lead for the first time on Lap 77.  He led four times for 83 laps.

At the midpoint of the race, Scott Wimmer and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got loose coming out of Turn Four.  That triggered an 11-car melee that sent nine cars to the garage.  The race was red-flagged for about 20 minutes to clean up the mess.

This might have been the final NASCAR race at Gateway International Raceway.  Dover Motorsports, who owns the track, is looking for a buyer and has not requested any racing dates for 2011.

NASCAR: NNS -- Charlotte: Dollar General 300 Results

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Brad Keselowski pulled away from the rest of the field on a restart with eight laps to go to easily win Friday night's Nationwide race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  It was Keselowski's eleventh career win in the series, his fifth win of the season and the second in the new Nationwide car.  It was Keselowski's first win at Charlotte.

Keselowski inherited the lead when his crew opted for track position over new tires and he stayed out during a caution on Lap 154 (of 200).  Other than a brief battle for the lead with Martin Truex Jr. and a couple of late restarts, he had no problem running the last 56 laps on the same set of tires.

Keselowski crossed the finish line 1.137 seconds ahead of Truex.  Justin Allgaier was third.  Joey Logano was fourth.  Clint Bowyer had the car to challenge Keselowski for the win, but had to rally to finish fifth after a pit road speeding penalty on his final stop.  Kyle Busch lead a race-high 84 laps, but faded at the end to finish sixth.  (Race results)

That Lap 154 caution, where Keselowski inherited the lead and Bowyer got his speeding penalty, was a strange call by NASCAR to correct a mistake.  Brian Scott was given a pass-through penalty for a missing lugnut on Lap 146.  When NASCAR officials later determined that there was no missing lugnut, they called the caution to give Scott a chance to get his lap back.  Kevin Harvick claimed that the "ghost caution" ruined his strategy and his chance of winning.  Harvick fell back on the restart, later pitted for fresh tires and finished tenth.  Scott spun out on the front straightaway on Lap 182 to bring out the seventh caution and finished 28th.

Danica Patrick finished 21st, her best showing in nine Nationwide starts.  JR Motorsports announced Friday that Patrick will compete in the first four races of the 2011 Nationwide season, including her first trip to Bristol Motor Speedway.  She will run a similar schedule to this year's 13-race campaign.

There's no drama in the Nationwide title race now.  Go ahead and start engraving Keselowski's name on the trophy.  He now leads Carl Edwards, who finished 13th, by 450 points with just four races remaining.  (Points standings)

Related articles

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NASCAR: NNS -- Kansas: Kansas Lottery 300 Results

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Joey Logano got by Kyle Busch on the next-to-last restart with seven laps remaining, and a big push from Brad Keselowski on the final restart helped him seal the deal in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway.

Mike Wallace was a few laps short on fuel, but seemed to be trying to stretch it to the end.  He finally thought better of it and pitted after Trevor Bayne spun off in Turn Two to bring out the seventh caution of the afternoon.  That gave the lead to Busch on the restart, but Logano got inside of him and forced him up the track.  Busch had to lift and Logano took the lead, but Aric Almirola crashed in Turns Three and Four one lap later to set up the final restart with just two laps to go.

Logano took the high line and got a big push from Brad Keselowski to stay in front of Busch and the rest of the field for the win.  It was Logano's eighth career Nationwide win, his second of the season, and his second in just three starts at Kansas.

Keselowski got by Busch off the final corner to take second.  Busch finished third, followed by Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. fifth.  (Race results)

Busch, who led a race-high 64 laps, showed his displeasure with Logano's pass by bumping him in the rear after the final caution flew.

Keselowski extended his lead in the points standings to 374 points over Carl Edwards, who finished 14th.  That's an almost insurmountable lead with just six races remaining in the season.

Ricky Carmichael made his Nationwide Series debut, finishing 18th.

NASCAR: Richmond - NNS: Virginia 529 College Savings 250 Results

Image by Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway via FlickrKevin Harvick held off a hard-charging Brad Keselowski to pick up the victory in Friday night's Nationwide Series race at Richmond, the Virginia 529 College Savings 250.  It was Harvick's third Nationwide win of the year and the 37th of his career, third all time in the series.  It was Harvick's fifth Nationwide win at Richmond, tying him with Mark Martin for most series wins at the track.

It was an impressive performance by Harvick and Keselowski, the series points leader, in the third race in the new Nationwide car.  Harvick led a race-high 170 laps.  Keselowski fell two laps down around the midpoint of the race due to problems on pit road, but rallied to take the lead from Kyle Busch on Lap 163 (of 250).  Harvick took the lead from Keselowski on Lap 197, and held him off the rest of the way.  It was a close thing though.  Lapped traffic allowed Keselowski to close in on Harvick in the final laps and challenge him for the win.  Harvick slapped the wall on the next-to-last lap, but managed to hang on and cross the finish line 0.256 seconds ahead of Keselowski.

Trevor Bayne finished third, tying a career best in the series.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fourth, followed by Reed Sorenson.  (Race results)

Kyle Busch was going for a record 11th Nationwide Series win of the season, but had problems on a pit stop on Lap 205.  The nozzle broke off on one of the gas cans and Busch drove away with it still stuck in the car.  Penalized for taking equipment from the pits, Busch restarted 21st, but rallied to finish ninth.

Keselowski increased his lead in the Nationwide point standings to 373 over Carl Edwards, who finished tenth.