Brad Keselowski pits during Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway. Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images
When you win a rain-shortened race, you can’t do a burnout – but Brad Keselowski certainly tried.
After being declared the winner of Friday night’s Feed the Children 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway, 30 laps short of the scheduled finish, Keselowski did donuts on the frontstrtech, minus the usual smoke because of the wet, slippery asphalt.
The win was by no means a fluke, because as the race progressed, Keselowski’s car identified itself as the clear class of the field. He took the lead for good on lap 156, seven laps before NASCAR called the final caution for rain.
The victory was Keselowski’s second of the season and the 22nd of his career.
“I didn’t want it to end this way, but we had a great car,” Keselowski said. “This is the type of car you get like once a year—if you’re lucky. In driving this car I felt like Jimmie Johnson. This is a rocket.”
Elliott Sadler finished second, followed by Matt Crafton, who was making his Nationwide debut. Brian Vickers ran fourth, with Kyle Busch finishing fifth.
A caution on lap 141 for Carl Long’s spin in turn 4 gave the lead-lap cars a chance to pit for enough fuel to finish the race, but varying tire strategies scrambled the field for a restart on ;ap 146. Matt Crafton, who took fuel only, led the field to green but quickly yielded to Sadler, who took right-side tires only on pit road.
Eleven laps into the run, Keselowski, on four fresh tires, passed Sadler for the top spot. By then he had already put significant distance between his No. 22 Ford and the No. 54 Toyota of Busch, who lost 10 positions on pit road after sliding through his pit stall under the caution.
On lap 163, NASCAR threw the fifth caution of the race when a brief rain shower hit the track. After seven laps under caution, the rain intensified, and NASCAR ordered the cars to pit road and red-flagged the race after lap 170 — 30 laps short of the scheduled finish — at 9:44 p.m.
“I don’t want to win a rain race—I want to race!” Keselowski asserted under the stoppage. Keselowski didn’t get his wish, but he got the win.
Notes: Series leader Regan Smith had suspension issues and lost 18 laps in the garage during repairs. His 28-point lead over Justin Allgaier entering the race is now an eight-point advantage over Sam Hornish Jr. (who finished ninth Friday) leaving Kentucky. … Sadler, Vickers, polesitter Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson, the top finishing NNS regulars, qualified for the Nationwide Dash 4 Cash, which starts next week at Daytona.
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Kentucky Speedway – Sparta, KY
Feed The Children 300 – June 28, 2013
1. (19) Brad Keselowski(i), Ford, 170, $83975.
2. (6) Elliott Sadler, Toyota, 170, $61400.
3. (8) Matt Crafton(i), Chevrolet, 170, $49150.
4. (11) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 170, $34150.
5. (5) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 170, $27500.
6. (1) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 170, $30775.
7. (21) Kyle Larson #, Chevrolet, 170, $26175.
8. (18) Nelson Piquet Jr. #, Chevrolet, 170, $23975.
9. (3) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 170, $22950.
10. (10) Alex Bowman #, Toyota, 170, $23275.
11. (17) Kevin Swindell #, Ford, 170, $16200.
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13. (7) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 170, $20800.
14. (16) Brad Sweet, Chevrolet, 170, $20250.
15. (2) Travis Pastrana, Ford, 170, $21200.
16. (12) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 170, $19800.
17. (15) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 169, $19675.
18. (13) Michael Annett, Ford, 169, $19525.
19. (24) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 169, $19400.
20. (20) Johanna Long, Chevrolet, 168, $19775.
21. (27) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 168, $19325.
22. (28) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 168, $19025.
23. (39) Eric McClure, Toyota, 167, $18875.
24. (29) Ken Butler III, Toyota, 167, $18725.
25. (38) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 166, $19075.
26. (33) Bryan Silas(i), Ford, 166, $18475.
27. (23) Jamie Dick, Chevrolet, 165, $18350.
28. (35) Carl Long, Chevrolet, 164, $18225.
29. (34) Harrison Rhodes, Ford, 164, $18075.
30. (14) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 153, $18250.
31. (9) Cole Whitt, Toyota, Transmission, 107, $17825.
32. (32) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Engine, 90, $11700.
33. (22) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, Engine, 52, $17590.
34. (30) Blake Koch, Toyota, Brakes, 16, $11480.
35. (40) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 15, $11359.
36. (25) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, Engine, 14, $16555.
37. (31) JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, Transmission, 10, $10520.
38. (36) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, Vibration, 7, $10486.
39. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 3, $10350.
40. (26) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 3, $10250.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 131.162 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 56 Mins, 39 Secs. Margin of Victory: Caution.
Caution Flags: 5 for 25 laps.
Lead Changes: 12 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Dillon 1-18; K. Busch(i) 19-49; S. Hornish Jr. 50; M. Crafton(i) 51-54; K. Busch(i) 55-93; B. Keselowski(i) 94; K. Busch(i) 95-98; B. Keselowski(i) 99-113; K. Swindell # 114; B. Keselowski(i) 115-142; M. Crafton(i) 143-146; E. Sadler 147-155; B. Keselowski(i) 156-170.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Busch(i) 3 times for 74 laps; B. Keselowski(i) 4 times for 59 laps; A. Dillon 1 time for 18 laps; E. Sadler 1 time for 9 laps; M. Crafton(i) 2 times for 8 laps; S. Hornish Jr. 1 time for 1 lap; K. Swindell # 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 10 in Points: R. Smith – 521; S. Hornish Jr. – 513; J. Allgaier – 510; E. Sadler – 502; A. Dillon – 501; K. Larson # – 477; P. Kligerman – 475; B. Vickers – 473; B. Scott – 466; T. Bayne – 453.
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