|
 Busch climbed two spots in the championship points standings from
37th to 35th, 87 points behind 30th-place driver Cole Whitt.
Busch has to be in the top 30 by the end of the 26-race regular
season for his two wins to get him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup
championship. He has eight more races to make up the deficit.
Joey Logano finished second and Busch's Joe Gibbs Racing teammates
-- Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth -- finished third,
fourth and fifth to give JGR four spots in the top five of the
finishing order.
NASCAR debuted a new track-specific aerodynamic package for the
Quaker State 400. The aim of the package was to decrease downforce
with the goal of improving the on-track product.
The changes came, at least in part, as a result of suggestions made
by a newly formed drivers council.
The package for Kentucky included a shorter spoiler height of 3.5
inches (down from six inches), a splitter extention panel -- or
radiator pan -- of 25 inches (down from 38 inches) and a decrease of
1.75 inches in splitter overhang.
"I know we've said it many times, and certainly want to reinforce it
here, that we're committed to putting on the best racing on the
track, and I'm certainly pleased that it's been evident from,
really, every conversation we've had with our industry that they
feel the same way," NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing
development officer Steve O'Donnell said.
Sprint Cup competitors had limited time to get used to the new
aerodynamic package for the Kentucky race. NASCAR scheduled a
four-hour test for Wednesday and extra practice time Thursday and
Friday. Wednesday's test session was cancelled because of rain and
so was all of the Sprint Cup Series practice on Thursday.
Teams got on track for 50 minutes of practice Friday before rain set
in again. NASCAR then made the call to cancel qualifying hours
before it was even scheduled to get underway, deciding that if the
track was dry well before the evening's scheduled Xfinity Series
race, that time would best be used for Sprint Cup Series practice to
give teams additional opportunities to adjust to the new rules
package.
Weather did allow for additional practice time for Cup teams on
Friday evening.
Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski were the beneficiaries of front-row
starting spots after posting the two fastest lap time during the
initial practice on Friday.
Keselowski combined with Busch to lead all but one lap in the first
half of the race. Keselowski took the lead at the start of the race,
but a four-tire strategy during a lap 30 competition caution while
the front-runners took two sent Keselowski to 11th for the restart
and Busch restarted up front with Hamlin and Logano in second and
third.
Keselowski quickly worked his way toward the front and was up to
second and closing on Busch by the time a yellow flag waved on lap
82.
Before the caution, Hamlin was forced into an unscheduled pit stop
by a tire issue and was then caught speeding on pit road. The
stop-and-go penalty put him down two laps, but after several
cautions, he was back on the lead lap and able to work his way back
toward the front.
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
also had problems in the first half of the race.
Johnson battled handling issues that were bad enough to send him
down pit road twice during the lap 82 caution.
Earnhardt battled brake issues that plagued him throughout the race,
causing a caution on lap 135 and then making contact with Danica
Patrick just past lap 200 to bring out another yellow flag.
[to top of second column] |
Like Hamlin, Johnson was able to recover, at least well enough to
finish ninth.
Keselowski got back to the lead on lap 96 but again lost positions
on pit road during a caution on lap 122. He restarted 10th after his
front tire carrier slipped in front of his car. Keselowski then hit
the tire as he pulled out of his pit stall.
Busch restarted up front, this time with Martin Truex Jr. alongside
in second. Edwards got up to second just before the next yellow flag
on lap 143. And when the race restarted, Keselowski was back up tho
third. A few laps later, he took second from Edwards.
Pit strategy again sent Keselowski back through the field when the
yellow flag waved on lap 153. While others stayed out, Keselowski
pitted and restarted 18th.
As Busch continued to run up front, Keselowski made his way back
through the field and was back inside the top five on lap 181.
Ryan Newman stayed out while everyone else pitted to lead two laps
during a lap 186 caution, but when the race returned to green,
Newman dropped back through the field and Busch retook the lead and
Hamlin moved into second.
Busch, Hamlin and Edwards waged a three-way battle for the lead
after a lap 208 caution that was won by Hamlin. Busch also lost
second to Logano.
Logano moved to the front on a restart after the 11th and final
caution of the race with 47 laps to go. Busch got back up to second
and battled Logano for the lead with 20 laps to go. After racing
back and forth for a few laps, Busch was able to retake the top spot
for good.
Keselowski finished sixth despite sensing a possible tire issue late
in the race. Jeff Gordon placed seventh and Kevin Harvick was
eighth. Kurt Busch finished behind Johnson in 10th.
The 11 yellow flags resulted in a track record, surpassing the
previous record high of 10 cautions at Kentucky Speedway.
NOTES: The new aero package introduced at Kentucky Speedway featured
a shorter spoiler height (3.5 inches), a 25-inch extension panel or
radiator pan and a 1.75-inch decrease in splitter overhang. ... Brad
Keselowski won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Friday night at
Kentucky Speedway. Other Sprint Cup regulars in the Xfinity Series
race included third-place finisher Kyle Busch, sixth-place finisher
Paul Menard and eighth-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr. ...
Keselowski headed into this year's Quaker State 400 as the only
driver with multiple Sprint Cup wins at Kentucky with two victories
in the first four races, including a dominating performance in last
year's event. Other previous winners are Matt Kenseth and Kyle
Busch. ... Heading into the 2015 season, Kentucky Speedway remained
the only track on the current Sprint Cup Series schedule at which
Jeff Gordon was still winless. ... The Quaker State 400 marks Danica
Patrick's 100th career Sprint Cup Series start, making her the first
woman to reach that milestone.
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