The victory, which came in overtime, was the
third in a row for Keselowski and assured him a berth in the
second round of the 10-race, 16-driver playoffs.
"To start off the playoffs with a win is really strong," the
Michigan native said. "Then three in a row and all that great
stuff. It's a testament to this team here."
In the history department, Keselowski handed legendary team
owner Roger Penske his 500th victory across all racing series.
"Five hundred wins today," Keselowski said. "Huge day for The
Captain (Penske)."
To get the victory, Keselowski had to survive a late-race
wreckfest that produced a large handful of restarts.
"We nailed pit stops and restarts when it counted, and that put
us in position," Keselowski said. "Those restarts were the key."
Playoff drivers Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing and Martin
Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing filled out the podium. Joey
Logano of Team Penske and Ryan Blaney of Team Penske finished
fourth and fifth, respectively.
The second round of the playoffs begins Oct. 7 at Dover, Del.,
after two more races. By that time, four of the 16 contenders
will have been eliminated.
Keselowski will not be one of them.
Defending Cup Series champion Truex claimed the Stage 1 victory
Sunday. Keselowski won the second stage.
It was a tough day for championship contenders:
--Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet --
who started the race tied for points lead with Kyle Busch --
blew a tire and slammed the wall on Lap 148. Caught up was Joe
Gibbs Racing's Erik Jones, who started the race from the pole.
Both cars were forced to retire.
"It's like Russian roulette every time you put these
piece-of-(garbage) tires on. One time it's tight, one time it's
loose, one time they're blistered," Harvick said.
--Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports was knocked out of the
race when he got caught up in a spin by non-playoff driver Jamie
McMurray with 56 laps to go. Elliott started the race eighth in
points.
"Had a really good car today," Elliott said. "Just barely
clipped him."
Potentially worse, Elliott sustained a shoulder injury in the
wreck.
--Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing wrecked his car beyond repair
with 21 laps to go. He started 13th in points. "Tried to get
more than the car was capable of handling," Hamlin said.
--Hendrick drivers Alex Bowman and seven-time champ Jimmie
Johnson both had late-race problems with tires, walls and
contact during the final 12 laps.
--Kurt Busch of SHR was crashed out with two laps to go.
--Field Level Media
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