3 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM KENTUCKY

1. Hard tires

Goodyear went to “old reliable” by using super-hard tires at Kentucky Speedway to avoid tire issues. “It was the hardest thing on the planet,” three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart said after the race. “The NHL doesn’t have anything on them on a hard puck.”

2. Crazy eight

Matt Kenseth finished eighth at Kentucky Saturday night and was genuinely pleased the way his No. 20 Toyota handled. “It’s the best we ran in two months, really,” he said. “I thought we had a top-3 to a top-5 car.” Fuel mileage was Kenseth’s undoing at Kentucky.

3. ‘Brad Speedway’

Brad Keselowski has 21 career NASCAR Cup Series wins and three of those have been earned at Kentucky. Since Kentucky has hosted only six Cup races, Keselowski has won half those races staged at the 1.5-mile oval since 2011. He has won every other year since 2012.

AP/TIMOTHY D. EASLEY Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes a pit stop for more tires at Kentucky Speedway. Goodyear brought the hardest tires it could make to keep them from blistering on Kentucky’s new asphalt surface.