NASCAR wild card Richmond is next NASCAR Cup
Keselowski’s three straight wins put him in the hunt for the Cup
Brad Keselowski has pushed NASCAR’S “Big Three” aside at the start of the playoffs and shaken up the championship picture with nine races left in the season.
Keselowski’s victory last week at Las Vegas in the opening round of the 10-race playoffs was his third straight and moved him into title talk. Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. had dominated all season and were the clear favorites prior to Keselowski’s hot streak.
Round 2 of the playoffs is a When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday Tv/radio: NBCSN, WSDE 1190 AM, 94.3 FM
short-track Saturday night show at Richmond Raceway with its Dshaped oval, just 0.75 miles around. Then the series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a race on a new hybrid road course and oval in next weekend’s elimination round.
That means things could get interesting fast.
Keselowski is already through to the next round because of his Las Vegas victory, and his season has been turned around behind his streak. There are drivers in the playoff field for whom a streak like Keselowski’s could get them in the mix.
“It’s kind of what the playoff format is all about, right?,” said Busch, the regular-season champion who won six times. “You come into this with guys who have a dominant regular season and then you reset the board and whoever is good in the final 10 (races) ... obviously has a great shot to win the championship.”
Keselowski won twice during the 2014 playoffs but didn’t make the finale. His Team Penske teammate, Joey Logano, won three consecutive playoff races the next year but was also eliminated before the finale.
The field of 16 is cut by four drivers after every third race. The final four in the standings race for the championship at Homestead in November.
Richmond is a challenge because contact is common and good fortune can turn a nonwinning car into a winner.
“I think it’s going to be wild throughout the next couple of weeks,” said Chase Elliott, 14th in the standings.
Qualifying: Harvick won the pole for the race. He turned a lap at 121.880 mph on Friday to edge hometown favorite Denny Hamlin, whose best lap came at 121.847 mph. The pole is the third for Harvick this season and his 24th in 638 career starts. Points leader and defending series champion Martin Truex Jr., will start third on Saturday night, followed by Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez. Xfinity: Christopher Bell took the lead away from Matt Tifft with 13 laps to go and won the opening race of the series playoffs. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fourth in what he said would be his only start of the season.