Keselowski survives to advance
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Brad Keselowski was in trouble when he arrived at Talladega Superspeedway ranked 10th in the playoff standings.
He knew he needed a big finish to keep his championship chances intact. He delivered. Keselowski earned an automatic berth into the third round of the playoffs with a victory Sunday at Talladega, where he considered himself lucky to finish after a sloppy day for NASCAR.
“I survived,” Keselowski said. “I feel like only eight cars finished the race. It was one of those crazy days … a lot of attrition.”
There were just 14 cars running at the conclusion, and only four were playoff drivers. The race was red-flagged three times for nearly 35 minutes.
By avoiding the carnage, Keselowski won for the fifth time at Talladega and gave Ford a season sweep of the four restrictor-plate races. Most important, though, is that he knows he remains in the hunt for his second Cup title..
Ryan Newman finished second in a Chevrolet and was followed by Trevor Bayne, Joey Logano and Aric Almirola — all non-playoff drivers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished seventh in his final race at Talladega, where he and his father combined to win 16 Cup races. Alabama declared Sunday “Dale Earnhardt Jr. Day.”
In other motor sports news:
• Robert Hight drove to the Funny Car victory at the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex in Ennis. Hight had a 3.877-second pass at 332.34 mph in his Chevrolet Camaro SS to beat reigning world champion and category points leader Ron Capps in the final.