Double helping for Brad
Luck holds up for second time GETTY
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Brad Keselowski has a new crew and is fighting for a new contract at Team Penske. His confidence is still intact and he’s convinced he can compete for a championship this year.
Being in the right place at the right time is helping.
Keselowski inherited his second win in a week when the leaders crashed in front of him with a lap remaining Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. He won the Coca-Cola 600 seven nights ago at Charlotte Motor Speedway when a caution with two laps remaining helped him get to victory lane.
“I felt like I was in Las Vegas,”
Keselowski said about the Bristol win. “I went from having a bad hand to a full house real quick.”
The victory dropped into Keselowski’s lap when Chase Elliott and Joey Logano collided as they raced for the win. Keselowski was third with a lap and a turn remaining when opportunity opened. Logano cleared Elliott for the lead with three to go, but Elliott stalked him while seeking his second win in three days.
They made contact in the fourth turn and drifted into the wall as Keselowski slid past. He had just one trip around the 0.533-mile concrete bullring to close the victory.
“We were in position and able to strike when it counted,” Keselowski said. “Joey and Chase got together there. I don’t know what all caused it, but we were just in position to strike and here we are in victory lane.”
Keselowski, hoping to get an extension with Team Penske, won the 600 when a caution with two to go snatched the win from Elliott. Keselowski inherited the lead when Elliott pitted.
Keselowski held on for that victory at Elliott’s expense and now is the first driver to win multiple races in the five Cup events since NASCAR resumed May 17.
“There’s so much going on in the world, I am just thankful I get to be a race car driver and do this,” Keselowski said after giving Ford its third win in five races.
Logano finished 21st and Elliott was 22nd.
Logano stared Elliott down as the two climbed from their cars but Elliott never looked in his direction. After Logano had retrieved his mandatory face mask, he approached Elliott for a brief conversation.
“He wrecked me,” Logano said. “A simple apology be a man and sayM` y bad.’ I had to force an apology, which to me is just childish.”
Elliott did take the blame after the talk.
“Awww, just going for the win,“Elliott said. “I’ll certainly take the blame. I just got loose and got into him.”
Clint Bowyer was second for his best finish in a year and a 1-2 finish for Ford and lamented how quiet it was after NASCAR’s fifth event without fans. The track is built like an arena, referred to as “The Last Great Colosseum” and can hold about 140,000 spectators.