Keselowski’s late move in the pits wins Southern 500
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Brad Keselowski provided perhaps the biggest throwback at the Southern 500 — giving Team Penske its first victory at Darlington Raceway in 43 years.
“This is probably the biggest win of my career,” said Keselowski, the 2012 NASCAR champion.
Keselowski beat leader Kyle Larson out of the pits — “It couldn’t have been more than 10 feet,” Keselowski said — with 22 laps to go, then pulled away on the restart to sweep the weekend at Darlington.
Keselowski took the Xfinity race Saturday when leaders Ross Chastain and Kevin Harvick wrecked late. This time, Keselowski and his crew took advantage on the final caution to move in front with a fast pit stop.
Keselowski then did the rest as he opened a 1 1/2-second lead down the stretch.
It was Keselowski’s first victory of the season — the 25th of his career — and the first time a Team Penske driver has won at Darlington since Bobby Allison in the 1975 Southern 500.
“Got to give a lot of credit to my pit crew,” Keselowski said. “Running second that last stop and they nailed it.”
They also put Team Penske in victory lane here for first time in decades in a race that has become the sports’ Old Timer’s Day to celebrate its history. Keselowski drove a Miller Genuine Draft paint scheme that Rusty Wallace used when driving for Penske.
Walt Czarnecki, Team Penske vice chairman, said he was glad to break the long dry spell at Darlington and give the organization its 498th win across several platforms of racing.
“I’ve been in touch with Roger (Penske) and he’s about excited as can be,” Czarnecki said.
Joey Logano, Keselowski’s Penske teammate, finished second, and Larson was third.
Logano was grateful to see Team Penske on top. “The one-two is nice,” he said. “Racing Larson there, I was think it’d be good to get a one-two. It be really nice (for me) to be the one.”
Larson won the first two stages and led 284 of the 367 laps. Yet, he leaves disappointed with his seventh top-three finish of the season. Larson chose to focus on the strong showing
“This is my fifth Cup season and I’ve run second or third a lot, so I guess you get used to it,” Larson said with a chuckle. “The disappointment, I can handle it better than most people.”
Kevin Harvick was fourth and Chase Elliott fifth.
The Busch brothers were next — Kurt in sixth, points leader Kyle in seventh — with Erik Jones, Jamie McMurray and pole-sitter Denny Hamlin rounding out the top 10.