Keselowski ‘tickled to death’ to win iconic race

Brad Keselowski is slowly collecting checkered flags for NASCAR’s biggest races, and in the early hours of Memorial Day at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the 36-year-old Team Penske driver added another.

Keselowski in the No. 2 Ford held off seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson to win the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on NASCAR’s schedule which actually turned out to be the longest race in Cup Series history, per FOX’s broadcast, because of overtime late Sunday night/early Monday morning.

It’s Keselowski’s first Coke 600 win, his first checkered flag of the 2020 season and his 31st career victory.

“I’ve wanted to win the 600 my whole life,” Keselowski said on a Zoom call with reporters after the race – one of the protocols established during the coronavirus pandemic. “I wish it was in front of everybody. I recognize that’s not always how it works.”

NASCAR considers its “crown jewel” races to be the season-opening Daytona 500 (Daytona International Speedway), the Coca-Cola 600, the Brickyard 400 (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and the Southern 500 (Darlington Raceway), but Keselowski said he’d throw Bristol Motor Speedway’s night race into that category too.

So by NASCAR’s count, he’s won three of four “crown jewels,” and by his own, it’s four of five. He’s only missing the Daytona 500.

In his on-track interview after the race, Keselowski told FOX Sports: “It’s a major! … We might not have been the fastest car today, but, wow, did we grind this one out, Jamie. The pit crew at the end, the yellow right before the last had a blazing stop to get us up front and put us in position. All these things just came together, and I’m tickled to death. It’s a little overwhelming to be honest.”

More than five hours after the start –there was an early rain delay for 68 minutes – Chase Elliott had the lead on Lap 398 of what was originally scheduled to be a 400-lap, 600mile race. But a caution came out thanks to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, and when he turned to pit road, Keselowski took over.

Keselowski held onto the lead off the restart ahead of Johnson with just two overtime laps for a total of 405 trips around the Charlotte track. Elliott,

however, still managed to finish third.

NASCAR’s not done with Charlotte Motor Speedway yet. The Cup Series returns to the track Wednesday for its fourth race back following a 10-week hiatus this spring because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet failed post-race inspection and was disqualified. Johnson had finished second. With the DQ, Johnson was relegated to a last-place finish — 40th — and earned only one point in the race.

NASCAR Cup Series managing director Jay Fabian said the car went through the Optical Scanning Station (OSS) and failed the post-race alignment numbers. The failure was in the rear alignment.

“It’s the same thing we checked at least a handful of cars for post-race after every event,” said Fabian. “I can’t really give specifics on the numbers. Yes, there is a prerace number and a post-race number that does give a pretty tolerance (and) it was outside of those post-race numbers.”

Hendrick Motorsports does have the option to appeal the penalty. The Cup Series has a quick turnaround before its next race at Charlotte on Wednesday.

“The 48 ran strong tonight, all night. I hate it for them,” said Fabian. “They had a good car, performed well. The allowance is built-in for parts that move.

There’s an allowance for that. But if parts break, the number is the number. There is no real parameter of that.

“There are parts in the past that have been designed to fail or break. Certainly not suggesting that’s the case here, but that’s what’s gotten us to this hardline of this is a post-race number, and there is a fair tolerance from pre-race numbers to post.”