{"id":4442,"date":"2016-07-02T23:24:52","date_gmt":"2016-07-03T04:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=4442"},"modified":"2016-07-02T23:40:51","modified_gmt":"2016-07-03T04:40:51","slug":"brad-keselowski-dominates-chaotic-sprint-cup-race-at-daytona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/02\/brad-keselowski-dominates-chaotic-sprint-cup-race-at-daytona\/","title":{"rendered":"Brad Keselowski dominates chaotic Sprint Cup race at Daytona"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer<\/b><\/span>
\nNASCAR Wire Service<\/b><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013<\/span><\/strong> Brad Keselowski<\/strong> had an excellent solution for the massive wrecks that scrambled the finishing order of Saturday night\u2019s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

He stayed ahead of all of them.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Brad

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Leading 115 of 161 laps in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, Keselowski sped away from his pursuers after a restart in overtime and posted his third victory of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series<\/a> season in thoroughly convincing fashion.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The victory was Keselowski\u2019s first at Daytona and the 20th of his career, and it reinforced his mastery of restrictor-plate racing\u2014Keselowski already had four wins at sister track Talladega.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

When the race restarted in overtime, after a caution for a four-car wreck on Lap 155, eventual runner-up Kyle Busch simply couldn\u2019t keep up with Keselowski, once he lost his push from third-place finisher Trevor Bayne. Keselowski\u2019s teammate, fourth-place finisher Joey Logano, shoved the No. 2 car to the front on the Lap 160 restart, and then it was over.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“Joey Logano was a huge part of this today,” Keselowski said. “We had two great cars here with Team Penske and worked together really well. Joey has won here and he\u2019s really a pro, especially on that restart.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Brad

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after taking the checkered flag in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matt Sullivan\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

“He gave me that push I needed to get to the front, and here we are at Daytona in Victory Lane. I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s not the 500. It\u2019s Daytona. This is huge. I love this place, and here we are in Victory Lane with the Detroit Ford.”<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

That there were 27 lead changes between 13 drivers belied Keselowski\u2019s dominance. While in the lead, the 2012 series champion was able to block both the inside and outside lanes, moving back and forth at will to impede the progress of whichever line developed momentum.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With a daring move to the inside of race runner-up Kyle Busch on Lap 145, Keselowski took the lead for good and held it through two subsequent cautions for multi-car wrecks. The first wiped out Sonoma winner Tony Stewart, who was running in the top 10 at the time. The second was the coup de grace for Carl Edwards, who had qualified second but finished 25th.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Busch, who tried in vain to regain the top spot, could only admire the handling of Keselowski\u2019s Ford.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Brad

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

“He definitely just had way more maneuverability it seemed like than anybody, but especially than I did,” Busch said. “I don’t know how he got the kind of run that he got (to make the decisive pass), but when he got that run down the front stretch getting into Turn 1 and was able to turn to the bottom, my car would be kind of loose doing that.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“It would just over rotate on me a little bit, and I just never really had that opportunity from behind me besides Trevor, and I never was in the right position when I had that big of a run in order to get the lead back.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“Really, it took a lot of guys ganging up and getting together in order to make a move on him. He was pretty smart about where he positioned his car on the race track, and I could see that, and I tried to do some of those same things, but, man, it just never really worked for me as good as he could handle it.”<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The race ran without major incident for the first 89 laps, with a competition caution on Lap 21 and a black flag to Danica Patrick for driving through too many pit boxes on a Lap 67 green-flag pit stop first providing the bulk of the excitement.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Brad

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford, celebrates with a burnout after taking the checkered flag in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matt Sullivan\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

But that was the calm before a violent storm.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

As the field roared into Turn 1 on Lap 90, Jamie McMurray\u2019s Chevrolet got loose, made side-to-side contact with Ganassi Racing teammate Kyle Larson, got out of shape and veered sharply into the outside wall after contact from Jimmie Johnson\u2019s Chevrolet.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

That was the spark that ignited a wreck that collected 22 of the 40 cars in the field and eliminated McMurray, Johnson, Paul Menard and series leader Kevin Harvick, while heavily damaging the cars of Sunoco Rookie of the Year leader Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth and Patrick, among others.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Harvick said he was expecting the powder keg that is restrictor-plate racing to explode at any minute\u2014and on Lap 90 it did.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“You really think it\u2019s going to happen from Lap 1,” said Harvick, who now leads the Cup series by 14 points over Keselowski. “It\u2019s hard to make ground, so you have to be pretty aggressive when you start making ground.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Just kind of riding there, just maintaining until that next pit stop so we could get my car off the ground and then really start being aggressive. I really couldn’t be aggressive, and unfortunately, I was in the back of that front pack and ended up getting in the wreck.”<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

But Keselowski was ahead of the wreck, as he was throughout the night, and in staying at the front he earned owner Roger Penske his 100th victory in the series.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Notes: Despite wrecking and finishing 26th, Stewart moved into 30th place in the series standings, the position he needs to maintain or improve to remain eligible for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup\u2026 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished fifth, matching his season-best result (Fontana)\u2026 With Bayne third, Stenhouse fifth and polesitter Greg Biffle eighth, Roush Fenway Racing had three cars in the top 10 for the first time since 2014 at Bristol\u2026 Michael McDowell (10th) scored his first top 10 since the 2014 July race at Daytona.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Additional photos posted below results.<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Daytona International Speedway<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Daytona Beach, Florida<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Saturday, July 02, 2016<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1. (5) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2. (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3. (13) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4. (11) Joey Logano, Ford, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5. (4) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6. (17) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 7. (6) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 8. (1) Greg Biffle, Ford, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 9. (31) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 10. (37) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 11. (35) * Cole Whitt, Toyota, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 12. (20) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 13. (26) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 14. (12) * Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 15. (14) Aric Almirola, Ford, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 16. (38) David Ragan, Toyota, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 17. (9) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 18. (23) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 19. (28) * David Gilliland, Ford, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 20. (33) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 21. (16) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 22. (39) * Reed Sorenson, Toyota, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 23. (10) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 24. (32) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 160.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 25. (2) Carl Edwards, Toyota, Accident, 155.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a026. (19) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, Accident, 148.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 27. (22) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 130.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 28. (7) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 127.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 29. (15) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 127.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 30. (18) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 122.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 31. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford, 119.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 32. (24) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 113.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 33. (36) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 108.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 34. (29) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Accident, 91.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 35. (8) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Accident, 89.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 36. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, Accident, 89.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 37. (30) Brian Scott #, Ford, Accident, 89.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 38. (40) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, Accident, 89.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 39. (21) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, Accident, 89.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 40. (25) Chris Buescher #, Ford, Accident, 89.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:\u00a0 150.342 mph.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Time of Race:\u00a0 2 Hrs, 40 Mins, 38 Secs. Margin of Victory:\u00a0 0.159 Seconds.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Caution Flags:\u00a0 5 for 28 laps.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lead Changes:\u00a0 26 among 13 drivers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:\u00a0\u00a0 G. Biffle 0; C. Edwards 1-8; B. Keselowski 9-21; D. Ragan 22; R. Smith 23; B. Keselowski 24-28; G. Biffle 29; B. Keselowski 30-51; M. Truex Jr. 52; B. Keselowski 53-64; D. Hamlin 65; C. Mears 66-67; K. Harvick 68; C. Bowyer 69; Kyle Busch 70-71; B. Keselowski 72; Kyle Busch 73-75; J. Logano 76; D. Hamlin 77-82; B. Keselowski 83-98; T. Stewart 99; J. Logano 100-104; B. Keselowski 105-131; Kyle Busch 132-138; B. Keselowski 139-140; Kyle Busch 141-144; B. Keselowski 145-161.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):\u00a0 B. Keselowski 9 times for 115 laps; Kyle Busch 4 times for 16 laps; C. Edwards 1 time for 8 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 7 laps; J. Logano 2 times for 6 laps; C. Mears 1 time for 2 laps; T. Stewart 1 time for 1 lap; C. Bowyer 1 time for 1 lap; G. Biffle 1 time for 1 lap; D. Ragan 1 time for 1 lap; K. Harvick 1 time for 1 lap; R. Smith 1 time for 1 lap; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 1 lap.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick – 565; B. Keselowski – 551; Kurt Busch – 545; J. Logano – 531; C. Edwards – 527; Kyle Busch – 492; M. Truex Jr. – 482; C. Elliott # – 482; J. Johnson – 475; D. Hamlin – 446; M. Kenseth – 443; A. Dillon – 434; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 433; R. Newman – 425; *. Blaney # – 409; J. McMurray – 405.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

A general view of the pre race ceremony prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Greg

Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 Ford EcoBoost Ford, leads the grid past the green flag at the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Brad

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Trotman\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Brad

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Trotman\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Brad

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford, leads the field during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Joey

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Greg

Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 Ford EcoBoost Ford, and Carl Edwards, driver of the #19 Subway Toyota, lead the field to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Kyle

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, and Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Monster Energy\/Haas Automation Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Brad

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Brad

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, race in front of a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matt Sullivan\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A

A general view of Daytona International Speedway during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola on July 2, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Brad Keselowski had an excellent solution for the massive wrecks that scrambled the finishing order of Saturday night\u2019s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He stayed ahead of all of them. Leading 115 of 161 laps in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, Keselowski […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[79,273,16],"class_list":["post-4442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-brad-keselowski","tag-daytona","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/DIS_NSCS_VL_070216.jpg?fit=5092%2C3395&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-19E","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4442"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4462,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4442\/revisions\/4462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}