NASCAR
Brad Keselowski Wins Back-to-Back Crown Jewel Races to Finish the Regular Season at the Brickyard 400
For the first time in its quarter-century long history, the Brickyard 400 had added importance for the NASCAR Playoffs. In the regular season finale, the Cup Series drivers took to the world’s finest racecourse, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After a long and grueling 400 miles on a Monday, it was Brad Keselowski who took the checkers. This win also marks Team Penske’s 1st triumph in the Brickyard 400. The 2 team will finish the regular season with lots of momentum heading into the Playoffs.
Rain Delays the Brickyard 400 and Xfinity Race to Monday
As a result of this past week’s Tropical Storm Gordon, Indianapolis was pounded with 5 inches of rain over the weekend. Because of the massive precipitation, all on-track activities were canceled on Saturday and Sunday at IMS. The outcome of the rain delays were 2 races on Monday at Indy, with 0 practice or qualifying laps for anyone.
When the Brickyard 400 finally got under way on Monday afternoon, 14 drivers were looking to finish the regular season strong. These 14 already locked into the Playoffs were simply trying to gain more bonus points to advance their postseason seeding. One of those drivers was Kyle Busch, who would clinch 15 bonus points by winning the Regular Season Championship.
At the start of the race, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin would lead. Their time out front would include 2 competition cautions, because NASCAR was uncertain on tire wear.
Tumultuous Week Ends in Disappointment for 78 Team
In the wake of Furniture Row Racing announcing their closing, many were curious to see how the 78 team would fare at Indy. The Brickyard 400 was far from expectations for Martin Truex Jr, as he would have a brake failure on lap 42. Going into turn 1, Truex would have a cloud of smoke emit from his car. After an early retirement, the 78 car would finish the regular season in 40th at Indy.
Not long after the 78’s incident was the end of Stage 1. Clint Bowyer was able to take the lead on the lap 45 restart and held off a charge from Kurt Busch to win the Stage. This marked Bowyer’s 5th Stage win of 2018, to go along with his 2 race wins.
Stage 2 would start off with another brake failure, this time Bubba Wallace was the victim. The 43 of Wallace would spin in turn 3, and get major contact from the 51. Unfortunately for Wallace, he did not continue onward from this point.
Near-Miss for Alex Bowman, 88 Team
Lap 68 would see another caution flag with the man who needed a flawless race. At 16th in points, Alex Bowman would clinch a Playoff spot if he finished the race with no new winner. The 88’s Playoff hopes nearly came to an abrupt end when he was collected by a spinning AJ Allmendinger. Bowman had major damage, and would finish 33rd, 18 laps down. In spite of the rough way to finish the regular season, Alex Bowman would be the last man to make the 2018 Playoffs behind teammate Jimmie Johnson.
Strategy Calls Shake Up Stage 2 Results
In the closing laps of Stage 2, many of the front runners chose to pit prior to the caution, sacrificing Stage points for track position. This series of events would put Matt Kenseth in the lead on lap 97. Kenseth, in the Roush-Fenway 6 car, would win his first Stage of the year.
Final Stage at Indy Leads to Hard Racing for Brickyard 400 Win
When the final stage in the Brickyard 400 got underway on lap 106, Bowyer was once again leading. However, everyone needed to make at least 1 more pit stop. For much of the 38 lap green flag run, it was a dogfight between Bowyer and Denny Hamlin. Both drivers were chasing their first Brickyard 400 win, with Denny still looking for his first win of 2018.
While running 2nd, Hamlin made his final pit stop on lap 125. Bowyer made his final adjustments 2 laps later, a deficit that seemed too large to overcome. Hamlin had clean track ahead of him, as he looked to cruise to his first Indy win. A debris caution on lap 144 would drastically affect everyone’s strategy.
Late Cautions Benefit Some, Negatively Effect Others
On the restart with 11 laps left, Hamlin got a huge jump over Bowyer. It appeared to be a race between the 2 of them, since the closest driver with new tires was Brad Keselowski. Brad restarted 7th on lap 149, and was quickly slicing his way through the field. It appeared to be too little too late for Brad, until another yellow flag with 6 to go. Hamlin’s advantage over Bowyer, and now 3rd-place-running Brad was evaporated.
What would end up being the final restart came with 3 laps left in the Brickyard 400. Once again, Hamlin got a great restart, while Bowyer stumbled in the outside lane. This allowed Brad to clear Clint for 2nd place by turn 1, and set his sights on Denny. Coming to the white flag, the 2 and 11 made slight contact multiple times, giving the top spot to Brad. For the final lap, Brad held on to win his 2nd consecutive race, and 1st Brickyard 400.
The top 10 finishers in the Brickyard 400 were Keselowski, Erik Jones, Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch, Paul Menard, and Ryan Newman. With 7 of the top 10 being Playoff drivers, many had a strong run to finish the regular season.
Significance of Brickyard 400 win to Team Penske
Roger Penske is one of the winningest team owners in all of motorsports, especially at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Michigan-born business tycoon has 17 Indianapolis 500 wins to his credit, including earlier this year. However, Penske had never won the Brickyard 400 in 24 years of trying, until now. By winning at Indy, Penske is now only winless at 1 track in the Cup Series, Homestead-Miami Speedway.
How to Watch the Next Race
Up next for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is race 1 of the Playoffs, at an all-new track for the postseason. The South Point 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway is next Sunday, September 16, at 3 PM EST. Coverage will be on NBCSN, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. With the field of 16 now set, Las Vegas marks the first stop in the championship hunt for the 2018 Cup Series title.
Photo Credit to Leon Hammack via Flickr.
