NASCAR
Wreck-Filled Playoff Opener at Las Vegas Leads to 3rd-Straight Victory for Brad Keselowski
For the opening round of the 2018 NASCAR Playoffs, Las Vegas proved to be a wild card race. Over the course of 400 miles in triple-digit weather, half of the Playoff field would finish 19th or worse. After a series of late-race restarts, Brad Keselowski survived the chaos to win his 3rd-straight race. This win locks the 2 car into Round 2 of the Playoffs.
Early Race Calm Before the Storm
For the first half of the 400 mile Playoff-opener, there were only 3 cautions. This portion of the race included all of Stage 1 being run under green-flag conditions. This has become a trend for the Cup Series in 2018. Over half of the Cup races have had calm openings lead to caution-filled finishes.
Even though Erik Jones, the youngest man in the Playoffs, was the polesitter, he would fall back early. Joey Logano would lead the first several laps, in his first Playoff appearance since 2016. Pit stops midway through Stage 1 would see Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin take turns out front. At the stage conclusion however, it was Martin Truex Jr scoring the first Stage Win of the Playoffs.
Trouble for Playoff Contenders Starts Early
While racing inside the top 10 on lap 149, Kevin Harvick had a right-front tire failure entering turn 1. As the 4 Mobil 1 Ford was shooting up the track, it would collect the 20 Toyota of Erik Jones. Both of these Playoff contenders would be done for the day after this incident, finishing 39th and 40th.
Jones and Harvick were both unhappy after this, but they are on opposite ends of the Playoff standings. Jones is currently 15th in points, needing strong performances at Richmond or the Charlotte Roval to move on. Meanwhile, Harvick has the insurance provided by his major bonus points cushion. Harvick is still 4th in points, over 30 points ahead of the cut line.
At the time of this caution, Brad Keselowski and his 2 car was leading, looking for his 3rd-straight win. When racing resumed with 4 laps remaining in Stage 2, Brad was able to maintain his lead. The 2 car would cruise to another Stage victory. In the past 3 weeks, Brad Keselowski and the 2 crew have set the standard in terms of racking up Playoff bonus points.
Final Stage at Vegas Turns into a Race of Attrition
The last 88 laps of the South Point 400 from Las Vegas were defined by 7 caution flags that saw 11 cars wreck. Of those 11 cars caught up in the melee were several Playoff contenders.
The craziness began on lap 184, when rookie William Byron spun in turn 3. Not long after, 2 drivers in the top 10 saw their days end early. Jamie McMurray spun after having a tire go down in turn 3, and Chase Elliott barely clipped the 1. The contact sent the 9 Napa Chevrolet into the outside wall, and out of contention for the win. McMurray was having a strong day in the 1 car. He was making time by rim riding on both ends of the track. McMurray was dedicated to making moves similar to what teammate Kyle Larson is known for.
Laps 237 and 248 would see nearly identical spins by teammates, but with very different outcomes. The lap 237 incident saw Kyle Busch spin while exiting turn 4. He would hit the grass on the frontstretch, but miraculously did not damage his car. Busch would continue on to salvage a top 10 finish on an otherwise disappointing day. 11 laps later, the same problem happened to Denny Hamlin in the same spot. However, the contact with the grass heavily damaged his nose, and would force the 11 car to the garage.
Larson Pulls Off Amazing Move to Take the Lead
On the restart after Busch’s spin, Kyle Larson made a stunning move to take the lead. While restarting 4th on the outside, Larson went 3-wide for the lead on the high side entering turn 1. Due to Keselowski and Joey Logano racing hard for P2, Larson cleared them in turn 2 for the lead. However, Brad would battle back to the lead on lap 240. Larson would clear Keselowski again the next lap, but the next several cautions killed Larson’s chances at the win. Larson had a long run car, while Keselowski was strongest on the restarts.
Late Restarts Prove Costly for Playoff Drivers
Lap 252 would be a disastrous moment for several Playoff drivers inside the top 10. On the restart, there was contact between Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, and Alex Bowman as they were all 3-wide. This contact sent the 17 car into the inside wall, causing another caution. Under this caution, the 48, 88, and 14 of Clint Bowyer would all lose multiple laps after running in the top 10.
The ensuing restart on lap 266 did not fare much better. Contact from cars ahead of him put Kurt Busch into the turn 4 wall. This incident led to a 10 minute red flag to clean up the mess made in turns 3 and 4.
On the overtime restart, it was Brad Keselowski out front once again, and he was able to maintain his lead. Brad cleared the field by turn 1, and when exiting turn 2 had a massive lead. The race was on for 2nd place however, as 3 cars finished in a dead heat for P2 at the line. Keselowski took the win, his 3rd-straight victory in the Cup Series. This win makes him the only driver locked into Round 2 of the Playoffs. As a result, he does not need to worry about the uncertainties at the Charlotte Roval.
The top 10 finishers from Las Vegas were Keselowski, Larson, Martin Truex Jr, Logano, Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Newman, and Paul Menard.
Keselowski’s 3rd-Straight Win Marks 500th Victory for Team Penske
Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski were racing hard for the lead for much of the race. Both were very eager to get the win for Penske, as it would mark Team Penske’s 500th win across all forms of motorsports. At one point late in the race, Penske was running 1-2-3 with Ryan Blaney behind his teammates.
With Brad winning his 3rd-straight race, Team Penske now has 500 wins in 14 different racing series. Keselowski is now also tied with Mark Donahue as Penske’s winningest driver, at 59 victories while racing for ‘The Captain’ Roger Penske. Unfortunately, Penske himself was not able to celebrate the Las Vegas win in person. He was in Sonoma, at the IndyCar Series finale as the Strategist for Will Power.
How to Watch the Next Race
As crazy as this Las Vegas Playoff race was, next week may be even more unpredictable. Race 2 of the NASCAR Playoffs will be a Saturday night short track race at Richmond Raceway. The Federated Auto Parts 400 will go green on Saturday, September 22nd, at 7:30 PM EST. Coverage will be on NBCSN, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. With a 2nd short track race now in the Playoffs, the pressure will mount for the drivers needing strong performances ahead of the Charlotte Roval. Can Brad Keselowski continue his momentum after a 3rd-straight victory? Tune in on Saturday to find out!
