NSCS Recap: Bold Late-Race Move Sets Up Keselowski's Win In First Chase Event

JOLIET, Ill. — For Brad Keselowski, this year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup started the same way it did in 2012—with a victory at Chicagoland Speedway.

Clearly, Keselowski would love to see the Chase end the same way it did two years ago—with a series championship.

Needing an extra pit stop to tighten a loose wheel under caution on Lap 183 of 267 in Sunday’s MyAFibStory.com 400 at the 1.5-mile track, Keselowski restarted 16th on Lap 187, mired in traffic behind a gaggle of lapped cars.

But with a determined charge through the field and a couple of opportune cautions in the final 35 laps, Keselowski regained lost track position and put himself in position to make a dramatic race-winning move after a restart on Lap 250.

With third-place finisher Kyle Larson battling Kevin Harvick for the lead on Lap 252, Keselowski powered between the two cars off Turn 2 and grabbed the lead.

"I just saw a hole, and I went for it," Keselowski said.

He held the top spot for a restart on Lap 262, after an accident involving the cars of Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and pulled away to win his fifth race of the year and the 15th of his career by 1.759 seconds over Jeff Gordon, who passed Larson for the second spot in the closing laps.

Joey Logano ran fourth and Harvick fifth, as Chase drivers took eight of the top 10 finishing positions.

With his second victory at Chicagoland, Keselowski ensured he would advance to the next round of the Chase under a new format that features a trio of three-race elimination rounds and a final race at Homestead to settle the championship between the last four eligible drivers.

With the starting order set according to speeds in opening Sprint Cup practice because of a qualifying rainout, Keselowski started 25th and worked his way to the front, only to fall back again when he brought the No. 2 Team Penske Ford to pit road to have the loose wheel tightened.

"I’m not really sure what to say," said Keselowski, who can race for the next two weeks without fear of falling out of the Chase. "I don’t really know what happened. I just know we got to the lead. There was traffic and I was just digging and in the zone. The recorder was turned off, so I don’t remember what happened.

"I had my head down doing all I could do. We had a great Miller Lite Ford Fusion that I knew from the start would be good, but, man, it was really awesome the last few runs. We really dialed it in and the 2 crew did an excellent job. What a day! Man, I am still pumped!"(NASCAR Media)