Brad Keselowski pulled off a nice win when he passed Kyle Busch to enter the winners circle Friday night in the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway by 3.008 seconds. This victory was his second at Richmond and 36th career win.
The late surge down the stretch to bypass Busch and Ty Dillon was good driving and tailor made for Keselowski who probably thought he had the best racing car on the track. He won Stage 2 when he passed Busch in Lap 150 showing he had the power to bring home a victory.
There were no yellow caution flags during the final 89 laps which gave Keselowski the opportunity to push the No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a new flange-fit composite body to it’s limits on the.75 mile track.
The racing cars of Keselowski and Busch were clearly the best on the track, however just behind them series leader Elliot Sadler raced home in fifth place and clinched the regular season championship. He also picked up 15 bonus playoff points solidifying his lead in the standings.
Keselowski only led 34 laps out of 250, however, he made them count by taking command near the end of the second stage to earn a bonus playoff point, then with less than 15 laps remaining racing to the checkered flag for the big win.
The top ten include Busch finishing second, Ty Dillon third, Daniel Hemric fourth, Sadler fifth, Chritopher Bell sixth, William Byron seventh, Justin Allgaier, eight, Dale Earnhardt Jr., ninth, and Brennan Poole in tenth.
This race marks the second to last race prior to the XFINITY Series playoff set to begin in two weeks. The 12 driver field so far includes Elliott Sadler Series regular season champion, William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Reed, Brennan Poole and Daniel Hemric. The remaining spots will be decided over the next two races.
Next week the NASCAR XFINITY Series will travel to the Windy City for the Chicagoland 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday September 16th starting at 3:30 PM eastern time. Local racing fans can follow all the action on NBCSN on television, MRN radio and streamline on NBC Sports.
