Brad Keselowski won the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway by conserving more fuel than his fellow competitors. Fuel Mileage became the deciding issue in the closing laps of the event as cars darted in for a splash of gas to finish the race. Keselowski was able to keep his car off of pit road for a quick fill. As a result, he crossed the finish line out in front of the field for the third time this year.
The Team Penske race winner led 75 laps around the 1.5 mile paved oval and had plenty of speed to run up front from the start. What was the deciding factor for Brad Keselowski wasn’t his top speed. In fact, it was the crafty driver’s ability to save fuel by slowing his pace considerably over the last two revolutions.
The result was Keselowski crossing the finish line in first while running on fumes. It was Brad Keselowski’s third win at Kentucky Speedway since his first trip to victory lane in 2012. It also was the racer’s second in a row in 2016. The former Sprint Cup champion commented on the race’s final moments.
“Gosh, that’s great! Usually these repaves are my Achilles’ heel,” Brad Keselowski said from victory lane, a nod to the repaved and reconfigured track that gave drivers fits all night. “This is our best stretch, we gotta keep it going to the fall. I feel terrible for the fans, I couldn’t do a burnout, the car didn’t have no gas. I don’t know, I guess every squirrel finds a nut, no matter how blind he is. We’re glad to put the Miller Lite Ford in Victory Lane two weeks in a row. Tonight’s race was a also great team effort. I don’t think we had the best car; I think probably the 78 [Truex] was.
Martin Truex Jr. led 46 of the 267 laps turned in the Quaker State 400. The Joe Gibbs Racing’s newcomer made a crucial error with 90 revolutions to go. He was sited a penalty by NASCAR officials for passing while entering pit lane. The set-back placed Truex Jr. back in 22nd for the races re-start. The #78 Furniture Row driver made a brilliant run through the pack all the way to third place but he had to pit for fuel with 10 laps to go. As a result, Truex Jr. finished in the 10th spot.
“All you can do when something like that happens is keep your head down and dig,” Truex said. “Just one of those deals and I’m not sure why we were penalized. It’s a timing line thing and everyone does it. We came out of that stop with the lead and they took it away from us. Just wasn’t my night on that deal, which is frustrating, because I think we had the car to beat.”
Carl Edwards managed a savory second place finish. He was passed on the very first lap of the event by Kevin Harvick and never led a lap. Although, the veteran kept his hot-rod in the top ten for most of the race. With just two circuits remaining in the race, Edwards was nine seconds behind race leader Brad Keselowski. As the eventual winner slowed his pace to conserve fuel, Edwards gained considerable ground. His #19 ARRIS Toyota fell just a little short and he played second fiddle at Kentucky Speedway.
Kevin Harvick started on the pole position for the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. He jumped out in front and went on to lead a race high 128 laps. The majority of the revolutions in front came before the half way part of the event.
The #4 Freaky Fast Chevrolet driver finished out the race in ninth place. As a result, he still remains atop the Sprint Cup Series point standings. His teammate Tony Stewart also had a nice showing. He didn’t lead any laps but was consistent and rounded out the top five in fifth.
The Final Running Order for the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway:
1 2 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 267 44 4 Running 3 75
2 5 19 Carl Edwards ARRIS Surfboard Toyota 267 39 Running
3 14 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 267 38 Running
4 3 41 Kurt Busch Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet 267 38 1 Running 1 10
5 22 14 Tony Stewart Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 267 36 Running
6 23 16 Greg Biffle KFC Ford 267 35 Running
7 16 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevrolet 267 34 Running
8 11 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 267 34 1 Running 2 2
9 1 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Chevrolet 267 34 2 Running 5 128
10 7 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Toyota 267 32 1 Running 2 46
11 17 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 267 30 Running
12 6 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s 75th Anniversary Toyota 267 29 Running
13 13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet 267 28 Running
14 18 5 Kasey Kahne Great Clips Chevrolet 267 27 Running
15 10 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 267 26 Running
16 12 3 Austin Dillon DOW Chevrolet 267 26 1 Running 1 1
17 27 10 Danica Patrick Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet 266 25 1 Running 1 2
18 24 27 Paul Menard Sylvania/Menards Chevrolet 266 23 Running
19 20 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet 266 22 Running
20 26 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 266 21 Running
21 36 98 * Cole Whitt Speed Stick Chevrolet 266 20 Running
22 31 23 David Ragan Dr Pepper Toyota 265 20 1 Running 1 2
23 25 15 Clint Bowyer AccuDoc Chevrolet 265 18 Running
24 40 30 * Josh Wise Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet 264 17 Running
25 30 95 Ty Dillon(i) Chevy Summer Sell Down Chevrolet 264 0 Running 1 1
26 37 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 264 15 Running
27 39 55 * Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 262 14 Running
28 38 32 Jeffrey Earnhardt # Keen Parts/Visone RV Ford 262 13 Running
29 29 38 Landon Cassill MDS Transport Ford 261 12 Running
30 28 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 246 11 Running
31 8 24 Chase Elliott # NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 210 10 Running
32 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 208 9 Accident
33 32 44 Brian Scott # Medallion Bank Ford 151 8 Accident
34 33 7 Regan Smith Advance Auto Parts/Quaker State Chevrolet 150 7 Accident
35 15 21 * Ryan Blaney # Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 143 6 Running
36 19 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/Clorox Chevrolet 103 5 Accident
37 34 34 Chris Buescher # Love’s Travel Stops Ford 92 4 Accident
38 35 83 Matt DiBenedetto Anest Iwata Toyota 79 3 Accident
39 4 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil/Autotrader Ford 52 2 Accident
40 21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford 9 1 Accident
Average Speed: 128.580 MPH
Lead Changes: 16 among 9 drivers
Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 06 Mins, 55 Secs.
Cautions: 11 for 53 laps
Margin of Victory: 0.175 Seconds
