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[/media-credit]For Justin Lofton and Brad Keselowski it all came down to restarts. That’s what would decide who was going to win the North Carolina Education 200 at Charlotte on Friday night, two late restarts that changed the night for both of them.
Lofton hadn’t been getting good restarts all night while Keselowski was, walking away from the field in dominating fashion. But with nine laps to go it was a reversal of fortune for Lofton, who got a good jump and grabbed the lead. Keselowski got his worst restart of the night and he blamed Ron Hornaday, who restarted fourth.
Lofton then got another good restart with four laps to go and held Keselowski off for his first career win. For Lofton it was vindication, saying he outsmarted Keselowski with some help from Hornaday. And he knew that once he got a decent lead Keselowski wouldn’t be able to catch him.
“Our truck was phenomenally good,” said Keselowski. “Just trying to be smart with it. Got caught in that section of green flag stops where the yellow came out and lost a lap, got back around on that and got to where we could race again. It was just a fight for track position in a very short race.
“I was proud of my team for working really hard to get it back. Got back to the lead there until that last yellow came out with 10 to go, something like that. Then it was just a matter of racing the restarts and who ran ‘em smart and who didn’t.”
Before the second to last restart Keselowski had come over the radio and asked his spotter to get with Hornaday’s. His message was clear: you take care of me and I’ll take care of you.
It’s something that according to Keselowski, he’s done in every CWTS race he’s competed in. Respected and raced Hornaday clean but after Friday don’t count on it. Hornaday doesn’t show him the same respect anyway and Keselowski felt that because he had the truck to beat nobody would work with him instead “they did everything they could to wreck me.”
A discussion on pit road after the race didn’t clear up the issue. Both pleaded their case about why the other was wrong with neither coming away with many answers.
“I guess Brad is mad at me because I ran into the back of him on the restart,” said Hornaday. “But they stopped and played jackrabbit and someone got into the back of me so I just had to go too. I’m sorry about that, but we are all looking for spots.”
Keselowski was having none of Hornaday’s answer, saying it seemed the incident never happened in his mind and it showed his ignorance. It ended up costing them both what could have been better finishes.
“You know, I came over the radio and asked him, ‘Hey man, I’ll play it cool. Just be nice and smooth here and we’ll both have great days,’” said Keselowski. “Instead he decided to be a jackass and run me over. I don’t define that as playing it cool.
“And it cost him what would have been an easy second place and obviously cost me the win. So we both lost out on the deal and I was just frustrated by that. Thats the way it goes.”
If Keselowski was hoping for sympathy or an agreement from others, he won’t find it. Third place finisher Todd Bodine said it’s nothing more than racing and that it’s called tough trucks for a reason.
“Both times the front row was what messed that up,” he said. “I don’t know what Justin was doing going so slow on those restarts and then Brad did the same thing. I just jacks everybody up and you start spinning tires and people are going every which way.
“It’s absolutely absurd to be mad at anybody for that, its just part of the game. It’s all determined on the front row what they do. I guess Brad thought that Ron run into him for no reason but everybody was going and Brad didn’t. It’s just a racing deal.
“He’s got to get over it. He’s racing trucks not Cup cars.”
The NCWTS next race is the first weekend of June at Dover, but Keselowski won’t be back behind the wheel of his truck until later that month in Kentucky.
