Keselowski Dominates, Wins at Iowa
In the 20th race of the 33 race-long Nationwide series, Brad Keselowski dominated a field of Nationwide drivers to win his third race at Iowa Speedway and his 30th career win in the series. Keselowski was followed by Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Michael McDowell and Roush Fenway Racing’s Trevor Bayne.
Keselowski said the race was, “A really good battle. He had me there for a minute. Somehow I slid back by him. I’m not really sure how it worked out. These wins aren’t easy to come by and I’m really proud of the effort everyone put into it.”
McDowell thought he had a chance to win on the restart saying, “When you’re that close to getting the victory, it’s definitely a tough one. Brad definitely had the best car tonight, but on those restarts everybody’s got a shot.”
The U.S. Cellular 250 started off with pole winner Trevor Bayne taking an early lead with Brad Keselowski in hot pursuit. The top five quickly became single file with Brian Scott in third, Regan Smith in fourth, and Chase Elliott in fifth. Previous Iowa winner Sam Hornish Jr. was hot on the top five’s heels in sixth place.
By lap 15, the only change in the top five was Hornish’s leap into the top five by passing rookie Chase Elliott, and by lap 19, the leaders began to contend with lap traffic, which allowed Scott to catch the top two.
On lap 22 the race for the lead became heated with Keselowski and Bayne racing side by side for the better part of three laps. The first caution of the night came out on lap 25 for debris and the battle for first temporarily went to Bayne.
The first to pit road, Elliott Sadler, was previously running in ninth place, and only a few others took the opportunity to pit during this caution.
The race went green once again on lap 31, and less than a lap later, Keselowski took the lead from Bayne and began to lead the drivers around the oval track.
Chase Elliott took great advantage of the restart and was able to jump into third, trailing the leaders by less than a second.
The race remained problem free and allowed Keselowski to jump three seconds ahead of Bayne and Chase Elliott who were in the midst of duking it out for second when the second caution of the night flew.
This caution was brought out by Tanner Berryhill when his car lost power and stalled between turns one and two. When the pits opened, the front runners all came down and pitted, while Elliott Sadler and a few others stayed out and tried to capitalize on their different pit strategies. Keselowski led the field off pit road with Bayne trailing behind him.
When the race resumed on lap 57, Sadler continued to lead the field until lap 61 when Hornish showed his colors for the first time Saturday night and took the lead. By lap 65, Keselowski and Bayne passed the fading Sadler as well.
Hornish didn’t get to keep the lead long as Keselowski caught and passed him by lap 72. Despite how easily Keselowski passed Hornish though, Hornish stuck to Keselowski’s bumper. The two pulled away from third place driver, Bayne, by nearly four seconds.
The race once again remained relatively quiet and calm, with little changing within the top five except for Chase Elliott’s threading through lapped traffic to get himself to fifth position.
Most came down pit road during this caution. Hornish however, was able to beat Keselowski off pit road. The two were followed by McDowell, Bayne, Smith, Dillon, Kwasniewski, and Elliott.
On lap 117, the green flag was waved and Hornish was able to keep the lead while McDowell forced himself into a battle with Keselowski for second. The race once again settled down with little happening. Bayne, running in fourth place, reported a vibration on lap 126, but all else remained quiet.
On lap 163, Hornish slid loose off of turn four and Keselowski was able to capitalize and steal the lead from Hornish on the outside on lap 164.
The fourth caution of the race came out on lap 183, when Dakoda Armstrong spun off of turn two. Fortunately no contact was made and the race was able to restart rather quickly on lap 189 with Keselowski able to reassert his lengthy lead rather quickly.
Keselowski and Hornish began a heated battle for the lead after lap traffic began to come into play again, but before anything came of it, the caution came out for the final time of the night when James Buescher crashed on the front stretch on lap 241.
For not the first time of the night, mass pit stops took place with Keselowski leading the field out and McDowell heading out in second. Bayne, Scott, and Smith rounded out the top five.
On the restart, McDowell was able to rip the lead away from Keselowski, but the Sprint cup champion was able to snatch it back and win the race, marking his 30th victory in the Nationwide series. McDowell had to settle for second place. Bayne finished in third and also claimed the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize. Sam Hornish Jr. finished fourth followed by Ty Dillon in fifth place.
Chase Elliott was able to leave Iowa and retain the points leader by two over second place Regan Smith. Sadler and Ty Dillon are tied for third in the points standings (-12) and Bayne is in fifth (-41).
US Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway Complete Finishing Order:
1. (22) Brad Keselowski
2. (20) Michael McDowell
3. (6) Trevor Bayne
4. (54) Sam Hornish Jr.
5. (3) Ty Dillon
6. (7) Regan Smith
7. (2) Brian Scott
8. (9) Chase Elliott
9. (42) Dylan Kwasniewski
10. (11) Elliott Sadler
11. (62) Brendan Gaughan.
12. (5) Josh Berry
13. (01) Landon Cassill
14. (60) Chris Buescher
15. (16) Ryan Reed
16. (19) Mike Bliss
17. (28) J.J. Yeley
18. (31) Chase Pistone
19. (29) Kenny Wallace
20. (39) Ryan Sieg
21. (43) Dakoda Armstrong
22. (84) Chad Boat
23. (14) Eric McClure
24. (52) Joey Gase
25. (51) Jeremy Clements
26. (99) James Buescher
27. (55) Jamie Dick
28. (44) Hal Martin
29. (93) Kevin Swindell
30. (40) Matt DiBenedetto
31. (4) Jeffrey Earnhardt
32. (23) Carl Long
33. (87) Josh Reaume
34. (70) Derrike Cope
35. (17) Tanner Berryhill
36. (89) Morgan Shepherd
37. (72) John Jackson
38. (10) Blake Koch
39. (74) Mike Harmon
40. (46) Matt Frahm
Keselowski Repeats at Iowa Speedway
Brad Keselowski dominated most of the evening, leading 146 of the 250 laps to score his third win at Iowa Speedway, tying two-time Nationwide Series Champion, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., with three victories.
Keselowski did have a short run car and had trouble finding his way around the leaders all night long, but the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang was unbeatable in clean air. As soon as Keselowski could get to the door panel, it was a lights out performance. Sam Hornish Jr. and Trevor Bayne provided Keselowski with the strongest challenges.
In addition, Brad Keselowski tied Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the most Nationwide Series victories at Iowa Speedway with three.
McDowell placed second in a tremendous outing, briefly taking the lead from Keselowski on the final restart. McDowell, who drives for the underfunded Leavine Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, showed that McDowell has more to offer in NASCAR. McDowell, a Glendale, Arizona native, began his NASCAR career with Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007.
“We took two tires at the end,” McDowell added. “We came so close. It was a great run and I am very blessed and thankful.”
Trevor Bayne, who started the race from the pole, leading the initial 31 circuits, finished third. In addition, Bayne came home $100,000 richer, collecting the final Dash 4 Cash prize. Nationwide, title sponsor of the second tier series since 2008, is leaving at the end of the season. Sam Hornish Jr. finished fourth, followed by Ty Dillon in fifth.
Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion, will start tomorrow’s GoBowling.com 400 from the third position at Pocono Raceway. His Team Penske teammate, Joey Logano, starts on the outside of the front row.
“I thought Sam Hornish and Michael McDowell were good all night,” Keselowski said. They were tough to beat. We gave it all we had, but it very easily could have turned out differently.”
Hornish was second when the final caution came out, but decided to take four tires on the pit stop, while most others opted to take just two, leaving Hornish in seventh position.
However, Hornish managed to finish fourth, falling short of his quest to sweep the races at Iowa Speedway this season. Hornish, a three-time IndyCar Series Champion, led 167 of 250 laps during the race in May.
“It was the chance that we had to go out there and win,” Hornish commented. “Maybe we would have got it with two.”
Chase Elliott, who entered the race as the Nationwide Series points leader, finished eighth. Regan Smith, who entered as the runner-up, finished sixth. Elliott, who has three wins this season, maintains a two-point edge on Smith.
Next weekend, the series heads to Watkins Glen International for Saturday’s running of the Zippo 200 at the Glen (2:15 p.m. ET on ABC).
Erik Jones Finds Redemption at Pocono Raceway with Top Ten Truck Run
Erik Jones, the 18 year old driver of the No. 51 ToyotaCare Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, put his two bad ARCA Racing experiences at Pocono Raceway behind him, redeeming himself with a top-10 finish in his first ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Race at the Tricky Triangle.
Jones finished sixth in his virgin Pocono Truck voyage, surviving ten extra laps and some wild and crazy restarts to do so.
“Yeah, the ARCA races, we were fast but we just didn’t have the finishes we wanted,” Jones said. “The Truck race was good. We definitely got the truck better as the run went on.”
“We had a fast Tundra from the start of practice; I just wish we could’ve been on that outside line on that last restart at the end of the day,” Jones continued. “We probably should’ve run third, but don’t know if we had anything for the win.”
“It was a good day overall,” Jones said. “Eric (Phillips, crew chief) did great calling the race and getting us good track position for the end.”
While the young driver praised his crew chief, he also gave major props to the man with whom he has shared his seat Kyle Busch.
“Having Kyle to talk to – he’s definitely a big resource that I have gone to and said ‘hey, how do you get around this place,’ Jones said. “He’s been a big help to me. Definitely just on the job learning with Kyle on the side and that’s been the way I’ve done it for the past year.”
“My mentor has definitely been Kyle, even throughout my whole career,” Jones continued. “I’ve never really had a mentor or driver coach up until last year when Kyle was helping me out. Especially this year, he has really been helping me out a lot. It’s pretty cool that I have Kyle to go to.”
While Jones gave total credit to Busch for his success at Pocono and throughout the 2014 season to date, he also acknowledged that it is sometimes difficult to pop in and out of the Truck seat with his owner and mentor.
“It’s tough,” Jones said. “You always want to race week in and week out. I’m grateful for every opportunity I get.”
“But it definitely makes it hard to stay in that rhythm when you’re not in the truck and doing it every week,” Jones continued. “We have great race trucks and that definitely makes it a lot easier to get back in when they are so good. It’s tough but we make it work along the way.”
Jones also credited his teammate Darrell Wallace Jr., who drives the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 54 Tundra, as well as his manufacturer for the success that he has had so far this season and especially at Pocono this weekend.
“Toyota has put a lot into the trucks this year,” Jones said. “I’m getting a strong truck and they put a lot of time building it and in the wind tunnel. It all worked out for this year.”
“My teammate in the No. 54 has been fast and we’ve been fast as well,” Jones continued. “That has been paying off throughout the season and I hope we can keep it going and ahead of the game so far. I think everyone is trying to catch up with us. So, we want to stay ahead of it and stay fast.”
While Jones is a bit unsure of what the future holds for the 2015 season, he has definitely got his goals for the remainder of the season after completing his Pocono run.
“Right now I’ve got the rest of the Truck season with seven more races. So, I’ll do that and two more Nationwide races with Gibbs at Bristol and Phoenix. I’m definitely looking forward to all of them honestly,” Jones said.
“Next year, if I could be back full-time in the truck, that’d be great,” Jones continued. “I’d love to run here for a driver’s championship; hopefully bring one home to Kyle and everybody.”
“Right now we’re focused one hundred percent on the owner’s championship for the second year in a row. I think that would be pretty good for us,” Jones said. “Obviously next year hopefully the focus can be the driver’s championship for me but right now we’re all looking forward to trying to go out and get that owner’s championship.”
Just as he experienced at the Tricky Triangle, Jones admitted that the Truck Series is definitely challenging for him as a young, up and coming driver.
“I’d say the thing I like most about the Truck Series is the competitiveness and running with the veterans,” Jones said. “And it’s always fun to go to the race track and feel like I have a chance to win this weekend. That’s what is so fun for me and everybody on this deal.”
“The challenge for me, last year more so than this year, has been really adjusting to the competition level,” Jones continued. “Some of these guys have been racing trucks for so long. They really know how to run these races and they know what they need their truck to do. It took me awhile last year to get adjusted to that competition level and I’m still really trying to figure it out fully this year. So, that’s’ been the biggest challenge.”
Jones is hoping that his continuing top-10 finishes will also help attract some additional fans to his burgeoning base.
“It’s not easy,” Jones said of his effort to garner new fans. “Obviously social media has been big for me to connect with people that don’t know who I am. That’s been a huge part for me.”
“Just going to all the autograph sessions and doing everything on Twitter to stay involved is how I interact with fans,” Jones continued. “The biggest thing for me is trying to meet people, be friendly with them and be open to them.”
So, what does Jones want fans to know about him, especially after finishing his maiden Truck voyage at Pocono?
“I guess the biggest thing is that I want to be competitive,” Jones said. “I want to be successful. And I want to move on and be fast.”
“That’s the biggest thing to me to be successful every weekend. Hopefully we can keep the top-ten finishing streak going and keep it alive for Toyota.”
“The King” Spends Day with Henry Jakes-Petty Family Foundation Helps Empty His “Bucket List”
Austin Dillon Takes Chevrolet to Victory Lane in Pocono Truck Race
Austin Dillon, in the No. 3 Yuengling Light Lager Chevrolet, took the checkered flag after a ten-lap overtime shootout in the Pocono Mountains 150. Dillon also brought Chevrolet back to Victory Lane, the first time since brother Ty Dillon won the race in Texas last year.
This was Dillon’s first victory of the year and his first victory at Pocono Raceway. This was also the first time that the iconic No. 3 has been in Victory Lane since 1993.
“This is very special for us to run a Truck race with Yuengling Light,” Austin Dillon said. “I circled this race at the beginning of the year and wanted to win it.”
“We had fun today. It was a good day.”
The weekend did not start out so stellar, however, as Dillon recounted his ‘Pop Pop’ Richard Childress being a bit unhappy when they practiced two seconds off the pace. But crew chief Nick Harrison made some good adjustments and Dillon was able to calm his grandfather down enough to make the needed adjustments.
“Then we put it all together to be in Victory Lane,” Dillon said.
In contrast to Dillon’s ebullient reaction after the race, runner up driver Johnny Sauter seemed shocked and surprised after finishing second at a track that he has deemed his worst.
“I’m very, very happy to be sitting in here,” the driver of the No. 98 Nextant Aero Space/Curb Records Toyota said in the media center after the race. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in here at Pocono before if that gives you any indication on how well I don’t run at this race track.”
“It was a crazy day,” Sauter continued. “That extra ten laps really made this race that much more exciting. At one point, I didn’t even know where I was running.”
“This is like a win,” Sauter said. “We did everything we could do and kept the truck in one piece. It’s a great day for us.”
Sauter is second in the point standings, just seven points behind leader Ryan Blaney, who finished in the fifth spot.
Joey Coulter, in the No. 21 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet, finished in the third position and unlike Sauter, Coulter practically gushed over his affection for Pocono, posting his fourth top-10 finish in four races at the Tricky Triangle.
“It was a great day for us,” Coulter said. “I can’t thank Chevrolet enough for all the support they have given us.”
“I’m really pumped about our team and what we’ve accomplished.”
Kyle Larson, who sat on the pole and looked strong throughout the race, had an engine issue and finished a disappointing 18th.
In addition to the deep disappointment of Larson, there was also controversy on and off the track between German Quiroga Jr. and Tyler Reddick, who got into each other resulting in the latter driver being parked for the remainder of the race.
“I just tried to stay off the wall,” Quiroga said. “I didn’t mean to spin him. I don’t race like that.”
“Reddick shouldn’t be wrecking trucks going for the championship.”
Quiroga finished 22nd and Reddick was right behind him in 23rd. Quiroga fell one position in the point standings as a result of his race finish, from fifth to the sixth position.
Clint Bowyer, substituting for John Wes Townley in the No. 05 Zaxby’s Toyota after JWT crashed hard in ARCA practice, finished fourth.
“I think honestly we were a third-place truck,” Bowyer said. “Larson was the class of the field and luckily blew up and gave Austin and I a chance and Austin capitalized.”
“It was a lot of fun to drive this Zaxby’s Toyota,” Bowyer continued. “These trucks are a blast when they draft the way they do down there.”
“The restarts are a lot of fun, just come up a little short and got beat but had a lot of fun.”
The full race results are as follows:
Pocono Mountains 150 Results
1. (2) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 64 laps, 133.5 rating, 0 points.
2. (6) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 64, 97.8, 42.
3. (11) Joey Coulter, Chevrolet, 64, 93.4, 41.
4. (10) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 64, 119.5, 0.
5. (8) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 64, 100.5, 39.
6. (13) Erik Jones, Toyota, 64, 83.5, 38.
7. (14) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, 64, 83.9, 38.
8. (15) Darrell Wallace Jr., Toyota, 64, 81.4, 36.
9. (7) Justin Lofton, Chevrolet, 64, 84.4, 35.
10. (20) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 64, 79.3, 34.
11. (16) Jason White, Chevrolet, 64, 69.4, 0.
12. (5) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 64, 73, 32.
13. (4) Ben Kennedy, Chevrolet, 64, 99.3, 32.
14. (9) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 64, 91.3, 31.
15. (12) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 64, 71.4, 29.
16. (18) Jeb Burton, Toyota, 64, 62, 28.
17. (17) Mason Mingus, Toyota, 64, 54, 27.
18. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 64, 118.2, 0.
19. (26) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 64, 44.7, 0.
20. (30) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 63, 40.4, 24.
21. (19) Bryan Silas, Chevrolet, 63, 52.4, 23.
22. (24) German Quiroga, Toyota, 63, 60.2, 22.
23. (3) Tyler Reddick, Ford, parked, 60, 99.1, 22.
24. (27) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, 60, 35.1, 20.
25. (28) Todd Peck, Chevrolet, 60, 32.6, 19.
26. (23) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, accident, 59, 51.3, 18.
27. (29) Kyle Martel, Chevrolet, accident, 44, 40.7, 17.
28. (22) Ray Black Jr., Chevrolet, accident, 16, 32.8, 16.
29. (21) T.J. Bell, Chevrolet, transmission, 13, 40.7, 15.
30. (25) B.J. McLeod, Chevrolet, electrical, 12, 33.3, 14.
31. (32) Caleb Roark, Chevrolet, engine, 3, 31, 13.
32. (31) Justin Jennings, Chevrolet, vibration, 2, 29.2, 12
