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Bad Brad wins the Indy 250 at Indianapolis

[media-credit name=”Credit: Tyler Barrick/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]In a wild race, Brad Keselowski won the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Indy 250 with his Penske teammate Sam Hornish Jr. finishing second.  This was Roger Penske’s first win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in NASCAR and Keselowski’s first win at the speedway.  This win also gave Penske its 100th victory in NASCAR.

Ty Dillon, making his second NNS start, finished third (his career best finish), Denny Hamlin finished fourth and Austin Dillon finished fifth.

Polesitter Kasey Kahne led them to the green flag when Kyle Busch took off as they went into turn one.  Kahne told his team on the radio that the No.54 should get a penalty because he jumped the start.  NASCAR said that the No.38 Great Clips car did not start and that the No.54 would not get a penalty.

Busch lead the first 15 laps en route to the competition caution. All of the leaders came down for pit stops. Denny Hamlin came in for 2 tires and a wedge adjustment. Dillon came into the pits fifth and got two tires as well. The No.54 car came in the leader and got two tires but they held Busch for just two seconds for fuel and lost three spots. Keselowski won the race off pit road.

Green flag pit stops started to occur on lap 36 with the Discount Tire Dodge of Keselowski . Keselowski took four tires and a track bar adjustment because he was a little free off the corner.  The No.54 and the No.18 both took four tires.

While that was happening, Danica Patrick and Reed Sorenson got together when Patrick went into turn-1 and bumped into the No.98 of Sorenson.  Sorenson tried to save it but came back up the track and caught Patrick, sending them both to the outside wall.  Patrick was not happy and showed her anger thru her in car camera.  Patrick said she just got shuffled back and she doesn’t know if she tapped him.

“It’s just unfortunate for our day. It’s a big race, a big weekend.” Patrick said.

The rest of the leaders came into pit during the caution. The No.12 of Sam Hornish took four tires and won the race off pit road. Kasey Kahne lost two positions due to putting tape on the car.

The third caution came out with 37 laps to go for Debris. All of the leaders came in to pit maybe for the last time. the No.12 and the No.43 took two tires and came out first and second. The No.54 came in and was told to save fuel because they are four laps short. The No.22 car took 4 four tires and got tape for the grill.

They restarted with 34 laps to go with Hornish Jr. leading. Keselowski took the lead from his teammate with 29 to go and also having to save fuel.

The fourth caution came out when Brian Scott was battling Kahne and Scott spun and saved it but got little damage from Dillon. There was some takers for pit road to top off for fuel but none of the front runners came in.

They got back to green with Keselowski leading. Busch spun coming off turn-1 and made a great save to keep it off the wall. Busch will have to come to pit road so the fuel mileage situation (for him) is gone. Busch finished 22nd.

With 15 laps to go, Elliott Sadler was the race leader and got black flagged. Keselowski  was the leader on the restart and spun his tires (just like Kasey at the start). Sadler was asking NASCAR to review it and they did, but they still made Sadler come down pit road on lap 89.

“It’s so wrong to penalize me for a mistake they made.” Sadler radioed to his crew. “NASCAR just took the championship away from me. They just took the damn championship right out of our hands.”

Sadler finished battled back to finish 15th after the penalty and remains the series points leader by two points over Dillon.

Sixth place finisher Michael Annett captured the Nationwide’s $100,000 Dash 4 cash.  “This is awesome. This is the Brickyard. We aren’t kissing any bricks today but we have a big cardboard check that we can lay our lips on.”

Unofficial Race Results
Indiana 250, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=19
=========================================
Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
=========================================
1 8 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
2 13 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 43
3 3 51 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 0
4 4 18 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0
5 7 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 39
6 21 43 Michael Annett Ford 38
7 6 20 Joey Logano Toyota 0
8 9 33 Paul Menard Chevrolet 0
9 10 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 35
10 16 4 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 34
11 12 44 Mike Bliss Toyota 33
12 14 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 32
13 19 199 Travis Pastrana Toyota 31
14 15 11 Brian Scott Toyota 30
15 5 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 30
16 24 81 Jason Bowles * Toyota 28
17 40 88 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 27
18 28 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 26
19 26 124 Kenny Wallace Toyota 25
20 23 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 24
21 39 39 Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevrolet 23
22 2 54 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
23 37 41 Timmy Hill Ford 0
24 34 14 Eric McClure Toyota 20
25 1 38 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0
26 25 30 James Buescher Chevrolet 0
27 11 136 Ryan Blaney Chevrolet 17
28 41 52 Tim Schendel Chevrolet 16
29 22 19 Tayler Malsam Toyota 15
30 17 70 Johanna Long * Chevrolet 14
31 42 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 13
32 29 108 Kyle Fowler Ford 12
33 27 198 Reed Sorenson Ford 11
34 18 1 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 0
35 20 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 9
36 35 10 Jeff Green Toyota 9
37 38 15 Scott Riggs Ford 0
38 33 40 Erik Darnell Chevrolet 6
39 43 50 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 5
40 36 86 Kevin Lepage Ford 4
41 30 46 Chase Miller Chevrolet 3
42 31 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet 0
43 32 47 Stephen Leicht Chevrolet 0

Penske gets 1-2 finish at the Brickyard

[media-credit name=”Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]Brad Keselowski wins the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Penske Racing gets a 1-2 finish.  This win also gives Penske his first at Indianapolis and its 100th in NASCAR.

Sam Hornish Jr. was second, followed by Ty Dillon, Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon. The Dillon brothers are the grandsons of NASCAR team owner Richard Childress; Ty was making only his second career NNS start.

Danica Patrick’s day ended early after she collided with Reed Sorenson on lap 39.  Patrick appeared to tap Sorenson’s back bumper going into turn-1, causing the back end of Sorenson’s car to slide sideways. Sorenson nearly saved it, but his left-front wheel got into the infield grass, causing him to spin out. Patrick then hit Sorenson’s car, causing heavy damage.  “I got pretty close and I might have tapped him. I’m not sure.” Patrick said.

Kyle Busch dominated the first half of the race, but got shuffled back in the field during a round of pit stops on lap 63 and Hornish took the lead.

Keselowski then passed Hornish for the lead with 29 laps to go, and a caution came out shortly afterward. Busch was fourth on the subsequent restart but spun out right after the race went green. He managed to avoid major damage but lost his shot at the win.

Elliot Sadler got the black flag for a restart mistake after the final restart of the race.  With his crew pleading with NASCAR officials, Sadler stayed on the track instead of coming into the pits to serve the penalty.  Sadler finally came in with 12 laps to go, fuming over the radio to his crew as he gave up the race lead and handed it back to Keselowski.  Sadler finished 15th.

It was the first-ever NNS race at the historic oval, part of an effort by officials to drum up interest and boost sagging attendance at the Brickyard 400. Indianapolis also added a Grand Am Series sports car race on the track’s infield road course on Friday.

Unofficial Race Results
Indiana 250, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=19
=========================================
Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
=========================================
1 8 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
2 13 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 43
3 3 51 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 0
4 4 18 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0
5 7 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 39
6 21 43 Michael Annett Ford 38
7 6 20 Joey Logano Toyota 0
8 9 33 Paul Menard Chevrolet 0
9 10 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 35
10 16 4 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 34
11 12 44 Mike Bliss Toyota 33
12 14 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 32
13 19 199 Travis Pastrana Toyota 31
14 15 11 Brian Scott Toyota 30
15 5 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 30
16 24 81 Jason Bowles * Toyota 28
17 40 88 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 27
18 28 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 26
19 26 124 Kenny Wallace Toyota 25
20 23 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 24
21 39 39 Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevrolet 23
22 2 54 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
23 37 41 Timmy Hill Ford 0
24 34 14 Eric McClure Toyota 20
25 1 38 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0
26 25 30 James Buescher Chevrolet 0
27 11 136 Ryan Blaney Chevrolet 17
28 41 52 Tim Schendel Chevrolet 16
29 22 19 Tayler Malsam Toyota 15
30 17 70 Johanna Long * Chevrolet 14
31 42 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 13
32 29 108 Kyle Fowler Ford 12
33 27 198 Reed Sorenson Ford 11
34 18 1 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 0
35 20 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 9
36 35 10 Jeff Green Toyota 9
37 38 15 Scott Riggs Ford 0
38 33 40 Erik Darnell Chevrolet 6
39 43 50 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 5
40 36 86 Kevin Lepage Ford 4
41 30 46 Chase Miller Chevrolet 3
42 31 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet 0
43 32 47 Stephen Leicht Chevrolet 0

 

Hamlin captures the Curtiss Shaver 400 pole at Indy

[media-credit name=”Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”242″][/media-credit]Denny Hamlin captured the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Curtiss Shaver 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a lap of 182.763 mph.

This was the 11th pole of Hamlin’s career and his second this season.

“I just made sure I hit my marks, that was the most important thing. It was a great day for our FedEx Express Toyota. We feel like we have a car that will race good.” Hamlin said.

With new crew chief Chad Norris, Carl Edwards qualified second.

“That was a really good lap for us. I am just proud of everyone for coming together and working together. Everyone at the shop, Chad Norris, Bob Osborne, all the engineers and everyone here at the track who said, ‘Alright, lets put everything we can into this for the next seven weeks.’ I know this is just the first lap of our run toward the Chase but that is a good lap.” Edwards said.

Joey Logano qualified third, Aric Almirola fourth and Greg Biffle qualified fifth.

“It’s really tricky around here. I felt like we had a decent lap in our Dollar General Camry. The car wasn’t quite perfect, but we’ve been working on the thing really hard. We didn’t unload very good. We’ve been working hard and making improvements with it” Logano said.

Drivers Reed Sorenson, Joe Nemechek and Michael McDowell failed to qualify.

Starting Lineup
Curtiss Shaver 400, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=20
===========================================
Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
===========================================
1 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 182.763 49.244
2 99 Carl Edwards Ford 181.984 49.455
3 20 Joey Logano Toyota 181.756 49.517
4 43 Aric Almirola Ford 181.679 49.538
5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 181.532 49.578
6 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 181.357 49.626
7 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 181.046 49.711
8 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 181.014 49.72
9 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 180.952 49.737
10 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 180.654 49.819
11 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 180.611 49.831
12 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 180.516 49.857
13 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 180.487 49.865
14 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 180.473 49.869
15 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 180.447 49.876
16 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 180.437 49.879
17 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 180.433 49.88
18 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 180.39 49.892
19 55 Mark Martin Toyota 180.386 49.893
20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 180.245 49.932
21 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 180.177 49.951
22 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 180.148 49.959
23 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 180.072 49.98
24 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 179.928 50.02
25 13 Casey Mears Ford 179.519 50.134
26 30 David Stremme Toyota 179.212 50.22
27 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 178.894 50.309
28 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 178.862 50.318
29 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 178.816 50.331
30 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 178.543 50.408
31 38 David Gilliland Ford 178.508 50.418
32 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 178.486 50.424
33 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 178.419 50.443
34 195 Scott Speed Ford 177.855 50.603
35 26 Josh Wise* Chevrolet 177.743 50.635
36 34 David Ragan Ford 177.63 50.667
37 33 Stephen Leicht* Chevrolet 177.347 50.748
38 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 177.34 50.75
39 179 Mike Skinner Ford 176.894 50.878
40 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 176.859 50.888
41 10 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 176.523 50.985
42 32 Ken Schrader+ Ford 174.768 51.497
43 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 176.18 51.084