Many fans seem to be disappointed in what they saw at Richmond over the weekend. Yes, we had two runaway races—Kyle Busch in the Nationwide race and Brad Keselowski in the Cup race, but there is a reason for that and it is something that many fail to understand. There are the haves and the have nots. The haves always win unless you’re at a road course or Daytona.
In a far less dramatic and controversial race than last year, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 57th Annual Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
With only two more positions to be filled, and one race remaining, Saturday’s race at Richmond International Raceway held the promise of a no holds barred, fight to the finish. Instead it delivered an uneventful event but a dominant fourth win by Brad Keselowski who led 383 out of 400 laps. His fourth win also puts him atop the Chase Grid.
Brad Keselowski put a clinic on at the Richmond International Raceway Saturday night winning the Federated Auto Parts 400. Keselwoski beat Jeff Gordon to the finish line by .797 seconds for his fourth win of the season putting him at the front of the newly formatted Chase for the Sprint Cup grid. He led a whopping 383 of the 400 laps after starting from the pole.
Brad Keselowski won the Coors Light Pole Award at Richmond International Raceway for the Federated Auto Parts 400 with a 21.324 lap at 126.618 mph. It is his fourth pole of the season and the seventh career Sprint Cup pole for the Team Penske driver.
1. Jeff Gordon: Gordon was running second early at Atlanta when he blew a tire, sending him into the wall. He fell two laps down, but battled back to regain the lead lap and finished 17th.
The Coliseum…..Thunder Valley…..and “The World's Fastest Half Mile"…..here is what was surprising and not surprising from Bristol Motor Speedway in the IRWIN Tools Night Race.
We learned a lot at Bristol on Saturday night. We learned that there might be some bashed fenders. Okay, we already knew that. Kyle Busch learned it as well as anyone else.
1. Jeff Gordon: Gordon started second at Bristol but encountered handling issues that left him mid-pack for much of the race. He finished 16th, one lap down, and leads the Sprint Cup points standings by 27 over Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Where is the passion? That is one area I have heard presented as to why NASCAR is not as red hot as it once was. There was a time a few members of my family would gather for some of the big races, or any race, to cheer and sneer at our favorites.
