Brad Keselowski put together a solid Sunday afternoon at Kansas Speedway as he led 23 laps, won the second stage, and went on to finish ninth in the BuildSubmarines.com Ford.
Keselowski – the two-time Kansas winner – began the day from the 12th position, but methodically worked his way through the top-10, and into the top five throughout the 400-mile race.
The opening stage saw a pair of yellows as the No. 6 restarted 10th with 11 laps remaining, and went on to cross the line eighth. From there, he never left the top-10, rolling seventh to begin the second stage of 85 laps.
One of nine caution flags flew at lap 107 with Keselowski in seventh, but after a solid pit stop, he restarted third at lap 113. He maintained the position for a handful of laps, before a caution again flew at lap 127.
This time, crew chief Matt McCall called him to pit road for sticker tires, in a move that would pay off. He restarted 10thafter the stop, but drove to the lead in the final laps of the stage, earning stage points and a valuable playoff point.
He led the first handful of laps after the stage three start – 23 in total – before the No. 11 took over the lead with 81 laps remaining. He hit pit road under green with 53 laps to go, and pitted one final time in the closing laps for fresh tires again, before finishing ninth on a NASCAR Overtime restart.
Keselowski and the No. 6 team now sit fifth in the playoff standings, 33 points to the good.
Up Next
Bristol Motor Speedway hosts the third race of the playoffs, and final in the Round of 16, next Saturday night. Race coverage is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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