For the second time in as many Sundays, Brad Keselowski is the unexpected winner.
Keselowski restarted fourth with five laps remaining at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, which was a beneficial position for restarts throughout the race. With the higher lane preferred, Keselowski was able to gain position while Joey Logano and Chase Elliott battled for the lead on the final restart.
Ultimately, Elliott lost control of his car while he was on the inside of Logano’s No. 22, and he rode them up the banking and into the wall.
Keselowski snuck by, and just as it happened in last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600, Elliott’s chance to win slips into the hands of the Team Penske driver.
“Things have been going our way from the luck of the draw on the qualifying to the last few laps there,” Keselowski said. “We couldn’t get anything to go our way at the start of the race with cars staying out, and I kept getting the bottom lane on restarts, and nothing was working out. … Right at the end, we came in and put two tires on the left and drove up to, I guess, fourth or sixth.
“I could see Joey and Chase were getting really racy there, and I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I knew if I kept my eye open, something good might happen, and sure enough, it did.
“We kind of got a Christmas present here in Bristol. We’ll take it.”
He now has two wins on the season — two wins that could easily have belonged to Elliott.
“I just got loose and got up into (Logano),” Elliott said. “I feel like that was my shot. He was really good on the short run, and I feel like I had to keep him behind me right there in order to win the race with only three or four laps to go. I hate we both wrecked. But you can’t go back in time now.”
Like at the Coke 600, Elliott had one of the best cars. But a poor decision to pit from the lead while most of the field stayed out relegated him to a second-place finish in that race. On Sunday, he swept Stages 1 and 2, so he can take solace in that, but he crossed the line 22nd. He’s third in the points standings.
Elliott wouldn’t look into Logano’s direction when they were climbing out their cars after the race. Logano stared him down as he put on his glasses and mask before walking over to the No. 9 car to have a conversation. Logano said that Elliott told him he’s “done it before,” according to an Instagram post.
“The part that’s frustrating is that afterward a simple apology — like be a man and come up to someone and say, ‘Hey, my bad,’” Logano said of Elliott. “But I had to force an apology, which, to me, is childish. … It’s hard racing at the end; I get that. It’s hard racing, but, golly, man, be a man and take the hit when you’re done with it.”
Logano finished 21st. He’s second in the standings, but like his teammate, owns two wins. Keselowski has passed Alex Bowman for fourth in points.
