There’s no stopping Brad Keselowski, not even a broken ankle. The Michigan native held off Kyle Busch at the rain-delayed Pocono 500 for his second NASCAR Sprint Cup win of the year.
Four days earlier Brad Keselowski broke his left ankle while testing at Road Atlanta when he crashed into a (non-SAFER) barrier at over 100mph. The doctors gave him permission to race and Sam Hornish Jr. was standing by as a relief driver but it wasn’t necessary.
Brad Keselowski benefitted from the one hour 40 minute red flag stoppage -- at the 2.5 mile, three turn oval -- because he rested and a doctor treated his broken left ankle draining blood.
The winner said, after a near miss due to fuel strategy last week at the Brickyard 400, “this weekend we closed the deal, I had a good car and team and overcame adversity, I’ve felt better, but, this car was fast.”
Joey Logano, the pole winner, was leading when the red flag came out but faded for the final laps of the race.
The biggest run-in of the day was between five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and another champion Kurt Busch. The two drivers have a long standing feud.
Jimmie Johnson, who finished third, said of Kurt Busch “he got into me off of turn two. Claims I didn’t leave him room. I finally get by him clean and he got into me. I’m not going to run people over to get past. I’ll keep filing things away,” (indicating in his mind).
After losing the position to Johnson the older Busch brother said “I was fighting an uphill coming off of (turn) one. I felt him swerve into us. I thought that was over the line. Him and I have always seen differently.”
The final shoot out was set up when Colombia’s Montoya didn’t know that Kasey Kahne was on the outside with about 20 laps to go and they tangled with some damage but drivable into the pits.
That last yellow flag erased a two second lead for Kyle Busch.
On the last restart Busch explained. “I tried to get a good exit off of turn one but Jimmie got alongside of me down the front stretch and kind of bogged me down a little bit there on the restart, slowed me up. But we were able to go off into Turn 1 I think three wide and somehow I got outside.”
That allowed Keselowski to take the lead and the win.
Four days earlier Brad Keselowski broke his left ankle while testing at Road Atlanta when he crashed into a (non-SAFER) barrier at over 100mph. The doctors gave him permission to race and Sam Hornish Jr. was standing by as a relief driver but it wasn’t necessary.
Brad Keselowski benefitted from the one hour 40 minute red flag stoppage -- at the 2.5 mile, three turn oval -- because he rested and a doctor treated his broken left ankle draining blood.
The winner said, after a near miss due to fuel strategy last week at the Brickyard 400, “this weekend we closed the deal, I had a good car and team and overcame adversity, I’ve felt better, but, this car was fast.”
 |
| Brad Keselowski ahead of Kyle Busch - Photo: nascar.com |
Joey Logano, the pole winner, was leading when the red flag came out but faded for the final laps of the race.
The biggest run-in of the day was between five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and another champion Kurt Busch. The two drivers have a long standing feud.
Jimmie Johnson, who finished third, said of Kurt Busch “he got into me off of turn two. Claims I didn’t leave him room. I finally get by him clean and he got into me. I’m not going to run people over to get past. I’ll keep filing things away,” (indicating in his mind).
After losing the position to Johnson the older Busch brother said “I was fighting an uphill coming off of (turn) one. I felt him swerve into us. I thought that was over the line. Him and I have always seen differently.”
The final shoot out was set up when Colombia’s Montoya didn’t know that Kasey Kahne was on the outside with about 20 laps to go and they tangled with some damage but drivable into the pits.
That last yellow flag erased a two second lead for Kyle Busch.
On the last restart Busch explained. “I tried to get a good exit off of turn one but Jimmie got alongside of me down the front stretch and kind of bogged me down a little bit there on the restart, slowed me up. But we were able to go off into Turn 1 I think three wide and somehow I got outside.”
That allowed Keselowski to take the lead and the win.