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2017 Brickyard 400 Results – Kasey Kahne Wins a Wreckfest

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 23: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, crosses the finish line to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on July 23, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 23: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, crosses the finish line to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on July 23, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images) /
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Kasey Kahne earned his first win of 2017 season and his first since the 2014 season in a wreck-filled Brickyard 400.

In a Brickyard 400 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana that lasted over six hours from start to finish, Kasey Kahne survived the carnage to win his first race since he won at Atlanta in 2014. Today’s win broke a 102-race winless streak he had going since that win in 2014.

The win locks Kahne into the playoffs, and he becomes the 12th different driver who is locked in. A total of 13 different drivers have won at least one race so far this season, but Joey Logano’s win at Richmond was encumbered, so he is not yet locked into the playoffs.

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The race was dominated by Kyle Busch, but he and Martin Truex Jr. tangled and wrecked early in the third stage as the top 2 cars. After that, the wrecks seemingly never stopped. The caution that really changed the complexion of the race was the one that featured a wreck including Clint Bowyer, Erik Jones and Kurt Busch.

This changed the strategy of the leaders, causing them all to pit so that everyone would be on the same fuel strategy. It took away Trevor Bayne’s chance to win on a fuel-saving run for his first NASCAR Cup race victory since he won the 2011 Daytona 500, and it took away Matt Kenseth’s chance to win his first race of the season by hunting down Bayne.

Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson were in the top 2 at the time of the accident, but they both needed to pit. They made out on the deal, as they were able to stay at the front, as they would have had to stop for fuel under green flag conditions otherwise. This way, everyone had to pit.. But it was Kasey Kahne who got the big advantage, as he came to the pits just before the caution flag came out, which cycled him up to the lead. Ryan Newman did the same thing and restarted aside of Kahne in 2nd.

After the restart, more wrecks took place, involving drivers like Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Trevor Bayne. Then on the back straightaway after the final restart of the race, a large crash involving Denny Hamlin took place toward the back of the field. The wreck happened well before race leader Kasey Kahne crossed the overtime line, but NASCAR did not throw the caution flag until afterwards, which is a totally different topic of discussion. This ended the race and gave Kahne the well-deserved victory.

Here are the full race results from the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

  1. Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  2. Brad Keselowski, Ford, Team Penske
  3. Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  4. Joey Logano, Ford, Team Penske
  5. Matt Kenseth, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  6. Kevin Harvick, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  7. Daniel Suarez, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  8. Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, Go FAS Racing
  9. Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, JTG-Daugherty Racing
  10. A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, JTG-Daugherty Racing
  11. Danica Patrick, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  12. Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, Tri-Star Motorsports
  13. Aric Almirola, Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports
  14. Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, MBM Motorsports
  15. Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
  16. Paul Menard, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  17. Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  18. Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Leavine Family Racing
  19. Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Germain Racing
  20. Trevor Bayne, Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing
  21. Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  22. Landon Cassill, Ford, Front Row Motorsports
  23. Ryan Blaney, Ford, Wood Brothers Racing
  24. Gray Gaulding, Toyota, Premium Motorsports
  25. Joey Gase, Toyota, Premium Motorsports
  26. Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, TMG-Circle Sport Racing
  27. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  28. Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
  29. Kurt Busch, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  30. Clint Bowyer, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  31. Erik Jones, Toyota, Furniture Row Racing
  32. BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, Rick Ware Racing
  33. Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Furniture Row Racing
  34. Kyle Busch, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  35. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing
  36. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  37. JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing
  38. David Ragan, Ford, Front Row Motorsports
  39. Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  40. Corey Lajoie, Toyota, BK Racing

Next: The First Major Domino of Silly Season has Fallen

The next race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania on Sunday, July 30th. It can be seen live on NBC Sports Network at 3:00 PM ET.

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