NASCAR Winner Spotlight: Brad Keselowski victorious at Darlington

Brad Keselowski won the 2018 Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The previous day, he won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, also at Darlington.

Brad Keselowski added to his impressive NASCAR resume with his victory at Darlington Raceway. Keselowski won the 2018 Bojangles Southern 500 to earn his first NASCAR Cup Series win this season. This victory moves him up to fifth place in the playoff standings, and he certainly gained momentum over the weekend.

Keselowski already had an impressive NASCAR resume. He won the 2010 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship driving the #22 Team Penske Dodge. Two years later, he won the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series championship driving the #2 Team Penske Dodge. In addition to his two NASCAR championships, he is one of 30 drivers who have won at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s major series.

Coming into the NASCAR race weekend at Darlington Raceway, Keselowski had never won a race there. He qualified in ninth place for the Xfinity Series race, the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 and steadily worked his way up to the front, with eighth and second place finishes in the first two stages, respectively.

After contact between Ross Chastain and Kevin Harvick ended Harvick’s race and Chastain’s car took damage, Keselowski took the lead on lap 115. He held on to win the race for his first career win at the track.

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Brad Keselowski drove his #2 Miller Genuine Draft Team Penske Ford in the Cup Series race, the Bojangles’ Southern 500, the following day. Most of the cars in the race featured throwback paint schemes, celebrating different people and eras throughout motorsports. Keselowski drove a throwback paint scheme that honored Rusty Wallace’s 1990 #27 car that he drove for owner Raymond Beadle.

Comparable to his drive to the front of the field the previous day, Keselowski drove his #2 Ford up to the front of the field in the Cup Series race. He qualified in 13th place and he meticulously gained eight positions in the caution-free first stage. Following his fifth place stage one finish, he climbed up to second at the end of the second stage. Under a round of pit stops, he led two laps, but his #2 Ford appeared to be the second fastest car behind Kyle Larson’s #42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

On lap 345, Jeffrey Earnhardt spun his #96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota. The leaders pitted, and Keselowski’s pit crew delivered, giving him the lead. Following the ensuing restart, he never looked back. He held off Larson and drove to a 1.224-second win over teammate Joey Logano. In his on-track interview, Keselowski called the win the biggest of his career. Winning at Darlington is a tremendous feat.

Congratulations, Brad Keselowski! When NASCAR came to Chicagoland Speedway, Keselowski signed autographs at a Discount Tire. I received an autograph, and I told him if he won, I would gladly write an article about him. While he did not win at Chicagoland, Keselowski finally notched a victory on Labor Day weekend.

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The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series regular season concludes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There, Brad Keselowski and the rest of the field will race in the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, also known as the Brickyard 400. The 160-lap is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 9, beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET with live TV coverage provided by NBC Sports Network.

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