NASCAR Cup Series: Brad Keselowski wins 2018 Brickyard 400

Brad Keselowski earned his second victory of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season in the final race of the regular season, the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard.

The Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, more commonly known as the Brickyard 400, was scheduled to take place yesterday afternoon. However, because of the rain, the 26th and final race before the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin was re-scheduled to take place this afternoon.

Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski earned his second victory of the season and his second consecutive victory by winning the delayed 160-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana in his #2 Ford after starting in fifth place.

Keselowski, who won last Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, won the race by 0.904 seconds over second place finisher Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing in his #20 Toyota.

Jones’s teammate Denny Hamlin, who Keselowski passed for the race lead with just over one lap to go as a result of the fact that he made the gamble to pit for new tires late in the race, finished in third place in his #11 Toyota.

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Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch rounded out the top six in fourth, fifth and sixth place in their #4 Ford, #14 Ford and #41 Ford, respectively.

The highest finishing Chevrolet driver of the race was Jamie McMurray. He finished in seventh place in his #1 Chevrolet. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, Wood Brothers Racing’s Paul Menard and Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman rounded out the top 10 in eighth, ninth and 10th place in their #18 Toyota, #21 Ford and #31 Chevrolet, respectively.

Just like the Xfinity Series race, the Lilly Diabetes 250, at the track earlier today, the race featured a total of 14 lead changes among nine drivers. Aside of Keselowski, who led only nine laps, eight other drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those drivers were Hamlin, Harvick, Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Matt Kenseth and William Byron.

Hamlin and Bowyer both led more laps than anybody else in the field with 37 laps led. Bowyer won stage one and Kenseth won stage two.

The race also featured a total of 10 caution flag periods for 39 laps. Of those caution flag periods, two were competition caution flag periods and two took place as a result of the endings of stages one and two like usual. The other six took place as a result of on-track incidents.

Of the 40 drivers who started the race, 31 finished it. Of the 31 drivers who finished it, 22 finished it on the lead lap.

Here are the full race results of the 2018 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Race Results

1st – Brad Keselowski

2nd – Erik Jones

3rd – Denny Hamlin

4th – Kevin Harvick

5th – Clint Bowyer

6th – Kurt Busch

7th – Jamie McMurray

8th – Kyle Busch

9th – Paul Menard

10th – Ryan Newman

11th – Ryan Blaney

12th – Matt Kenseth

13th – Joey Logano

14th – Kyle Larson

15th – Chase Elliott

16th – Jimmie Johnson

17th – Michael McDowell

18th – Daniel Suarez

19th – William Byron

20th – Regan Smith

21st – Ty Dillon

22nd – Austin Dillon

23rd – Aric Almirola

24th – David Ragan

25th – Chris Buescher

26th – Ross Chastain

27th – Corey Lajoie

28th – Reed Sorenson

29th – J.J. Yeley

30th – B.J. McLeod

31st – Landon Cassill

32nd – Jeffrey Earnhardt

33rd – Alex Bowman

34th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

35th – Timmy Hill

36th – Matt DiBenedetto

37th – A.J. Allmendinger

38th – Darrell Wallace Jr.

39th – David Starr

40th – Martin Truex Jr.

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The first race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is the South Point 400. This race is scheduled to take place next Sunday, September 16, and it is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET from Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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