NASCAR Cup Series: Brad Keselowski wins 2018 South Point 400

Brad Keselowski won a chaotic South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to open up the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski followed up his victories in the Bojangles’ Southern 400 at Darlington Raceway and the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, more commonly known as the Brickyard 400, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a victory in the first of 10 races in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the South Point 400, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

After failing to win any of the first 24 races of the 2018 season, the 34-year-old Rochester Hills, Michigan native secured his third consecutive victory in the 272-lap race, which was scheduled to be a 267-lap race but went into overtime as a result of late caution flag periods, at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval in Las Vegas, Nevada by 1.276 seconds in his #2 Ford over Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson in second place in his #42 Chevrolet.

Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. was the highest finishing Toyota driver of the race. He finished in third place in his #78 Toyota. Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five by finishing in fourth and fifth in their #22 Ford and #12 Ford, respectively.

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Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez, Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman and Wood Brothers Racing’s Paul Menard rounded out the top 10 by finishing in sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th place in their #10 Ford, #18 Toyota, #19 Toyota, #31 Chevrolet and #21 Ford, respectively.

All seven drivers who finished the race in the top seven are playoff drivers.

The race featured a total of 23 lead changes among nine drivers. Aside of Keselowski, who led 75 laps after starting in 13th place, eight other drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those drivers were Larson, Truex Jr., Logano, Kyle Busch, Regan Smith, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. Race polesitter Erik Jones failed to lead any laps of the race. Truex Jr., who led more laps than anybody else in the field with 96 laps led, won stage one. Keselowski won stage two.

The race also featured a whopping 12 caution flag periods for a total of 59 laps. Of those 12 caution flag periods, two took place as a result of the usual endings and stages one and two and 10 took place as a result of on-track incidents. Of the 40 drivers who started the race, 29 finished it. Of those 29 drivers, 18 finished it on the lead lap.

In some way, shape or form, 12 of the 16 playoff drivers were involved in an incident throughout the course of the race. Of those 12 drivers, four failed to finish the race. Jones, Harvick, Hamlin and Chase Elliott were the four drivers who failed to do so.

Here are the full race results of the 2018 South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The second of three races in the round of 16, which is the first of four rounds in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 22. This race, the Federated Auto Parts 400, is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.