NASCAR: Brad Keselowski-based conspiracy theory is ridiculous

The conspiracy theory that Brad Keselowski purposely spun Daniel Suarez to help Joey Logano win the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series championship is ridiculous.

With 20 laps remaining in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season finale, the Ford EcoBoost 400, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a caution flag period began, and this caution flag period changed the complexion of the rest of the race.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, one of the four drivers who entered the 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Homestead-Miami Speedway oval in Homestead, Florida, led the race, as the other three Championship 4 drivers, including Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Team Penske’s Joey Logano, had already come into the pits for what they initially believed would be their final pit stops of the race and of the season.

Busch was banking on a caution flag period, as he knew that this would cause him and the rest of the field to come into the pits for new tires, which would allow him to most likely retain the race lead.

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Had a caution flag period not come out, Busch would have to come to the pits under green flag conditions having spent several additional laps on old tires compared to the other three Championship 4 drivers, who had been driving on new tires since making their pit stops and thus gaining time on Busch. His championship chances would have effectively been shot.

This caution flag period came out when Front Row Motorsports’ David Ragan made contact with Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski. This caused Keselowski to make contact with and spin Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Suarez.

Busch ended up leading the other three Championship 4 drivers into the pits and leading them out of the pits after a great pit stop, something he had not had many of throughout the race.

However, Truex Jr. passed Busch for the lead on the restart with 15 laps to go, and Logano then passed him for second place. Logano then passed Truex Jr. for the lead with 11 laps to go, and he held on to win the race and thus his first career Cup Series championship.

This has caused fans to suggest that Keselowski intentionally spun out Suarez, as it was the caution flag period that took place as a result of this incident that bunched up the field and allowed Logano to capitalize.

Before making what ended up being his penultimate pit stop, Truex Jr. led the race ahead of Logano. However, Harvick came into the pits before those two drivers did, so when Truex Jr. and Logano eventually pit, they came out behind Harvick, who had been driving on newer tires. At this point, Logano was ahead of Truex Jr. since he passed him in the pits.

But while Logano had been fast on the short runs, Truex Jr. passed him and set his sights on Harvick. Logano’s chances to win the championship looked slim at this point, but then the caution flag period took place, bunching up the field.

Did this caution flag period give Logano a better chance to win the race and the championship? Yes; there is no doubt about it.

But it also gave Truex Jr. a better chance to do so, as it closed his gap to Harvick, and above all, it gave Busch a great chance to do so, as it resulted in him being the race leader as a result of a bold pit strategy gamble that otherwise would have been nowhere close to paying off, as he probably wouldn’t have even finished the race in the top 10.

With all of that in mind, it is ridiculous to suggest that Keselowski intentionally spun out Suarez to help Logano. First of all, it was Ragan hitting Keselowski that caused Keselowski to spin Suarez, so Keselowski didn’t even start the incident, but even had that not been the case, Keselowski causing a caution flag period at that point in the race benefited pretty much every Championship 4 driver but Harvick, not just Logano.

Of the three Championship 4 drivers who this caution flag period benefited, it benefited Busch the most, and it benefited him the most by far. He simply could not convert on the golden opportunity that this caution flag period gave him to win the race and thus the championship. Logano, meanwhile, still needed to pass both Busch and Martin Truex Jr. to win the race and the championship, and he pulled it off.

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The idea that a conspiracy was behind Joey Logano winning his first NASCAR Cup Series championship when he clearly outdrove his Championship 4 competitors late in the race to win it is beyond ridiculous. Quite simply, it is just another tactic used by keyboard warriors to suggest Logano is an “illegitimate” champion simply because they did not want him to win the title. As silly as that sounds, look at the comments section of any Logano-related post on social media if you don’t believe me.

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