photo credit: John Sommers II/Getty Images for NASCAR

With 10 laps remaining, Keselowski pitted for four tires while most of the field opted for two. It proved to be the winning strategy for the #22 Penske Racing team as Keselowski passed Mike Bliss coming to the white flag.

“When we had that one more lap of yellow, it went from five to four (laps left), I knew it was going to be close,” Keselowski said. “When Bliss got the lead, I thought he would be gone. He had the best short-run car out of the group. I got a little break when 32 (Reed Sorenson) got to him, got him a little loose and was able to take advantage of it, but Mike drove a great race. So did my teammate Justin Allgaier. I thought he was going to win it, I really did. Things just didn’t work out for him. I’m very happy for him and the strong run he had.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzgmPfWrsY8

Keselowski led 83 of 200 laps, second only to his Penske Racing teammate and the polesitter, Justin Allgaier. This is Keselowski’s 6th victory and 26th top-10 finish this season.

With 3 races left of the season, Keselowski boasts a 485-point lead in the standings over 2nd place driver, Carl Edwards. Keselowski has a genuine shot to clinch the championship at Texas Motor Speedway if he finishes with a 391-point lead. It will be the first championship for team owner Roger Penske in NASCAR competition.

“Thirteen months ago, when Discount Tire called me and wanted me to drive this car, I knew it was going to be something special, but I didn’t know that it was going to be this good,” Keselowski said. “Thanks to everyone at Discount Tire and Dodge. To get another win for Roger and finally get this Gateway win, the final race at this race track here in Illinois, it’s awesome.”

It was at this track in July where Keselowski dueled for the win with Carl Edwards and ended up taking a spin for a 14th place finish.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz9OXptTwVQ

“I try not to hold grudges. I try not to think of that and just focus on our next race. That was key about winning today,” Keselowski said. “You can’t panic about what happened in the last race. You have to move forward and move on with your life. Our team did that today.”

Mike Bliss led twice for 10 laps and was able to bring home a runner-up finish. “We were alright today. We weren’t as good as I expected in long runs,” Bliss said. “With taking two tires, we got a good finish out of it.”

Justin Allgaier started from the pole and was dominant from the start. Allgaier went on to lead a race-high 88 laps and score a 3rd place finish.

“I guess the fastest car doesn’t always win the race,” a disappointed Allgaier said. “The Verizon Dodge Charger was awesome today and we had the car to beat. We just made a bad pit call late and it cost us. It stinks to come to your hometown, run so good and not get the win. A great run, but it should have been a better result. These guys put a great race car underneath me today. It’s too bad.”

Allgaier will lose his ride next season due to a lack of sponsorship.

Jason Leffler finished 4th followed by Carl Edwards, Reed Sorenson, Josh Wise, Brad Coleman, Paul Menard and Jeremy Clements completed the top-10.

For the (unofficial) race results, click here (nascar.com)

There were 6 cautions for 26 laps: 48-51 (Debris); 76-79 (#35 accident Turn 2); 83-86 (#62 accident Turn 3); 96-100 (#88, #98 accident Turn 4); 105-108 (#40, 10, 6, 39, 62, 11, 81, 70, 7, 34, 42 accident frontstretch [Red Flag: Lap 105, 20:38]); 192-196 (#7, 66 accident Turn 1)

There were 12 lead changes among 6 drivers: J. Allgaier 1-48; M. Bliss 49-54; J. Allgaier 55-76; Brad Keselowski 77-108; M. Bliss 109-112; Brad Keselowski 113-156; R. Sorenson 157-160; J. Wise 161-163; J. Clements 164-169; Brad Keselowski 170-174; J. Allgaier 175-192; R. Sorenson 193-198; Brad Keselowski 199-200

Danica Patrick finished 22nd, 17 laps down after being involved in two accidents including a multiple car accident on lap 104.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=72fSxTLcxzc

The accident prompted a 20 minute and 38 second red flag for clean-up.

Patrick scored her best series finish last weekend at Charlotte after placing 21st.

Next:
Saturday, November 6th -- O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway
TV coverage begins at Noon on ESPN2

photo credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

With the Sprint Cup Series off this weekend, what’s a racer to do other than race?!

Starting fourth, it didn’t take Busch long to get to the lead. Try lap 13. Busch dominated the night leading three times for 121 laps.

“It was really fun out there tonight. This Toyota Tundra was awesome tonight,” Busch said. “It’s just real fun to drive these trucks. I love coming to Chicago. It’s kind of like a second home for me. I look forward to coming back here next year.”

The race wasn’t a little drama. The race was sent into four laps of overtime after Timothy Peters blew an engine which brought out the final caution of the night. Busch had to hold off points leader Todd Bodine on the green, white, checkered finish.

“I was concerned. I remember last year it was real tough to get away from side-by-side,” Busch said. “This year, I got clear on him (Todd Bodine) just going down the front straightaway getting into turn one there. From there on out I was worried that he would get a draft on me. These trucks, man, they draft so easy. That’s how I ran him down and got to him the first time. He just didn’t quite have enough to pass us. He had enough to hang with us all night and it was fun man. Really cool to be out here.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRHvawnRcvY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of6Nyy0lw7s

This is the second consecutive truck race win for Busch and his fourth of the season. Busch swept all three national series races last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. It’s his 17th NASCAR win this season across the top 3 touring seasons: 3 Sprint Cup Series wins, 10 Nationwide Series wins and 4 Camping World Truck Series wins.

“We’re going for five in Kentucky next week -- so watch out,” Busch said.

It’s the second time in Busch’s NASCAR career that he has won four consecutive races. He accomplished the feat in May. Busch ties that four-time winning record with Billy Wade (1964), David Pearson (1966, 1968), Cale Yarborough (1976), Darrell Waltrip (1981) and Mark Martin (1993). Richard Petty’s 10-race win streak in 1967 is the longest winning streak in NASCAR history.

Starting from the pole, Todd Bodine lead three times for 17 laps.

“It was good racing with him,” Bodine said about Kyle. “It’s fun to race with a guy you can trust. Of course, he was having to trust me because I was one the behind. It was a good night. I can’t complain. I built the points lead back up to where it was before Bristol. Another good run. You hate to run second, especially to Kyle (Busch), but we’ll take it and we’ll go to the next one.”

Bodine leads the standings by 236 points over 2nd place driver Aric Almirola.

Ron Hornaday finished third followed by Johnny Sauter, Justin Lofton, Aric Almirola, Matt Crafton, Rick Crawford, Austin Dillon and David Starr completed the top-10.

For the (unofficial) race results, click here (nascar.com)

There were 5 cautions for 21 laps and 9 lead changes among 5 drivers: Bodine 1-6, Dillon 7-12, K. Busch 13-80, Starr 81, Bodine 82-83, Hornaday Jr 84-88, Bodine 89-97, K. Busch 98-126, Hornaday Jr 127-130, K. Busch 131-154

Next:
Friday, Sept. 3rd -- Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway
TV coverage begins at 7:30 pm on SPEED

photo credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

We know far too well short tracks equal short tempers, but we also know every point is crucial for any championship hopefuls. Following Richmond, the drivers in the top-12 in the standings will qualify to compete in the 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

After his win last week at Michigan International Speedway, points leader Kevin Harvick is the only driver to have already officially clinched his spot in the 10-race championship run.

“I think winning races helps keep everybody pretty motivated. I think everybody knows what we need to do. A lot of us have been in this position before, whether it’s the Nationwide championship, racing for wins, whatever the case may be. We’ve all experienced things before and know what we need to do. We just got to finish the deal with the championship hopefully at the end,” Harvick said earlier this week. “You can’t sit on your hands in this sport or you’ll get passed pretty quick. Everybody is doing a great job. We just have to keep doing the things we’ve been doing to get us to this point.”

The #29 team should have great momentum heading into the weekend. Harvick along with his team owner, Richard Childress, made a major sponsor announcement this past Tuesday.

“It’s great coming in off of a win like Kevin had at Michigan to any announcement,” Childress said. “Budweiser will be our sponsor for the next three years on the 29 Chevrolet. We couldn’t be prouder to be associated with a company that has such rich history in our sport. They’ve been in our sport for three decades. Kevin has won two of the Bud Shootouts, Busch championship, which is Anheuser-Busch. We won our first race at Riverside with Ricky Rudd. He was sponsored by Budweiser. We’ve been in their family for awhile, but to have them in our family today is great.”

Harvick has put down solid numbers at Bristol. In his 19 cup races there, he has produced 11 top-10 finishes including a win in 2005.

“Somebody has to beat Jimmie this year, and it might as well be RCR (Richard Childress Racing),” Harvick said about four-time reigning series champion, Jimmie Johnson. “You never say, ‘We’re the team to beat’. You got to have confidence, but so many factors play in. We know we’re going to be a contender. That’s all we can ask for is to be a contender. If we’re that, we’ll have a shot at winning it.”

Behind Harvick in the standings sits Jeff Gordon, on his hunt for his fifth series championship. Gordon has yet to win a race this season, but will have a shot to clinch his berth in The Chase following Saturday night’s race if he secures a 391-point lead over 13th place. Gordon currently has a 387-point advantage over 13th in the standings.

“We’ve struggled here (at Bristol) ever since they changed (resurfaced) the track,” Gordon said. “I just feel like I had a knack for the old configuration – a groove and a feel and a setup that really worked well for us. Ever since the change, none of that has seemed to work. It’s about reinventing myself as a driver – trying to find a different groove that works and giving good feedback to the team to get the car to work the way we need it to. We feel like we get a little bit better each time we race here.”

Gordon along with Kurt Busch lead all active drivers at Bristol with five wins each. Busch dominated the spring race, but a four-versus-two tire call during the final pit stop lost him the lead. Busch had to settle for a 3rd place finish.

“We’re hoping to get back to Bristol and have just as strong of Miller Lite Dodge Charger as we had there in the spring,” said Busch. “We want to be that dominant again, only this time around we certainly don’t want to let the win slip through our fingers like it did there in March.”

And something should be said for his younger brother, Kyle. Kyle Busch is the only driver with multiple wins in the past 5 races there. Combined, the Busch brothers have won 8 races at the .533 mile short track, but it’s Kyle who returns as the defending race winner this time around.

“I always look forward to going there,” the younger Busch said. “I struggled there in the spring, for some reason. All of JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) did. We all blew right-front tires out, we all got in the fence, but we salvaged a decent day. We ended up ninth. I’m looking forward to going back. I hear there’s a different tire again, so I’ll get my first taste of it Wednesday night in the truck race. We’ll run the Truck race, then Nationwide and Cup. We’ll be there for all three. I’m looking forward to going back to Bristol and, hopefully, being able to make it – I think – three in a row in the Truck Series and three out of the last four in the Cup Series there.”

The Stats:

It’s not just about the drivers currently in the coveted top-12 in points, but several drivers sit “on the bubble” looking to race their way into The Chase.

After finishing 28th at Michigan last week, Mark Martin dropped one spot in the standings and now finds himself currently 13th, 35 points outside the top-12.

“All we can do is run the best race we can,” Martin said about the upcoming night race. “It’s a great race and we all look forward to it. I think we’ll be really good, you just can’t count out something crazy happening at Bristol.”

Clint Bowyer moved up one to 12th in the standings following Michigan.

“I think Bristol is definitely one of those races, but any of these races anymore are wild cards,” Bowyer said. “You have to be able to get it all through the whole race. You can run well, but with the way these things are shaking out at the end, it doesn’t matter. You have to be there at the end. You have to make the right decision to put yourself in right position to have a good finish.”

Nothing is guaranteed yet. Only 105 points currently separates the drivers from 12th to 15th in the standings.

On The Bubble:

All three of NASCAR’s top touring series will be in action at Bristol Motor Speedway. Keep an eye out for three drivers who’ll attempt all three events: Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Elliott Sadler.

The lineup:

·         NASCAR Sprint Cup – Irwin Tools Night Race, Saturday at 7 p.m. on ABC
·         NASCAR Nationwide  – Food City 250, Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN
·         NASCAR Camping World Truck – O’Reilly 200, Wednesday at 8 p.m. on SPEED