Brad Keselowski won the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday and Joey Logano turned up second in a strong showing for both Team Penske and Ford Performance.
Keselowski’s win can be attributed to two pit strategy calls from crew chief Paul Wolfe. The first came on Lap 199 when Wolfe put four fresh tires on the No. 22 Ford Fusion under caution when the majority of the field took just two right side tires. This enabled Keselowski to stay out on Lap 217 when most of the field, save for Logano and Austin Dillon, decided to again pit under caution.
Kyle Busch rocketed away from the pack on the restart, however a Lap 225 wreck involving Matt Kenseth and Chase Elliott then brought out the caution again. This allowed Keselowski and Logano to stretch their fuel supply until the end of the race, and with Busch suffering from a vibration in the right front of his car, it suddenly became Team Penske’s race to lose.
Keselowski passed Logano for the lead on Lap 259 of 267 and soon passed Busch as well. Busch, who had proved strong all day and looked like a shoe-in for the win at one point, wound up fourth behind Jimmie Johnson. Dillon wound up fifth, while Ryan Blaney put a third Ford in the top ten with a strong sixth place finish for Wood Brothers Racing.
Click here for full results from the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and here for a full schedule of next weekend’s NASCAR Festivities.
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