By Nicholas Sterling
For the second time in a week, Brad Keselowski benefitted from Chase Elliott’s late race error.
Elliott was battling with Keselowski’s teammate, Joey Logano, when Elliott’s car slid up the track and put himself and Logano into the wall. Keselowski flew by both and led the final three laps to win at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Logano was not happy with Elliott after the race as he stared him down before walking over to him. The two exchanged words but nothing escalated.
It seemed like Keselowski wasn’t going to have a chance after pitting with 29 to go, but with the help of cautions and getting the outside on restarts, he was able to put himself in position.
Before the frantic final few laps, it looked like Elliott and Logano were going to battle Denny Hamlin for the win. With just 12 laps to go, Hamlin’s car hit the wall in turn one, allowing Logano and Elliott by. The very next corner, Logano’s car went high, allowing Elliott to get the lead. Hamlin crashed behind them to bring out the caution.
While the Spring Bristol race has been criticized for not being able to produce the same kind of excitement as the Fall night race, this year was not the case. The race saw 21 lead changes among seven drivers, and 17 cautions. The latter is just three off the track record.
Two of those 17 cautions involved nine and seven cars, respectively.
The first of which happened when Jimmie Johnson contacted the rear bumper of Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s Chevrolet. The contact sent Stenhouse into the inside wall, then immediately back up the race track into a pack of cars.
The other big crash took place with 34 to go. Aric Almirola got hit from behind, sending his car up the track and into Martin Truex Jr.
A smaller but notable wreck happened 200 laps into the race when Ryan Blaney got loose and spun out while running second. It appeared he would be able to continue until Ty Dillon hit the front end of Blaney’s car and ended their days.
Clint Bowyer and Johnson earned season-best finishes with a second and third place finish, respectively. Rookie Christopher Bell, who has struggled mightily this season, finished a career best ninth.
The Cup Series gets a little bit of a break with no mid-week race this week. They’ll be back on track next Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race can be seen at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
