Car 2, Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Penske Ford, won his 2nd race of 2014 at the 4th Annual Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway. Brad Keselowski started from the pole to win for his 12th victory in 178 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. This is his 9th Top 10 finish in 2014 & his second victory and third top-10 finish in four races at Kentucky Speedway. Penske dominance came through from qualifying to leading most of the race.
There was 12 lead changes among only 3 drivers, Keselowski 7 times for 199 laps, J. Logano 5 times for 37 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 31 laps. He was fastest all weekend from winning the Coors Light Pole Award to having no match during the race to give him the win. With Keselowski & Logano having 2 wins each, changes to the Nascar Chase for the Sprint Cup & the success of team Penske in Indycar this year Team Owner Roger Penske could win both USA premier racing series in 2014.
2nd place Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota started in 18th place posted his 4th Top 10 finish in four races at Kentucky Speedway and his 7th Top 10 finish in 2014. He had the lead 1 time for 31 laps but was just no match Keselowski’s fast car.
3rd Place Car 31, Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet, started in 7th place posted his 2nd Top 10 finish in four races at Kentucky Speedway.
4th Place Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota started in 14th place followed by 5th place Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard Chevrolet. Dale had a good day considering he started in 29th place.
6th Place Car 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet started in 3rd place; having some problems in the pits otherwise he had a fast car.
7th place Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet started in 5th place followed 8th place Car 5 Kasey Kahne Great Clips Chevrolet, started in 20th place.
9th Place Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford started in 2nd place was the number 2 car for most of race but his car was getting hot in the later part of the race.
Lastly in the Top 10 was Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet in 10th place started in 25th place, which made all 3 Hendrick Motorsports cars finished in the Top 10. 16th Place
Car 3 Austin Dillon Cheerios Protein Chevrolet was the highest finishing rookie. Jeff Gordon leads the point standings by 24 points over Jimmie Johnson.
Brad Keselowski has led a series high 346 laps at Kentucky Speedway in four starts. Race winner Brad Keselowski is now fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings
The race had 6 Cautions for 34 Laps. 1st Caution was on lap 30 for Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota bad crash in turn 3. He looked to be injured after he got out the car but walked to the ambulance & was released from the infield medical centre. 2nd Caution was on lap 78 for Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet crash in turn 2. 3rd Caution was on lap 127 for Debris Turn 3-4. 4th Caution was on lap 154 for Car 1 Jamie McMurray Lexar Chevrolet, Car 5 Kasey Kahne Great Clips Chevrolet, Car 23 Alex Bowman Dr.Pepper Toyota & Car 43 Aric Almirola Eckrich Ford crash on the Back Stretch. 5th Caution was on lap 177 for Car 33 David Stremme Thunder Coal Chevrolet Spin Turn 4, 6th Caution was on lap 215 for Car 43 Aric Almirola Eckrich Ford crash in Turn 1.
Post Race coments:
Brad Keselowski said “Our car was awesome,” “The team did a great job and I’m just really thankful to have a car this good. I don’t know how else to put it. The Miller Lite Ford Fusion was hauling and I just can’t wait to get deeper in the season and the post-season. I think this is where we need to be to have a shot at another championship, so I’m just real proud of everyone right now.”
Kyle Busch said “We were a lot better than we’ve been all year long and that’s a testament to what the guys did overnight fixing this M&M’s Toyota Camry into what I could drive today and making it fast.” “We had good speed, so I was real proud of that effort. I got so loose there at the end the loosest I’ve gotten all day and the loosest I’ve been in traffic all day too. I just couldn’t hold on and couldn’t keep it where I wanted it, and was sliding all over the place and just trying not to wreck basically.”
Ryan Newman said “It’s a big gain for us and our Caterpillar Chevrolet.” “All the guys at RCR and ECR got us that first top five of the season. I’ve got to thank everybody from Caterpillar and Quicken Loans for the opportunity they’ve given us this year. It was a good run. The 2 car was obviously the fastest car all night. The 18 car got a little bit better there at the end. We were pretty solid. We never really changed the car. It felt like we were pretty neutral and didn’t want to screw it up. So, we ended up where we did.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 17
Unofficial Race Results for the 4Th Annual Quaker State 400 Presented
By Advance Auto Parts – Saturday, June 28, 2014
Kentucky Speedway – Sparta, KY – 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 267 Laps – 400.5 Miles
Finished Position Start Car # Driver Team Laps Status
1. 1. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 267 Running
2. 18. Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 267 Running
3. 7. Car 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 267 Running
4. 14. Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 267 Running
5. 29. Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard Chevrolet 267 Running
6. 3. Car 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet 267 Running
7. 5. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet 267 Running
8. 20. Car 5 Kasey Kahne Great Clips Chevrolet 267 Running
9. 2. Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 267 Running
10. 25. Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 267 Running
11. 13. Car 14 Tony Stewart Rush Truck Centers Chevrolet 267 Running
12. 9. Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 267 Running
13. 27. Car 9 Marcos Ambrose Black & Decker Ford 267 Running
14. 24. car 16 Greg Biffle ACE Ford 267 Running
15. 12. Car 27 Paul Menard Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet 267 Running
16. 16. Car 3 Austin Dillon Cheerios Protein Chevrolet 267 Running
17. 23. Car 99 Carl Edwards UPS Ford 267 Running
18. 32. Car 7 Michael Annett Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet 267 Running
19. 19. Car 78 Martin Truex Jr Furniture Row Chevrolet 267 Running
20. 26. Car 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 267 Running
21. 10. Car 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 267 Running
22. 15. Car 47 AJ Allmendinger Scott Products Chevrolet 266 Running
23. 11. Car 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota 266 Running
24. 28. Car 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevrolet 266 Running
25. 21. Car 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford 266 Running
26. 17. Car 55 Brian Vickers Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 266 Running
27. 31. Car 36 Reed Sorenson Theme Park Connection Chevrolet 265 Running
28. 30. Car 26 Cole Whitt Speed Stick Gear Toyota 264 Running
29. 34. Car 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 263 Running
30. 41. Car 38 David Gilliland Love’s Travel Stops Ford 263 Running
31. 36. Car 34 David Ragan Taco Bell Ford 262 Running
32. 37. Car 40 Landon Cassill Snap Fitness Chevrolet 262 Running
33. 39. Car 83 Ryan Truex Burger King Toyota 261 Running
34. 35. Car 32 Travis Kvapil Corvetteparts.net Ford 259 Running
35. 38. Car 33 David Stremme Thunder Coal Chevrolet 257 Running
36. 33. Car 23 Alex Bowman Dr.Pepper Toyota 255 Running
37. 8. Car 1 Jamie McMurray Lexar Chevrolet 250 Running
38. 40. Car 66 Joe Nemechek Vydox Toyota 239 Running
39. 22. Car 43 Aric Almirola Eckrich Ford 175 Accident
40. 6. Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet 75 Accident
41. 42. Car 93 Mike Bliss Dr. Pepper Toyota 30 Transmission
42. 4. Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 27 Accident
Race Comments: Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field: #14 – transmission change. Failed to Qualify: N/A
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 51 Mins, 59 Secs. Average Speed: 139.723 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.014 Seconds. Average Speed of Race Winner: 139.723 mph.
3M Lap Leader: Kyle Busch, #18 31 Laps American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Brad Keselowski, #2 Coors Light Pole Award: Brad Keselowski, #2 188.791 mph Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Roush-Yates Engines, #2 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Kyle Busch, #18 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race: Dale Earnhardt Jr, #88 Letarte, 0.295 seconds Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Denny Hamlin, #11 Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Austin Dillon, #3
Next Race: Jul. 5, 2014 – Daytona International Speedway
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