With fresher tires, Brad Keselowski was able to pass Denny Hamlin in the final laps and win Monday’s rain-delayed Monster Energy NASCAR Series (MENCS) Big Machine Vodka 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Keselowski stayed out as long as possible in the final stage along with a caution flagged allowed him to restart the top-10 and then move up to third before the final caution came out with less than 10 laps remaining.
“I gotta give credit where credit is due. My crew chief, Paul Wolfe, made a heck of a call to pit there late in that run and the yellow came out and we had new tires and started eighth and it was kind of like it gave me the ball. You know how that goes. I had to make a play. I knew it was going to be tough. We weren’t a dominant car by any means but Paul and everyone executed an incredible race.”
Keselowski restarted third on the race’s final restart with three laps to go. Keselowski and Hamlin made contact several times for the lead, but Keselowski prevailed for his second straight win his 26th career MENCS victory and the first Brickyard win for team owner Roger Penske.
“It is incredible. Last year I lost this race almost the exact same way. To bring it home this way feels really good to make up for my mess up last year. To give Roger Penske his first Cup car win here at the Brickyard is just an incredible feeling. I am so happy for everyone at Team Penske.” Keselowski said.
“This is certainly a great win for Team Penske. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is such a special place to me personally and the success we have enjoyed there has really helped build our team and continue to raise our level of performance. Earning Team Penske’s first win in the Brickyard 400, especially coming just a couple of months after winning the Indianapolis 500, is a credit to everyone that works so hard throughout our organization. Congratulations to Brad (Keselowski), Paul (Wolfe) and everyone on the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford team. Well done and now we look forward to the opportunity to pursue Team Penske’s 500th win!” Penske said.
Erik Jones finished second, Hamlin third, Kevin Harvick fourth and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five.
Kyle Busch finished eighth and captured the Regular Season Championship.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Point Standings
1. Kyle Busch, 2,050 points
2. Kevin Harvick, 2,050
3. Martin Truex Jr., 2,035
4. Brad Keselowski, 2,019
5. Clint Bowyer, 2,015
6. Joey Logano, 2,014
7. Kurt Busch, 2,014
8. Chase Elliott, 2,008
9. Ryan Blaney, 2,007
10. Erik Jones, 2,005
11. Austin Dillon, 2,005
12. Kyle Larson, 2,005
13. Denny Hamlin, 2,003
14. Aric Almirola, 2,001
15. Jimmie Johnson, 2,000
16. Alex Bowman, 2,000
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Unofficial Race Results for the 25Th Annual Big Machine Vodka 400 At The Brickyard
September 10, 2018 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
| 1 2 Brad Keselowski |
| 2 20 Erik Jones |
| 3 11 Denny Hamlin |
| 4 4 Kevin Harvick |
| 5 14 Clint Bowyer |
| 6 41 Kurt Busch |
| 7 1 Jamie McMurray |
| 8 18 Kyle Busch |
| 9 21 Paul Menard |
| 10 31 Ryan Newman |
| 11 12 Ryan Blaney |
| 12 6 Matt Kenseth |
| 13 22 Joey Logano |
| 14 42 Kyle Larson |
| 15 9 Chase Elliott |
| 16 48 Jimmie Johnson |
| 17 34 Michael McDowell |
| 18 19 Daniel Suarez |
| 19 24 William Byron |
| 20 95 Regan Smith |
| 21 13 Ty Dillon |
| 22 3 Austin Dillon |
| 23 10 Aric Almirola |
| 24 38 David Ragan |
| 25 37 Chris Buescher |
| 26 15 Ross Chastain(i) |
| 27 72 Corey LaJoie |
| 28 7 * Reed Sorenson |
| 29 23 JJ Yeley(i) |
| 30 52 * BJ McLeod(i) |
| 31 00 Landon Cassill(i) |
| 32 96 * Jeffrey Earnhardt |
| 33 88 Alex Bowman |
| 34 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 35 66 * Timmy Hill(i) |
| 36 32 Matt DiBenedetto |
| 37 47 AJ Allmendinger |
| 38 43 Bubba Wallace |
| 39 51 David Starr(i) |
| 40 78 Martin Truex Jr. |
| (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series |
