Winning was the best medicine for Keselowski at Atlanta
Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
HAMPTON, Ga.—Brad Keselowski didn’t let a little flu bug keep him down at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Despite running a limited practice session on Saturday and starting 19th in the QuikTrip 500, Keselowski led 33 laps and held Martin Truex Jr., off at the line by .218-seconds for his first win of 2019 and the 28th victory of his career.
“Good enough to get the job done,” Keselowski said. “I think first off, I've got to give a lot to credit to one, my wife, who's standing in the back. She was sick just like I was, and she took great care of me along with everybody in the care center. I couldn't be here today without them. So thank you.
“And Doug Yates (engine builder), we ran over a piece of debris with, I don't know, probably 50 laps to go and overheated really bad, and I thought there was no way this engine would make it to the end, but Doug Yates and his team, they do a great job. I'm pretty sure it's all used up, Doug, but it's in Victory Lane, so that's okay, right?
“And then my sponsor Autotrader; they let me put for my foundation all the names of some veterans on the car to honor them. Just a lot of really cool things that came together this weekend, and this is one of them I'm not going to forget for a very long time.”
Kurt Busch completed the podium with his third-place finish in his 650th-career Cup start—the most races for an active driver.
“Yeah, I could say it wasn't anything fantastic or anything exciting, but it really was,” Busch said. “To finish third in our second outing together and to run with the who's who of the sport, it just shows Ganassi has got the right stuff.
“Larson had a tough break. We caught a good break to get on the lead lap with Logano and to race in the top 5 at the end.”
Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top 10.
Kyle Larson won Stage 1 and led a race-high 142 laps. A speeding penalty while pitting on Lap 225, knocked the No. 42 Ganassi Racing Chevy from first to 23rd for the Lap 228 restart. He finished 12th.
Harvick led 45 laps and won Stage 2 despite handling in the closing stages of the race. Following a competition caution on Lap 35 and two subsequent yellow flags at the completion of the stages, the fourth caution was called for debris on the backstretch on Lap 222 after Kyle Busch’s right rear tire came apart from contact with the wall. During green flag pit stops, Ryan Preece, who had been running in the top 10, triggered the fifth and final caution. He plowed into B.J. McLeod as the driver of the No. 52 stalled on pit road searching for his pit box.
Joey Logano and Kurt Busch were the only two cars on the lead lap that had yet to pit. After service, the Nos. 22 and 1 lined up first and second with Keselowski, who was the lucky dog, restarting third. Fifteen additional cars took the wave around to return to the lead lap when the race returned to green on Lap 283.
Logano darted out to the lead. Keselowski passed Busch for second five laps later. He caught his Penske teammate on Lap 291 then took the lead on Lap 293. Moments later, Logano informed the team he had a loose wheel. He pitted from second place on Lap 305 as Truex passed Busch, then inherited second. Busch dropped to third followed by Daniel Hemrick and Kevin Harvick. On Lap 310, Hemric was forced to pit with a flat tire allowing Harvick to move to fourth. Ryan Blaney, who had led 41 laps earlier in the stage and was running in the top 15, was the next driver to come to pit road with tire issues on Lap 313.
Over the final 10 circuits, Truex closed to within .181-seconds with two laps to go but traffic made it impossible for the new driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to catch the Ford Mustang.
“The 17 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) rode there in front of us forever and ever running the bottom, and I kept telling him I needed the bottom, and these cars are just so bad in dirty air that he was holding me up really bad,” Truex said. “Once I got around him, I drove ‑‑ got to the 2 car in two laps. I just needed one more.
“Unfortunate we had a great car, and like I said, the guys did a great job. Just a little upset. We had the best car. We probably should have won that one.”
But Keselowski held on for the first win for the Ford Mustang and his 60th for Team Penske—an organizational record set by Mark Donohue that the veteran driver has been chasing.
“Any win means a lot, but that's a big number,” Keselowski said. “Now I get to wear that yellow Mark Donohue helmet…What a tremendous honor. This day is ‑‑ wow, I don't even know how to put it in words.
“I'm just excited for this team, first race with the new rules or whatever they're called now, and to be able to win it, that's really special, as well, and I know everybody here is excited about that, and just a great day overall for Team Penske and our Ford Mustang.”
The new aero package produced 26 lead changes among nine drivers. Denny Hamlin, who finished 11th, remains the points leader by eight points over Kevin Harvick.
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