Brad Keselowski stuns leaders with upset victory at Michigan
Brad Keselowski does a burnout in celebration of his victory in the Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway // Sam Cranston, NASCAR Scene
BROOKLYN, Mich. - In a race that could go down as one of the most entertaining NASCAR events ever at Michigan International Speedway, hometown favorite Brad Keselowski came out of nowhere on the last lap and win the Carfax 250 in a thrilling finish, stunning race leaders Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch.
Vickers and Busch had dominated the Nationwide Series event on a sunny Saturday afternoon and swapped the lead several times throughout the race, often running side by side for laps at a time.
But on the final lap, Vickers got loose and Busch drove to the bottom of the track. Vickers caught up and tried to side-draft Busch, leaving the series points leader with nowhere to go.
In the meantime, Keselowski stormed down the outside lane and beat both Vickers and Busch to the line, pumping his fist as the crowd - which included many of Keselowski's friends and family - erupted in cheers.
Busch was infuriated with Vickers and bumped him on pit road after the race, then confronted the Braun Racing driver afterward.
The two lobbed shots at one another in televised postrace interviews, then awkwardly sat next to one another in an uncomfortable media center session.
"I'm sure I'm complaining and I'm whining and I'm a crybaby, but that's uncalled for," Busch said. "That's just stupid. I would have ran my own line instead of giving it to the third-place car and battle it out between the top two who deserved to win and deserved to battle the race out at the end. [Keselowski] didn't deserve to win."
Responded Vickers: "I am so sorry. I forgot it was the Kyle Busch show. I thought we were out there racing for the win. I thought it was my job to hold him off - maybe not.
"He came over to the car after he knocked our fender in and started crying like a little baby. I asked him if he would just give me a minute to get out, we could talk about it like men. If he wanted to fight, that's fine with me. As soon as I got out, he ran off."
Vickers said he never saw Keselowski coming, which was just fine by the Michigan native, who emotionally celebrated winning at the track where he dreamed of launching his NASCAR career.
"Oh my God, I won at home!" the JR Motorsports driver said. "I'm terrible here, and to win here is a major accomplishment. It's so cool to win in front of your hometown fans."
Keselowski only took two tires on the final pit stop, which made it all the more unlikely that he could pass Vickers and Busch, who were on four fresh tires apiece.
Despite his third-place finish – which snapped a streak of 10 consecutive top-two results – Busch expanded his points lead to a whopping 339 over Carl Edwards, who wrecked on the third lap of the race when he made contact with youngster Trevor Bayne. Thanks to Edwards’ wreck, Busch gained 127 points in a single event – a devastating blow to the Roush Fenway Racing driver’s chances of preventing Busch from claiming his first NASCAR title.
