Keselowski Overcomes Pit Penalty to Win at Phoenix

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AVONDALE, AZ – RIS – Brad Keselowski overcame an early penalty on pit road to win the DC-Solar 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at ISM Speedway on Saturday.  The race featured two red flags because of rain. Keselowski took the lead off a pit stop with 32 laps left and held off Justin Allgaier in the race that was delayed two hours because of light rain at the mile oval near Phoenix.

“The weather kind of came to us with what we needed for how our car was handling,” Keselowski said. “It was a solid team effort. I wasn’t perfect today by any stretch of the imagination, but the car was really strong. Really, really good for about 50-60 laps. The last 20 laps it would fall off pretty good, but the guys made it count. I am really proud of them.”

Keselowski was caught speeding in the Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford during the caution period following a rain delay of 1 hour, 35 minutes. The 200-lap race was delayed again for 25 minutes just before the end of the first 45-lap segment.

Sent to back of the lead lap after the penalty, Keselowski worked his way through the field and took the lead from Christopher Bell after they emerged from the pits side-by-side after their final stops.

“Christopher was really strong in the long run and I thought he would be more than we could handle, but we got on pit road and got new tires on it and our car took back off,” Keselowski said.

Keselowski has 37 Xfinity victories, also winning the 2014 fall race in Phoenix. The Cup driver has won his last two Xfinity starts, taking the Richmond event last year.

Allgaier, the pole-winner and defending race champion, won the first 45-lap stage.

“Justin (Allgaier) ran a great race,” Keselowski said. “I honestly thought he outdrove me most of the day. He was really strong.”

The Xfinity regular finished 0.530 seconds back.

“I needed Brad to make a mistake or have a problem for me to catch him,” Allgaier said.

Kyle Busch was third. He took the second stage, holding the lead on a one-lap shootout after the second delay.

Bell was fourth, and Jamie McMurray took fifth in his first series start since 2013.

Unofficial Race Results for the 14Th Annual Dc Solar 200 - Saturday, March 10, 2018 - ISM Raceway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Playoff Pts, Tms Led, Laps, Status, Pts
1) 2, Brad Keselowski(i), No. 22 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford, 200, 3, , , 3, 66, Running, 0
2) 1, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, 200, 1, 7, 1, 3, 76, Running, 49
3) 5, Kyle Busch(i), No. 18 NOS Toyota, 200, 4, 1, , 1, 39, Running, 0
4) 4, Christopher Bell #, No. 20 Rheem Toyota, 200, 2, 10, , 1, 5, Running, 43
5) 6, Jamie McMurray(i), No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet, 200, 6, 4, , , , Running, 0
6) 8, Daniel Hemric, No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet, 200, 5, 2, , , , Running, 46
7) 9, Matt Tifft, No. 2 Dollar Shave Club Chevrolet, 200, 7, , , , , Running, 34
8) 3, Cole Custer, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 200, , 3, , , , Running, 37
9) 24, Elliott Sadler, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , Running, 28
10) 40, Tyler Reddick #, No. 9 Nationwide Children's Chevrolet, 199, , , , 2, 6, Running, 27
11) 10, Brandon Jones, No. 19 Juniper Toyota, 199, 8, , , , , Running, 29
12) 17, Kaz Grala #, No. 24 NETTTS Ford, 199, , 8, , 1, 8, Running, 28
13) 14, Ty Dillon(i), No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Cabela's Chevrolet, 199, 9, , , , , Running, 0
14) 12, Spencer Gallagher, No. 23 Kingman Chevrolet Chevrolet, 199, , 6, , , , Running, 28
15) 7, Ryan Truex, No. 11 Bar Harbor/Sea Watch International Chevrolet, 199, 10, 5, , , , Running, 29
16) 13, Austin Cindric #, No. 60 Pirtek Ford, 199, , , , , , Running, 21
17) 15, Michael Annett, No. 5 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , Running, 20
18) 11, Ryan Reed, No. 16 Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford, 199, , , , , , Running, 19
19) 18, Ross Chastain, No. 4 Flex Seal Chevrolet, 199, , , , , , Running, 18
20) 21, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , Running, 17
21) 16, JJ Yeley, No. 38 Superior Essex Chevrolet, 198, , 9, , , , Running, 18
22) 22, Alex Labbe #, No. 36 Can-Am/Wholey/Cyclops Gear Chevrolet, 198, , , , , , Running, 15
23) 20, Dylan Lupton, No. 28 thinQ Technology Partners Ford, 198, , , , , , Running, 14
24) 19, Joey Gase, No. 35 DonateLifeArizona/Sparks Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , Running, 13
25) 23, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Lightning SouthWest/TAP & Sons Chevrolet, 197, , , , , , Running, 12
26) 26, BJ McLeod, No. 78 JW Transport LLC Chevrolet, 196, , , , , , Running, 11
27) 27, Tommy Joe Martins, No. 8 Chevrolet, 195, , , , , , Running, 10
28) 31, Garrett Smithley, No. 0 Flex Glue Chevrolet, 195, , , , , , Running, 9
29) 28, Josh Williams, No. 90 Star Tron/Star Brite Chevrolet, 194, , , , , , Running, 8
30) 34, Spencer Boyd #, No. 76 Grunt Style Chevrolet, 194, , , , , , Running, 7
31) 32, Stephen Leicht, No. 55 Jani-King Toyota, 193, , , , , , Running, 6
32) 39, Josh Bilicki #, No. 45 Prevagen Toyota, 193, , , , , , Running, 5
33) 33, Vinnie Miller #, No. 01 Flex Tape Chevrolet, 192, , , , , , Running, 4
34) 38, Timmy Hill, No. 66 CrashClaimsR.Us Chevrolet, 190, , , , , , Running, 3
35) 37, Mike Harmon, No. 74 Chill by Koolbox Chevrolet, 185, , , , , , Running, 2
36) 36, Chad Finchum #, No. 40 Angry Crab/Mohawk Market Toyota, 104, , , , , , Engine, 1
37) 29, Morgan Shepherd, No. 89 Visone RV Chevrolet, 56, , , , , , Brakes, 1
38) 35, Matt Mills #, No. 15 Flex Shot Chevrolet, 54, , , , , , Accident, 1
39) 30, David Starr, No. 52 Whataburger Chevrolet, 24, , , , , , Engine, 1
40) 25, Jeff Green, No. 93 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 18, , , , , , Brakes, 1
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Total Race Length: 200 Laps - 200 Miles
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 56 Mins, 29 Secs.
Average Speed: 103.019 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.530 Seconds
Race Comments: Brad Keselowski won the 14th Annual DC Solar 200, his 37th victory in 250 NASCAR Xfinity Seriesraces.
Caution Flags: 4 for 24 laps: Laps: 27-33 (Fluid on track from No. 52 in Turn 3 [78]); 47-52 (Stage 1 Conclusion [Red Flag: Lap 47, 1:34:57] [8]); 84-89 (No. 15 incident in Turn 1 [Red Flag: Lap 87, 25:21] [35]); 92-96 (Stage 2 Conclusion [36]).
Lead Changes: 10 among 6 drivers: J. Allgaier 1-10; B. Keselowski(i) 11-33; J. Allgaier 34-49; T. Reddick # 50-53; K. Busch(i) 54-92; J. Allgaier 93-142; B. Keselowski(i) 143-163; C. Bell # 164-168; T. Reddick # 169-170; K. Grala # 171-178; B. Keselowski(i) 179-200.