Keselowski grabs first NHMS victory

Keselowski celebrates
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Pole-sitter Brad Keselowski took advantage of an opportune moment late in Saturday's F.W. Webb 200 Nationwide Series race and held off Kevin Harvick in the closing laps to claim his first victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, his second of the season and the 19th of his career.

Race runner-up Kevin Harvick, who finished 0.717 seconds back, expressed his displeasure with Amber Cope by tapping her car on the cool-down lap, an expression of displeasure at Cope impeding Harvick's progress and opening the door for Keselowski's winning pass.

Austin Dillon ran third, winning Nationwide's $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus and establishing his eligibility for next week's cash bonus at Chicagoland Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr. ran fourth, followed by defending series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Keselowski held a 3.6-second lead when Cole Whitt got into Turn 1 too hot on Lap 121 and turned the No. 4 Chevrolet of Danny Efland into the outside wall. Keselowski, Hornish, Harvick, Dillon and Stenhouse were among those who took two tires during pit stops under the ensuing caution, and the field restarted with Keselowski in the lead on Lap 129.

From that point, Keselowski began to drive away again. By the time Danica Patrick tapped the No. 81 Toyota of Jason Bowles and spun off Turn 4 on Lap 149, Keselowski led by 2.3 seconds, but that advantage disappeared with the fourth caution of the afternoon.

Sadler came to the pits along with Patrick and Whitt for a four-tire stop on Lap 151, giving up the ninth position. Sadler restarted 14th on fresh rubber on Lap 155, with Patrick 15th. The call for new tires paid dividends, as Sadler gained six positions within eight laps.

Ultimately, he finished seventh and retained his lead in the series standings by three points over second-place Dillon.

While Sadler was cutting a swath through the field, Harvick grabbed the lead from Keselowski on Lap 155 and held it through two laps of side-by-side racing. In clean air, Harvick pulled away to a 1.5-second lead, but while battling traffic with 22 laps left, Harvick was held up by the lapped car of Cope.

Keselowski made an aggressive move to the outside and passed Harvick off Turn 4 to take control of the race.

Results

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR LAPS STATUS
1 1 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge Snap-On Tools 200 Running
2 4 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Barber Foods 200 Running
3 12 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet AdvoCare 200 Running
4 6 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Alliance Truck Parts 200 Running
5 3 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford Cargill 200 Running
6 2 38 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet Great Clips 200 Running
7 7 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet OneMain Financial 200 Running
8 13 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet Brandt 200 Running
9 9 30 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet LiftMaster 200 Running
10 11 18 Ryan Truex Toyota Grime Boss 200 Running
11 14 43 Michael Annett Ford Pilot Flying J 200 Running
12 8 11 Brian Scott Toyota Dollar General 200 Running
13 15 44 Mike Bliss Toyota TriStar Motorsports 200 Running
14 18 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet GoDaddy.com 200 Running
15 27 01 Mike Wallace Chevrolet G&K Services 200 Running
16 16 81 Jason Bowles * Toyota American Majority 199 Running
17 25 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet Phoenix Automotive Cores 199 Running
18 10 88 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet TaxSlayer.com 199 Running
19 19 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota Wildco Petroleum Equipment Sales 197 Running
20 22 19 Tayler Malsam Toyota G-Oil / Ryobi 196 Running
21 28 41 Timmy Hill Ford Poynt.com 196 Running
22 37 14 Eric McClure Toyota Hefty / Reynolds Wrap 196 Running
23 33 70 Tony Raines Chevrolet ML Motorsports 196 Running
24 32 39 Josh Richards Ford NSW Kids 194 Running
25 21 108 Matt Frahm Ford Harvey Building Products / Maui Jim 194 Running
26 43 124 Amber Cope Chevrolet Maxelence / Luichiny 167 Running
27 40 52 Joey Gase * Chevrolet BBB.org / Chamber of Commerce 130 Vibration
28 5 54 Kyle Busch Toyota Monster Energy 121 Fuel Pressure
29 36 4 Danny Efland Chevrolet Tradebank 116 Accident
30 17 23 Jamie Dick Chevrolet Viva Auto Group 79 Sway Bar
31 20 199 Travis Pastrana Toyota Boost Mobile 77 Accident
32 34 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet PPG / Racing With Jesus 47 Handling
33 30 86 Kevin Lepage Ford Deware Racing Group 19 Unknown
34 29 171 Scott Riggs Ford Poynt.com 9 Ignition
35 38 50 T.J. Bell Chevrolet MAKE Motorsports 6 Brakes
36 42 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet Koma Unwind Relaxation Drink 6 Overheating
37 39 175 Matthew Carter Chevrolet Rick Ware Racing 5 Vibration
38 35 46 Chase Miller Chevrolet TheMotorsportsGroup.com 5 Brakes
39 41 15 Charles Lewandoski Chevrolet Rick Ware Racing 4 Brakes
40 26 40 Erik Darnell Chevrolet Curtis Key Plumbing 3 Engine
41 24 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet Curtis Key Plumbing 3 Rear Gear
42 31 47 Stephen Leicht Chevrolet Curtis Key Plumbing 3 Transmission
43 23 10 Jeff Green Toyota TriStar Motorsports 2 Vibration

* Denotes Rookie

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