NASCAR: Keselowski wins Talladega with last-lap pass

Brad Keselowski emerged from a frantic overtime dash Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, grasping his first win of the season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Keselowski led only the last of the 191 laps in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford, bypassing Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell on the white-flag lap. Keselowski’s triumph in the GEICO 500 marked his sixth win at the 2.66-mile track and the 35th of his Cup Series career.

William Byron netted second place in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. McDowell grabbed third, with Kevin Harvick fourth and Matt DiBenedetto claiming the last top-five spot.

Three-time Talladega winner Joey Logano led 10 laps early, but his No. 22 Team Penske Ford lifted off in a multicar stack-up on the final lap of Stage 1. Logano emerged unhurt, but he wound up 39th in the 40-car field. Only Kyle Larson, who retired with engine failure after completing just three laps, finished worse.

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Dog Brew Ford, Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, Cole Custer, driver of the #41 HaasTooling.com Ford, Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #19 Bass Pro Toyota, and Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 DoorDash Toyota. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Keselowski was among those involved as contenders Denny Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Bubba Wallace were also snared in the chain-reaction melee, but all continued with minimal damage.

Hamlin was hindered by a pair of pit-road speeding penalties in the middle of Stage 2 that dropped him from the lead lap. He was clocked as too fast in Section 1 during a pit stop with other Toyota teams, then was too fast in the same section while serving his pass-through penalty.

Hamlin’s day turned even more sour when he was in the center of a five-car crunch on Lap 119, damaging his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Byron were also caught in the dust-up.

Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, and William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, spin into the infield grass during the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

DiBenedetto (Stage 1) and Wallace (Stage 2) each claimed the first stage wins of their career. DiBenedetto led 28 laps and lined up first for the overtime restart, but he faded to fifth by the end

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next event is the Buschy McBusch Race 400, scheduled next Sunday (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Kansas Speedway.

Notes: Five Toyota teams were docked for unapproved adjustments just before the green flag, sending a quintet of drivers to the rear of the field for the start. The drivers penalized for their teams’ A-post violations: Hamlin, Truex, Wallace, Christopher Bell and Harrison Burton. … The 20-year-old Burton finished 20th in his Cup Series debut for Gaunt Brothers Racing.

Race Results

Fin Str No. Driver Team Laps Led Status
1 10 2 Brad Keselowski MoneyLion Ford 191 1 Running
2 4 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet 191 12 Running
3 23 34 Michael McDowell Love’s Travel Stops Ford 191 0 Running
4 16 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Dog Brew Ford 191 12 Running
5 13 21 Matt DiBenedetto Motorcraft Quick Lane Ford 191 28 Running
6 38 16 * Kaz Grala Hyperice Chevrolet 191 0 Running
7 20 8 Tyler Reddick Roland Chevrolet 191 0 Running
8 11 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet 191 0 Running
9 7 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Sylvania Ford 191 11 Running
10 27 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 191 0 Running
11 25 14 Chase Briscoe # Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford 191 1 Running
12 30 38 Anthony Alfredo # Speedy Cash Ford 191 0 Running
13 28 6 Ryan Newman Castrol Ford 191 2 Running
14 29 37 * Ryan Preece Kroger/Reese’s Chevrolet 191 9 Running
15 14 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 191 16 Running
16 18 42 Ross Chastain Caregility Chevrolet 191 12 Running
17 6 20 Christopher Bell DEWALT Toyota 191 2 Running
18 9 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 191 6 Running
19 24 23 Bubba Wallace DoorDash Toyota 191 16 Running
20 39 96 * Harrison Burton(i) DEX Imaging Toyota 191 0 Running
21 21 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 191 0 Running
22 26 7 Corey LaJoie Fox Nation Chevrolet 191 0 Running
23 19 99 Daniel Suarez CommScope Chevrolet 191 0 Running
24 8 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 191 3 Running
25 31 78 BJ McLeod(i) LONG-LEWIS Automotive Group Ford 191 0 Running
26 37 15 JJ Yeley(i) Arrowhead Brass Chevrolet 191 0 Running
27 22 43 Erik Jones Air Force Chevrolet 190 7 Accident
28 33 51 Cody Ware(i) Nurtec ODT Chevrolet 190 0 Running
29 40 66 * Timmy Hill(i) Supreme Construction Ford 190 0 Running
30 34 77 Justin Haley(i) FOE Chevrolet 190 0 Running
31 3 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Toyota 189 0 Running
32 1 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 188 43 Running
33 17 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. NOS Energy Drink Chevrolet 186 0 Running
34 35 28 Joey Gase(i) Davey Allison Tribute Ford 186 0 Running
35 15 1 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Chevrolet 185 0 Running
36 36 52 Josh Bilicki Jacob Companies Ford 180 0 Running
37 32 0 Quin Houff Permatex Chevrolet 168 0 Accident
38 5 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 123 0 DVP
39 2 22 Joey Logano Autotrader Ford 59 10 Accident
40 12 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 3 0 Engine
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