Brad Keselowski gets Richmond win, top Chase berth

Sep 6, 2014; Richmond, VA, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski (2) celebrates in victory lane after winning the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

Brad Keselowski dominated the Federated Auto Parts 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway on Saturday night, leading all but 17 laps of the 400 lap distance on his way to the win.

“What a night,” Keselowski said in victory lane. “When I pulled into victory lane, I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”

The win was Keselowski’s fourth in the 26-race regular season, the most of any driver, so he’ll head into the Chase for the Sprint Cup as the top seed after failing to make the Chase in 2013.

“We’re ready; we want to race for another Cup,” the 2012 champion said. “Last year was kind of a kick in the butt.”

Jeff Gordon finished second, Clint Bowyer was third, and Jamie McMurray fourth. Kevin Harvick, the only other driver to lead laps, finished fifth.

Despite the third-place finish, Bowyer missed out on claiming the 16th and final Chase spot to Greg Biffle, who finished 19th, two laps down.

“When you make the Chase, you want to race for a championship,” Bowyer said. “Truth be told, we’re not there right now.”

Ryan Newman claimed the other Chase spot that was available, heading into Richmond, with a ninth-place race finish.

“We’ve shown a lot of consistency and that can pay off at times,” Newman said.

Keselowski started on the pole and showed the way until Harvick took the lead for the first time on lap 43. That lead was then lost on pit road during a competition caution that came on lap 50.

Harvick restarted third, while Keselowski and Gordon lined up on the front row for the restart. Harvick took second from Gordon when the race returned to green and then retook the lead on lap 120. Again, he lost the lead and dropped back to third on pit road when the yellow flag waved again on lap 125.

When Keselowski got off pit road on lap 127, during the caution, he maintained the lead for the remainder of the race. Gordon ran second to Keselowski until the field cycled through green-flag pit stops around lap 220. Harvick pitted a couple of laps earlier than the other front-runners, and after a couple extra laps on fresher tires, he cycled up to second in the running order.

While Keselowski continued to lead, Harvick lost spots in the final 130 laps of the race. He eventually lost second to Bowyer and then third to Gordon and fourth to McMurray. After Bowyer ran second for several laps, Gordon moved back into second by lap 325 and held the spot the rest of the way.

“Tonight was another one of those efforts,” Gordon said. “I don’t feel like we could compete with Brad, but we never gave up.”

Joey Logano finished sixth, Kurt Busch was seventh, and Jimmie Johnson was eighth. After the race, Johnson was able to climb out of his car on his own but then slumped to the ground beside his car before team members lifted him onto a stretcher to be taken to the infield care center. There was no word on his ailment at time of publication, but dehydration was suspected to be the culprit.

Aric Almirola finished 10th.

The yellow flag waved four times throughout the race, with a competition caution on lap 50, two debris cautions, and one final caution with about 70 laps remaining when a spectator tried to climb the catchfence in turn four.

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