Keselowski holds on at Talladega
Published 1:07 am Monday, May 7, 2012
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — The leader on the last lap isn’t supposed to win at Talladega Superspeedway. Everybody knows that.
Brad Keselowski disagrees, and he showed how to do it Sunday with a calculated plan that sent him to Victory Lane.
Keselowski used a big push from Kyle Busch to pass leader Matt Kenseth, and after leaving the Daytona 500 winner in their wake, Keselowski staved off Busch’s attempt to snatch the win. Using a move Keselowski said he had dreamed about, he held on for his second win of the season and second at Talladega.
“I had this whole plan if I ever got in that situation where I was leading; I thought about it and thought about it, dreamed about what to do, and sure enough, going into (turn) three, it was just me and Kyle,” Keselowski said. “I knew the move I wanted to pull. It worked because the guy running second should have the advantage, but I had this move all worked up in my mind.”
Keselowski was the first driver in the last five races at Talladega to take the white flag and hold on for the win.
He did it with a plan that left both Busch and Kenseth flat-footed, and both praised Keselowski after the race.
“He’s no dummy, that’s for sure,” said Busch, who wound up second for the second consecutive day.
Busch was the leader on the last lap of Saturday’s Nationwide Series race, and was passed by Joey Logano right at the finish line. He conceded there’s little the leader can do to preserve the victory on the last lap of a restrictor-plate race, and predicted how Sunday would unfold.