Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 Presented by Enlist Weed Control System at Iowa Speedway on August 3, 2013 in Newton, Iowa. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Keselowski overcomes penalty to win Iowa Nationwide race
August 3, 2013
By K.J. Pilcher
Special to NASCAR Wire Service
NEWTON, Iowa –Brad Keselowski made a busy weekend well worth the trouble.
The defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion was the lone driver making frequent trips between Central Iowa and Pocono Raceway, where he’ll compete in Sunday’s premier series event.
Keselowski will be toting a gas pump trophy back with him after winning the Fifth Annual NASCAR Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 Saturday night at Iowa Speedway. He has won the last three Nationwide starts he has made for Penske Racing, despite not having a Sprint Cup victory this season.
Keselowski made his move after the third caution of the race, starting seventh with less than 50 laps remaining. As Trevor Bayne and Brian Vickers were battling side-by-side for the lead, Keselowski made his move.
He shot through the leaders, moving quickly to the front and grabbing the lead on lap 216.
Not only did Keselowski overcome the other 39 drivers in the field, but he persevered through a number of issues during the race. He received an early early penalty after running in the top five with a shot to jump a spot or two during a pit stop under caution. Keselowski, however, was assessed an outside tire violation and fell to the rear of the field for the restart.
He also suffered an overheating problem that hindered him midway through the race. He remained patient before taking the lead and pulling away from the field. It was Keselowski’s first win at Iowa Speedway since 2009.
Penske Racing managed to sweep the top two spots with Sam Hornish Jr. placing second. Vickers was third.
For the second straight race, Austin Dillon led the majority of the race but failed to seal the victory. He led 116 laps, but fell back to fifth for the final restart. It resembled his performance in June’s DuPont Pioneer 250 where he led 207 of 250 and was runner-up to Trevor Bayne.
Dillon decided to take four tires when many of the leaders — including Vickers, Regan Smith, Elliott Sadler and Bayne — took two tires to move ahead of him. A week ago Dillon had put the No. 3 Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series points lead for the first time since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2003 and his fourth-place finish kept in front of the season standings.
Drew Herring claimed his first NASCAR Nationwide Series pole in 11 career races Saturday afternoon, joined in the front row with Regan Smith. He posted the top speed, coming in at 135. 367 miles per hour.
It was just his second top-10 start of the season for the 26-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver. He started ninth here for Nationwide’s DuPont Pioneer 250 in June. He finished 11th in that race.
Herring paced the field for the first 26 laps, surrendering the lead to Smith and dropping back. He spun out on lap 55, bringing out the race’s first caution and ending the longest green-flag stretch to start a race this season.
Rookie Kyle Larson placed fifth, leaving the track to compete later Saturday night in the sprint car Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway.
Ryan Gifford made his Nationwide debut at Iowa Speedway and finished ninth.
—
NASCAR Nationwide Series Race Number 20
Unofficial Race Results for the 5Th Annual U.S. Cellular 250 Presented
By The Enlist Weed Control System – Saturday, August 3, 2013
Iowa Speedway – Newton, IA – .875 Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 250 Laps – 218.75 Miles – Purse: $1,190,042
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 5 22 Brad Keselowski(i) Discount Tire Ford 250 0 $73,740 Running 1 35
2 14 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Truck Rental Ford 250 42 $61,000 Running
3 6 20 Brian Vickers Dollar General Toyota 250 42 1 $52,000 Running 1 8
4 8 3 Austin Dillon AdvoCare Chevrolet 250 42 2 $44,850 Running 1 116
5 11 32 Kyle Larson # Eveready Chevrolet 250 39 $35,725 Running
6 1 54 Drew Herring Monster Energy Toyota 250 39 1 $32,775 Running 1 26
7 3 99 Alex Bowman # ToyotaCare Toyota 250 37 $27,835 Running
8 10 11 Elliott Sadler SportClips Toyota 250 36 $27,795 Running
9 23 33 Ryan Gifford Rheem / Menards Chevrolet 250 35 $25,675 Running
10 7 6 Trevor Bayne Fastenal Ford 250 35 1 $25,975 Running 1 6
11 2 7 Regan Smith TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet 250 34 1 $24,200 Running 1 59
12 17 43 Michael Annett Northland Ford 250 32 $23,650 Running
13 4 2 Brian Scott Shore Lodge Chevrolet 250 31 $25,125 Running
14 13 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. # Worx Chevrolet 250 30 $22,600 Running
15 19 5 Brad Sweet Great Clips Chevrolet 250 29 $23,050 Running
16 20 77 Parker Kligerman TOYOTA Toyota 250 28 $22,125 Running
17 9 31 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet 250 27 $21,700 Running
18 24 19 Mike Bliss Tweaker Energy Shot Toyota 248 26 $21,450 Running
19 21 70 Johanna Long ForeTravel Chevrolet 247 25 $21,225 Running
20 16 44 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Toyota 247 24 $21,675 Running
21 22 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet 247 23 $20,875 Running
22 12 29 Kenny Wallace U.S. Cellular Toyota 246 22 $14,750 Running
23 26 14 Eric McClure Hefty / Reynolds Toyota 246 21 $20,600 Running
24 28 01 Mike Wallace teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 246 20 $20,475 Running
25 32 4 Daryl Harr iWorld Chevrolet 246 19 $20,825 Running
26 27 52 Joey Gase Iowa Donate Network Chevrolet 244 18 $14,225 Running
27 15 60 Travis Pastrana XGames LA Ford 243 17 $20,100 Running
28 30 79 Kyle Fowler Sarges’ Tailgate Grill Ford 242 16 $19,950 Running
29 39 23 Richard Harriman Ringwall Foundations Ford 240 15 $19,825 Running
30 36 87 Travis Sauter Lester Buildings Toyota 238 14 $20,000 Running
31 18 40 Reed Sorenson e-Swisher Chevrolet 228 13 $19,550 Running
32 34 74 Kevin Lepage Gold Class I-Car Chevrolet 135 12 $19,455 Vibration
33 25 24 Brett Butler Taylor Brooks Salon Toyota 74 11 $19,335 Brakes
34 38 50 Danny Efland A-1 Bail Bonds Chevrolet 26 10 $13,215 Brakes
35 37 89 Morgan Shepherd Racing with Jesus Chevrolet 23 9 $13,097 Brakes
36 40 15 Carl Long Clawdog.com Ford 13 8 $12,125 Handling
37 35 42 TJ Bell Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet 6 7 $12,015 Vibration
38 31 00 Blake Koch SR2 Motorsports Toyota 5 6 $11,936 Brakes
39 33 46 Jason Bowles Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet 4 5 $11,745 Vibration
40 29 10 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota 3 4 $11,630 Vibration
Race Comments: Brad Keselowski won the U.S. Cellular 250 presented by The Enlist Weed Control System, his 23rd NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. Prior to the green flag, no cars dropped to the rear of the field.
Failed to Qualify: N/A
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 56 Mins, 58 Secs. Average Speed: 112.211 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.536 Seconds
Caution Flags: 4 for 21 laps: Laps: 55-59 (#54 Spin Turn 2 [29]); 141-145 (Fluid On The Track [33]); 200-205 (#60 Accident Turn 3 [30]); 224-228 (#23 Spin Frontstretch [5]).
Lead Changes: 5 among 6 drivers: D. Herring 1-26; R. Smith 27-85; A. Dillon 86-201; T. Bayne 202-207; B. Vickers 208-215; B. Keselowski(i) 216-250.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) A. Dillon 698;(2) R. Smith 684;(3) S. Hornish Jr. 684;(4) E. Sadler 679;(5) B. Vickers 670;(6) K. Larson # 651;(7) J. Allgaier 648;(8) B. Scott 641;(9) T. Bayne 627;(10) P. Kligerman 617.
3M Lap Leader : Austin Dillon, #3 116 Laps Coors Light Pole Award : Drew Herring, #54 135.367 mph
Duralast Brakes “Brake in the Race” : Brian Scott, #2 Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Earnhardt Childress Racing Engines, #3
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race : Austin Dillon, #3 Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Kyle Larson, #32
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Aug. 10, 2013 – Watkins Glen International