Keselowski Wins in Spectacular Fashion

TALLEDEGA, Ala. -- Brad Keselowski did what any driver would do.

It was the last lap, and he had a shot to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup race. So he held his line and powered forward.

That the ensuing collision between his Chevy and Carl Edwards's Ford as they approached the finish line resulted in Edwards taking a frightening airborne ride into grandstands fencing and injuring seven fans had less to do with Keselowski than the innate dangers of restrictor plate racing.

In fact, NASCAR started putting restrictor plates on the cars at its two super speedways in Talladega and Daytona because of a similar airborne accident at Talladega in 1987. The idea was to control speeds. Roof flaps developed in the 1990s were supposed to keep the cars on the ground.

And so the 25-year-old Keselowski, whose win came in only his fifth Cup start, didn't make apologies for the racing.

More Coverage: Drivers Irate After Terrifying Finish

He thought the fans got exactly the high-drama show they paid to see or chose to tune into.

But he did feel bad for the fans who were hurt -- most of whom suffered minor injuries like bruises. One may have a broken jaw. Edwards escaped without injury.

"Holding your line was the way to do it, and I'm sorry it caused a wreck and sorry for those that are hurt," said Keselowski, who drives full time for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Nationwide Series.

"But that's just the situation with the rules and the way it is, and either way, it was a great show, and I hope the fans had fun with it. This is NASCAR racing at its finest. This was a great show. I really hope everyone enjoyed it, because I had fun."

Keselowski realizes that there will be controversy about the outcome and the danger of the last lap. But he was trying to enjoy his win with low-budget independent team owned by businessman James Finch, who races as he can afford it.

And ... Keselowski did finish one position ahead of Earnhardt, who was duly impressed with his protege's first win.

"I'm so proud of Brad, he did a great job," Earnhardt said. "Man, he's got to be screaming happy. James Finch, as the car owner. It's just amazing. He's an awesome dude."

While Keselowski isn't running for the championship, the race outcome did mean a big shakeup in the Sprint Cup Series standings. Seventh place finisher Kurt Busch leaves as the new points leader -- five points over Jeff Gordon, who finished 37th. Three-time reigning champ Jimmie Johnson dropped to third place, 64 points back -- both Gordon and Johnson were involved in multi-car wrecks.

Kasey Kahne was the biggest points loser on the day, dropping four positions and out of The Chase top-12 to 14th position thanks to a 13-car accident less than 15 minutes into the race.

Conversely, Greg Biffle's seventh place run moved him inside the Chase (10th place). And Ryan Newman vaulted four positions to 13th, only 30 points out of the Chase cutoff.

And in a complete reverse of Hendrick Motorsports recent fortune, Earnhardt was the team's only driver to finish the race. The runner-up effort -- his best finish of the year -- moved him up three spots in the rankings to 15th as the series moves to Richmond, Va., next weekend.

Australian rookie Marcos Ambrose finished fourth for his best career Cup finish and could only manage to state the obvious after climbing out of his car: "That is the most spectacular thing I've ever seen in my life."

Terrifying Finish at Talladega

A push for victory takes a disastrous turn for Carl Edwards at Talladega Superspeedway. Contact from race winner Brad Keselowski on the final lap sends Edwards into a tailspin before he's lifted into the air by Ryan Newman (39). Click through to see more photos from Sunday's incredible race.

Rainier Ehrhardt, AP

Edwards' car went airborne and into the safety fence, scattering debris into the crowd and injuring multiple fans. "I'm glad the car didn't go up in the grandstands," he said. "I don't know if I could live with myself if I ended up in the grandstands."

Glenn Smith, AP

After landing back down on the track, Edwards had to climb out of his car as it sparked flames. "I just want to tell my mom, I'm OK," Edwards told the television audience. "I'm very fortunate."

Christian Petersen, Getty Image

Edwards was quick to put some blame on NASCAR's use of restrictor plates to combat the high speed of the two fastest tracks -- Talladega and Daytona. The plates keep cars packed together, and all it takes is one wrong move to trigger "The Big One," a nickname for the recurring pileups.

Jerry Markland, Getty Images

As Edwards was derailed on the final lap, Keselowski surged into the lead to win a Sprint Cup Series race for the very first time. Keselowski felt sorry for the fans who were hurt, but wasn't about to make excuses for his maneuver. "Holding your line was the way to do it," said Keselowski.

Christian Petersen, Getty Images

"Either way, it was a great show, and I hope the fans had fun with it," said Keselowski, seen here celebrating in Victory Lane. Restrictor-plate races are both loved by fans for the thrills they provide and dreaded by drivers who fear for their safety.

Rusty Jarrett,, Getty Images

Edwards' stunning flight wasn't the only major crash during the Aaron's 499. On the seventh lap, a 13-car accident caused havoc for top drivers like Mark Martin, far left, Kevin Harvick (29) and points leader Jeff Gordon (24).

Dale Davis, AP

NASCAR issued a strong warning before the race, telling the drivers to avoid aggressive driving. But that didn't prevent the mayhem from taking over Talladega again. "You expect it," said Gordon. "You just hope to survive it."

Russell Norris, AP

Like Edwards, Jeremy Mayfield also had to leave his burning vehicle after a wreck Sunday. There were four major accidents between the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide race over the weekend.

Dale Davis, AP

Edwards, who crossed the finish line on foot, said that drivers fear these type of races. "NASCAR has put us in this box and we'll race like this until we kill someone and then they'll change it."

Christian Petersen, Getty Image

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-27-2009 @ 12:49AM

CJ said...

Well, it's like the saying goes, a blind squirrel every now and then finds an acorn, meaning just because this fish looking idiot won at Talladega doesnt mean jackshit. Look at other past winners from Talladega such as Brian Vickers and Mikey Waltrip and look how many races they are winning all the time huh! This guy is not a good Nascar driver and will be a bust. Even Regan Smith pretty much won here last year and look where he's at now. Just because a driver wins at a restrictor plate track doesnt make them a good race car driver. Other prime examples of this is Derrick Cope and John Andretti who both one just once at Daytona. The only good thing that may come from this is getting this dumbass out of Jr's team and out of association with Jr. Some retarded owner is goin to think that Keselowski has talent and hire him for a full time driver next season as Hendrick wont have the room. Dale Jr, Jimmie, and Jeff arent going anywhere, Mark is having some success and the only thing Brad has to hope for is to share the 5 car which i think Mark will be back full time and if he wishes to do so, Hendrick will allow it and will let Brad walk as he didnt even find Brad, Jr did and Jr isnt goin to Cup any time soon.

5-01-2009 @ 4:00PM

papytendo said...

John Andretti also won in Martinsville in 1999.

4-27-2009 @ 9:12AM

Kim said...

So who finished seventh, Kurt Busch or Greg Biffle? The article states they both finished seventh.

CJ: Agreed. There weren't many regulars left on the track to challenge Brad as most had been taken out by the two earlier races. Jr. seemed to be giving it all he had and just couldn't get there. As far as Edwards, I said on another blog page, he is dangerous and sometimes too aggressive. This accident was spectacular and no one else's fault other than Edward's. People are blaming the yellow line rule, restrictor plates, the COT and other things, but the fact is Carl sat back the entire race and tried to pull off a win the final three laps by getting way too aggressive. Luckily Edwards and the other drivers weren't hurt.

As far as the fans, that's a shame that some were injured, however NASCAR isn't to blame. When that car flew into that fence, I really thought it was going to go through and there would be deaths. I think the fence held up amazingly well and those who were injured are very fortunate it wasn't worse.

Kim

4-27-2009 @ 9:17AM

"Seventh place finisher Kurt Busch leaves as the new points leader"

"Conversely, Greg Biffle's seventh place run moved him inside the Chase (10th place)."

Sorry, but I am one of those who gets very annoyed with typos/errors in articles. In fact, I have one myself above...."There weren't many regulars left on the track to challenge Brad as most had been taken out by the two earlier races." Instead of "races," I meant "wrecks."

Kim

4-27-2009 @ 9:39AM

GrumpyOldMan said...

What a great day to watch the Hendrick cars one by one have problems...Martin, Gordon, Johnson....and then their 4th car..(little E) and what is basically their 6th car (Newman)...get blown out of the water by an underfunded team that bought Hendrick equipment.

And the Blue Deuce is in first place.

What's missing in commentary on this race is the fact that some pairs of cars could all of a sudden act like they had two engines under their hood. Where did that come from?

4-27-2009 @ 12:34PM

Ron said...

CJ... I really don't understand what your beef is with Brad K. Just what is it that you think is so negative about this guy. No one else seems to mimic what you say so you must see something no one else is seeing. You have been raggin on this guy for two years. If he was as horrible as you claim he wouldn't be in the rides he's in. I hope it's something more than his looks you dislike because if that's it then your post carries no merit. Be specific about what it is you don't like

4-27-2009 @ 4:54PM

Admiral Gaumer said...

I agree with Ron. Brad is a great kid...Got the opportunity to spend some time with him and the team year before last. And I think he had a pretty good year in the Nationwide last year. Congrats, Brad!

4-27-2009 @ 6:32PM

nzcr14 said...

SOME DAMN AOL OR BLOGSMITH WORKER MUST NOT BEEN LIKING WHAT I BEEN SAYING ABOUT C.HATEWARDS FLY BY,cause my postS keep on getting LOST IN SPACE again now,3 since yesterday.
HATEWARDS RUNNED THE ALL RACE IN THE CHICKEN LANES.
SUDDENLY IN THE LAST LAPS ,HE DECIDES TO WIN THE RACE AND POPS OUT FRONT like a runaway train and thinks that B KESELW. a DEJ OWNED CAR WAS HELPING PUSHING HIM OUT FRONT and not JUNIOR.
NO WAY, HATEWARDS!!!!. KESELAWSKY SAW THE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN WITH FEW LAPS TO GO after he runned plenty of laps out front rows and HE WENT FOR.HE was setting himself up to SLINGSHOOT HIMSELF UP FRONT IN THE LAST LAP AND NOT HELPING SISSY HAYWARDS with a win. NO WAY HOSE', HE WOULD HELPED DEJ WIN OR HIMSELF NOT A GROUCHES CAR. THE RULES OF WRECKADEGA ARE LIKE DAYTONA RULES! NO DRIVING BELOW THE YELLOW LINE!!.HAYWARDS BLOCK would had FORCED KESELW. below the yellow line as the ONLY WAY TO AVOID A WRECK.KUDOS TO KESELOWSKY FOR BLOWING HAYWARDS OUT OF THE WAY!!!. STEWART WOULD DONE EXACTLY THE SAME and as bad as he needs a win JUNIOR would probably done it too.HE DESERVED THE WIN MUCH MORE THAN HATEWARDS AND SO DID K.BUSH-RYAN NEWMAN OR B. KES and few others.I CHEERED WHEN HATEWARD WAS FLYING LIKE A DEBRY BLOWN AWAY BY A TORNADO.MAYBE WILL SERVE HIM AS A LESSON!!!I'M GLAD AND HAPPY THAT NOONE DIED, NO ONE GOT BADLY HURT, including HATEWARDS. HE DESERVED IT. SUCH A SISSY, CHICKEN DRIVER THAT THINKS OF HIMSELF AS SUPERMEN SUDDENLY LAST LAP.the 2 hoepitalized fans was only
minor stuff tOo and the only reason they got airlifted to the hosp.was to avoid road traffic, not serios injury motive.THIS WAS WRECKADEGA BEST RACE I SEEN IN A LONG WHILE and even STEWART/JJ/DR deserved to win more than HAYWARDS. STEWART WAS SHORT OF A CILYNDER or his butt would been out front
sooner and finished in another TOP5 OR A WIN.
WORKS FOR ME...

4-27-2009 @ 9:28PM

Bernie said...

Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards should rethink how to stay in the race at the end of these resrictor plate races rather than finish hi 20's or next to last. I think Kyle knew if he began drifting back he may slip too far back so he forced the Lion out of Jeff Burton when he blocked him on the bottom of the race track with a few left. "Live by the sword", that's how it goes, Kyle still moved up to 6th place in the standings besides all of the kaos still, that was too close for comfort with the debris flying into at least the first two rows deep in the stands, it's a good thing no one was seriousely injured.

Carl lost on the okee doke move put on him by Brad. He was upset but he knew Brad K. stayed on him because he had nowhere to go when he came back down the track. I like this kid Brad K, he's none of those drivers mentioned above by CJ. I think you've this kid pegged wrong. He can flat out drive as well as Joey Logano, Very good! Maybe the fourth car at JGR. Sorry for Mark Martin at Dega but will have a strong race at Richmond, he better he's on my team this week.

4-27-2009 @ 6:27PM

Brad said...

Grumpy can you please explain your obvious hatred for HMS, is it that they are driving chevys or what. And how in the wide wide world of sports is finishing second getting " Blown out of the water ".

4-27-2009 @ 7:40PM

JELOUSY IS THE MOTHER OF ALL HATRED, grumpy old fart.

5-03-2009 @ 9:13PM

ashmucker3 said...

Now if someone might take the time to show Brad K. how to behave in the winner's circle with just a little class; i.e. watch Johnson, Martin or Edwards as driver's that are true role model winners.