NASCAR Nationwide Series
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NNS: Keselowski Wins Shootout At Richmond
Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Bubba Burger 250 at Richmond International Raceway....
Mike Hembree  |  Posted April 30, 2010   Richmond, VA
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge, celebrates with his crew in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series BUBBA burger 250 at Richmond International Raceway. (Photo: Getty Images)
Brad Keselowski raced Friday night in the shadow of a controversial finish last Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

LINK> UNOFFICIAL NATIONWIDE RESULTS: Bubba Burger 250 - RICHMOND

But that was the only shadow Keselowski saw Friday night.

Keselowski was wildly dominant in Friday night’s Bubba Burger 250 Nationwide race, eventually leading 189 of the 252 laps. But he had to survive a rough green-white-checkered finish to reach victory lane.

Keselowski, the series point leader, was coasting toward an apparently easy victory with six laps to go when Paul Menard blew a tire and hit the wall, causing a caution flag and bunching the field.

With the race likely to end with a green-white-checkered, teams faced a decision on whether to pit for two or four tires or stay on the track. Keselowski didn’t hesitate, choosing to pit for four. Two drivers – Kyle Busch and Justin Allgaier, Keselowski’s teammate – decided to stay on the track.

When the green flag flew for the two-lap shootout, Keselowski, with fresh tires, shot to the front from fourth place. He outran Greg Biffle to the finish by .261 of a second.

Following in order were Jamie McMurray, Busch and Carl Edwards.

“I knew if we lost this race because we didn’t take tires I’d be so mad,” Keselowski said.

He said the late-race caution “is part of racing. I can’t blame anybody. Paul Menard got a flat tire. It happens. It’s part of racing.”

The win was Keselowski’s second straight in the series, but his victory at Talladega Sunday was clouded by the fact that the team was fined and penalized points for using an unapproved spring and an unapproved shock. Keselowski lost 50 driver points because of those infractions, but, with Friday night’s win, he leads second-place Kevin Harvick by 59.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Grand Opening is set for May 11, 2010. Outdoor Opening Ceremonies are May 11th from 9 to 10 am ET free of charge, open to the public. Outdoor festivities including driver appearances and concerts May 11th from 10 am until 8 pm ET open to the public, free of charge. Tickets to enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame are on sale now at www.NASCARHall.com or by calling 877-231-2010. The countdown to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is on! Visit www.NASCARHall.com/50days for daily updates about the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
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