Brickyard 400: Keselowski wins after door-to-door battle with Hamlin

Clint Bowyer led the way on a Lap 106 restart to kick off the final stage. With William Byron struggling to get going, Denny Hamlin quickly moved into the second position.

Stage 2 winner Matt Kenseth restarted back in ninth after pitting during the stage break, but he did not waste any time moving forward through the field. By the time the final round of green-flag pit stops began, he was in sixth and knocking on the door of the top-five.

Up front, it continued to be Bowyer with Hamlin stalking close behind. With 41 laps to go, Kyle Busch was forced to pit right at the edge of the pit window with a flat right rear tire.

Hamlin came down pit road with 35 laps to go, but Bowyer waited two more laps before he made his stop. That allowed Hamlin to move ahead, but they remained close as the pit stops cycled through.

Both Blaney and Kenseth saw potential top-five finishes slip away as Blaney blew through his stall and Kenseth’s car fell off the jack.

With 17 laps to go, Brad Keselowski was one of the last frontrunners to pit, doing so mere moments before the caution flew for debris on the frontstretch.

On the following restart, Hamlin was able to get away as Bowyer was harassed by Jamie McMurray for third.

With the freshest tires, Keselowski quickly charged through the field and with seven laps to go, he was up to third.

But at that moment, a massive incident took place involving Landon Cassill and Jeffrey Earnhardt, sending the latter driver airborne.

The race went back green for a three-lap shootout. Bowyer spun the tires, giving way for Keselowski to go after Hamlin. The two veterans went door-to-door with two laps remaining, making contact as Keselowski clawed his way by.

At the white flag, Erik Jones was able to overtake Hamlin, but he could not run down Keselowski, who delivered Team Penske their first ever win in the Brickyard 400.

It’s also Keselowski’s second win in succession with this latest triumph coming just after his first win in Darlington Raceway’s Southern 500 -- another crown jewel.

I gotta give credit where credit is due," said Keselowski. "My crew chief, Paul Wolfe, made a heck of a call to pit there late in that run and the yellow came out and we had new tires and started eighth and it was kind of like it gave me the ball. You know how that goes. I had to make a play. I knew it was going to be tough. We weren’t a dominant car by any means but Paul and everyone executed an incredible race. I just had to do my job and here I am in victory lane at the Brickyard. Man, I wish RP (Roger Penske) was here. I know he is watching at home. What a day!”

The 'Captain' himself issued a statement on the win, saying, "This is certainly a great win for Team Penske. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is such a special place to me personally and the success we have enjoyed there has really helped build our team and continue to raise our level of performance. Earning Team Penske’s first win in the Brickyard 400, especially coming just a couple of months after winning the Indianapolis 500, is a credit to everyone that works so hard throughout our organization. Congratulations to Brad (Keselowski), Paul (Wolfe) and everyone on the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford team. Well done and now we look forward to the opportunity to pursue Team Penske’s 500th win!"

Hamlin was third, Harvick fourth and Bowyer ended up fifth.

CLICK HERE to see which 16 drivers will battle for the 2018 NASCAR Cup title.

Cla	#	Driver	4506	Laps	Time	Laps Led
1	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	160		9
2	20	Erik Jones	Toyota	160	0.904
3	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	160	1.703	37
4	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	160	1.955	22
5	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	160	2.413	37
6	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	160	2.797	19
7	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	160	3.858
8	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	160	4.631	27
9	21	Paul Menard	Ford	160	4.632
10	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	160	4.641
11	12	Ryan Blaney	Ford	160	4.798	1
12	6	Matt Kenseth	Ford	160	4.911	5
13	22	Joey Logano	Ford	160	5.423
14	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	160	5.876
15	9	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	160	6.264
16	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	160	6.708
17	34	Michael McDowell	Ford	160	7.762
18	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	160	7.978
19	24	William Byron	Chevrolet	160	8.964	3
20	95	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	160	9.015
21	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	160	9.020
22	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	160	9.135
23	10	Aric Almirola	Ford	159	1 lap
24	38	David Ragan	Ford	159	1 lap
25	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	158	2 laps
26	15	Ross Chastain	Chevrolet	158	2 laps
27	72	Corey Lajoie	Chevrolet	158	2 laps
28	7	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	158	2 laps
29	23	J.J. Yeley	Toyota	157	3 laps
30	52	B.J. McLeod	Ford	157	3 laps
31	00	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	150	10 laps
32	96	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Toyota	150	10 laps
33	88	Alex Bowman	Chevrolet	142	18 laps
34	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	136	24 laps
35	66	Timmy Hill	Toyota	124	36 laps
36	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	89	71 laps
37	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	66	94 laps
38	43	Darrell Wallace Jr.	Chevrolet	57	103 laps
39	51	David Starr	Ford	57	103 laps
40	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	41	119 laps