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NASCAR Cup Atlanta

Keselowski revels in "heck of a battle" with Logano

Brad Keselowski was proud of Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway for two reasons – his team’s performance and for how he and winner Joey Logano raced cleanly for the win.

Although Logano led the most laps, Keselowski grabbed the lead for the first time on Lap 209 when a multi-car wreck erupted at the front of the field.

From the restart on Lap 217 to the finish on Lap 260, the remainder of the race turned into a battle between the former Team Penske teammates, much of it side-by-side with Keselowski on the outside and Logano on the inside.

As the field headed toward Turn 3 on the final lap, Logano went to the outside of Keselowski, and thanks to a big push from Christopher Bell, was able to clear him for the lead. Logano held on for the win as Keselowski took second in a photo finish with Bell.

“The bottom row came with a huge run. I don’t know how and I thought I had it blocked and Joey just kept shaking and his car didn’t stall out,” Keselowski said. “I couldn’t get the push down the back (stretch).

“A great run all-in-all for our (team). We were right there. I’m glad a Ford won. It was a heck of a battle.”

Getting closer to Victory Lane

Keselowski was trying to snap a 66-race winless streak but perhaps most importantly trying to earn his first win at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

He left Team Penske – where he was teammates with Logano – to become an owner/driver for RFK beginning last season.

“Yeah, (we’re) night and day from where we were a year ago – 100 percent,” he said. “Keep running like this, the good finishes and the wins will happen.”

While the weekend’s Truck and Xfinity series races featured numerous wrecks and cautions – which has become more come at Atlanta since its reconfiguration to a superspeedway-style track – Sunday’s wild final laps finished under green.

“The coolest thing about this is two veterans showed that you can run a race here side-by-side bump drafting and not wreck the field,” Keselowski said. “It can happen if you race respectfully and I thought everybody did a great job.

“We were right there. I’m proud of my team and the effort, just not much we could do there.”

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Logano’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe – who used to work with Keselowski at one time Penske – was equally impressed with the performance put on by the two drivers.

“Brad is great at this type of racing. I was listening to him and T.J. (Majors, his spotter), racing side-by-side, all the information he was getting,” Wolfe said of Keselowski. “Obviously, he’s very good at blocking, being able to manage the lead. I know that.

“The fact that Joey was able to make some of those moves that he did on him was pretty impressive. I know, like I said, how well Brad understands this type of race, how good he is at it.”

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