Monday Racing Roundup: Keselowski’s Clutch Win at Talladega Seals Eliminator Berth
October 20, 2014 | By IMS
For the two most recent NASCAR Sprint Cup champions, the only sure way to keep their 2014 title hopes alive was to win on Sunday at Talladega.
One got it done.
Brad Keselowski pulled off the improbable win in his No. 2 Ford, overcoming an early incident to climb back into the perilous Talladega drafts and then surviving the final furious laps to win by .141 of a second over Matt Kenseth. The 2012 champion advanced to the “Eliminator” round, which begins this weekend at Martinsville.
But for defending champion Jimmie Johnson, the Chase ended on the high banks. The No. 48 Chevrolet led a race-high 84 laps but wasn’t a factor in the final dash and finished 24th.
“It feels relieving to go down swinging. The last two weeks were really poor,” said Johnson, a six-time champion overall. “You can’t come in here and say you’re doing to dominate Talladega and win the race. We dominated it. We just didn’t lead the lap that counted.”
Johnson, along with Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne, were eliminated along with Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing, who was involved in an early crash at Talladega and never recovered.
Keselowski, Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick all advanced by virtue of race wins in the “Contender” round, while Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman all advanced on points.
The Eliminator round includes races at Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix, with the top four drivers advancing to the finale at Homestead.
All eight drivers will begin this round on equal footing in points but the momentum, for now, belongs to Keselowski.
“Talladega is not a place where I think anyone, if they were going to call their shot, would call it,” said Keselowski after winning for the sixth time on the season. “But I felt like the odds were maybe not for us in the championship, but they were for us in the sense of Talladega and plate racing.
“As far as what today says … it says that we’re capable of a lot.”
MotoGP: Rossi wins in Australia
The 2014 MotoGP championship is out of reach, but Valentino Rossi is making a push to become the year’s second-best rider.
The 35-year-old Italian prevailed in a wild race on Sunday in Australia, leading the first all-Yamaha podium since 2008 and improving his hold on second in the standings with two races remaining.
Marc Marquez clinched the championship last week in Japan and was dominant again for a while on Phillip Island, sitting on the pole and leading through 17 laps in building a four-second lead on his Repsol Honda, but crashed out and did not return. He was not injured.
That was far from the only incident as nine riders either crashed or failed to finish, including Cal Crutchlow, who was second on the last lap only to crash and hand the runner-up spot to Jorge Lorenzo. Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Bradley Smith was third.
But Rossi was steady on his Movistar Yamaha, taking the lead after Marquez’ crash and staying in front for the final 10 laps for his second win in four races and his 82nd in the premier class. He is eight points ahead of teammate Lorenzo for second place.
“It’s a fantastic day. An amazing result coming after a great race,” Rossi said. “I came back to victory here almost 10 years after my last win, a great achievement at one of the most beautiful tracks of the year.”
MotoGP will race again this Sunday in Malaysia.
NASCAR Nationwide Series: Off until November
For the first time since early June, the Nationwide Series has some down time. Racing will resume on Nov. 1 at Texas Motor Speedway, with Texas, Phoenix and Homestead comprising the final three races of the season.
Chase Elliott is atop the standings by 42 points over Regan Smith, with Brian Scott (61 points back), Elliott Sadler (-63) and Ty Dillon (-64) filling out the top five.
Six of the last seven races have been won by Sprint Cup regulars, most recently by Brad Keselowski at Charlotte on Oct. 10.