Brad Keselowski has put a broken ankle behind him to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway.
The driver of the #22 Dodge suffered foot, ankle and back injuries in a high-speed testing crash at the Road Atlanta road course last Wednesday. CLICK HERE for that story.
Prior to the race weekend at Pocono he had to be cleared by NASCAR’s medical staff and the injuries prevented him from competing in the Nationwide Series race at Iowa.
In a race that weather played its part, Keselowski and the other drivers had to wait-out a 90-minute rain shower in the middle of the 200-lap journey. A gamble on not stopping prior to the re-start vaulted Keselowski and Penske team-mate Kurt Busch to the head of the pack. Through the final two pit stops in the race they were able to maintain their spots near the front, with Keselowski taking his second win on the year while Busch finished third behind his brother Kyle.
Kurt Busch held off a fast finishing Jimmie Johnson with the pair ‘trading paint’ on the final lap. A heated exchange followed on the pit road between the two NASCAR stars.
No such issues for Keselowski who is now the top-seed in the ‘wild card’ segment for the Sprint Cup Chase. The ‘wild card’ is reserved for the two drivers sitting between 11th and 20th who have the most wins on the season.
“It’s not me it’s good people it really is,” said Keselowski.
“I just want to get this car in the chase and have a good run for the championship.
“Runs like today show that we can do it. Everyone on this team is working together and turned around Penske Racing; it’s something I’m really proud of and I’m looking forward to many years of success here.
A 20th place finish for Australia’s Marcos Ambrose was not the result he was looking for.
The Tasmanian struggled to find a car balance and even bounced off the wall at one stage.
“It was just a long day today, but we just fought and gouged all day,” said Ambrose.
“I feel like I got the most out of myself and the guys really tried hard. It’s not the day we wanted, but we’re still proud of ourselves and we’ll get ‘em next week.”
Ambrose has every right to feel confident as next week is the second and final road course race of the year at the famed Watkins Glen International. He will race on the Saturday Nationwide Series race, an event he has won for the last three years. The Ford driver will then be one of the favourites for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race after finishes of third, second and third.
RACE RESULTS: Good Sam RV Insurance 500 – Pocono Raceway
| Pos | Driver | Car | Sponsor | Lap | Status |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 200 | Running |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M’s | 200 | Running |
| 3 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 200 | Running |
| 4 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s | 200 | Running |
| 5 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Tornados | 200 | Running |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 200 | Running |
| 7 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Ortho Home Defense Max | 200 | Running |
| 8 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M / 811 | 200 | Running |
| 9 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Amp Energy / National Guard | 200 | Running |
| 10 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | CertainTeed / Menards | 200 | Running |
| 11 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 200 | Running |
| 12 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 200 | Running |
| 13 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com | 200 | Running |
| 14 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 200 | Running |
| 15 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Office | 200 | Running |
| 16 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Crown Royal | 200 | Running |
| 17 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 200 | Running |
| 18 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Good Sam Club | 200 | Running |
| 19 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | Best Buy | 200 | Running |
| 20 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Dewalt | 200 | Running |
| 21 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Companies | 200 | Running |
| 22 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | 200 | Running |
| 23 | David Gilliland | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 200 | Running |
| 24 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Aaron’s Dream Machine | 200 | Running |
| 25 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Reese Towpower / Highland | 200 | Running |
| 26 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 200 | Running |
| 27 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction / Thank A Teacher Today-Security Benefit |
200 | Running |
| 28 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | Red Bull | 200 | Running |
| 29 | Andy Lally * | Ford | Interstate Moving Services | 200 | Running |
| 30 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Golden Corral | 198 | Running |
| 31 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Long John Silver’s | 198 | Running |
| 32 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 198 | Running |
| 33 | Jason White | Ford | GunBroker.com | 197 | Running |
| 34 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS “We Love Logistics” | 149 | Running |
| 35 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Speed Energy | 79 | Out of Race |
| 36 | Casey Mears | Toyota | GEICO | 30 | In Pit |
| 37 | Todd Bodine | Toyota | HP Racing LLC | 25 | In Pit |
| 38 | David Stremme | Chevrolet | Life is Good Kids Foundation | 18 | In Pit |
| 39 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 18 | Out of Race |
| 40 | Scott Speed | Ford | Max Q Motorsports | 16 | Out of Race |
| 41 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AMFMEnergy.com / Pellet & Wood Stoves | 14 | In Pit |
| 42 | Erik Darnell | Ford | Red Line Oil | 8 | In Pit |
| 43 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 7 | In Pit |
CHAMPIONSHIP: After Race 21 of 36
| Pos | Driver | Points | Difference | Poles | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s |
| 1 | Carl Edwards | 720 | Leader | 2 | 1 | 10 | 14 |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 711 | -9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 13 |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | 709 | -11 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 13 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | 706 | -14 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | 700 | -20 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 6 | Matt Kenseth | 694 | -26 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 11 |
| 7 | Jeff Gordon | 668 | -52 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| 8 | Ryan Newman | 658 | -62 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 10 |
| 9 | Tony Stewart | 642 | -78 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 10 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 641 | -79 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | 618 | -102 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 12 | Clint Bowyer | 600 | -120 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 13 | Greg Biffle | 597 | -123 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 14 | Paul Menard | 587 | -133 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 15 | Mark Martin | 567 | -153 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 16 | Kasey Kahne | 567 | -153 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 17 | A.J. Allmendinger | 562 | -158 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 18 | Brad Keselowski | 558 | -162 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 19 | David Ragan | 556 | -164 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 20 | Joey Logano | 548 | -172 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 23 | Marcos Ambrose | 529 | -191 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
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