Brad Keselowski took advantage of contact between Ross Chastain and Kevin Harvick as they battled for the lead and went on to win Saturday’s Xfinity race at Darlington Raceway. It is Keselowski’s 39th career Xfinity win.
Harvick lashed out at Chastain for the incident.
STAGE 1 WINNER: Ross Chastain
STAGE 2 WINNER: Ross Chastain
CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOT VIA POINTS: Brandon Jones, Matt Tifft and Ryan Truex. They join Justin Allgaier, Elliott Sadler, Cole Custer, Christopher Bell, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick in the playoffs. Three spots remain with two races left in the regular season.
HOW BRAD KESELOWSKI WON: He was in the right place at the right time when Ross Chastain and Kevin Harvick had contact while racing for the lead in the final stage, avoided the incident and went on to win the race.
WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Runner-up Cole Custer scored his eighth consecutive top-10 finish and third top-five finish in a row. … Tyler Reddick placed third for his best finish since his Daytona win in the season opener. … Denny Hamlin was fourth. He has placed in the top 10 in all 11 starts in Darlington Xfinity races.
WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Austin Cindric was eliminated by a crash on the second lap after contact from behind by Ryan Truex. Cindric finished 40th. It marks the sixth finish of 30th or worse in 24 starts this season for Cindric. … Christopher Bell suffered a cut tire after making contact with Daniel Hemric’s car. Less than 15 laps after repairs, Bell hit the wall. Bell finished 34th.
NOTABLE: Ross Chastain, in his first of three races with Chip Ganassi Racing, won the pole, won both stages and led 90 laps before his incident with Kevin Harvick as they raced for the lead and finished 25th.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Just to be not able to experience this race … it really bothers me. I’m just really frustrated,” said Austin Cindric after he was eliminated by a crash on the second lap.
WHAT’S NEXT: September 8 in Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
