Maybe Brad Keselowski didn’t get a flu shot this year but the Team Penske driver now has a shot at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Keselowski fought though having the flu to win Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The win puts him into the playoffs and continued his recent hot streak at the 1.5-mile track.
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It was an interesting race that came with a great deal of built-in anticipation thanks to the introduction of at least a variation of the new series rules package. But strategy, bad luck and timely moves proved to be the recipe for Keselowski to find his way to Victory Lane.
A series of late issues to potential contenders including Keselowski’s teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney changed the complexion of the race. Keselowski had the top spot but was forced to hold off the advances of Martin Truex Jr., who made a late charge to try and wrestle the lead away in the closing laps only to come up just short.
When all was said and done there was Keselowski, standing (barely) in Victory Lane celebrating his first win of the season.
Talk about the best medicine.
- Think of the new 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rules package as a science experiment. Sunday at Atlanta was the first step in a process. While lower horsepower was used by teams over the weekend there were no aero ducts as will be the case starting next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Atlanta’s worn out racing surface again made the biggest impact with tire wear being even more accelerated since drivers were in the throttle more under the guise of the new engine rules package. The result was a race that was very much a typical Atlanta race but that did have bursts of tighter competition certainly accentuated on restarts. The science project will roll on for the next several weeks and it’s wise to withhold full assessment until say April 1st after the series has a body of work, including Vegas, ISM Raceway, Auto Club Speedway and Texas to evaluate.
- Saturday’s Xfinity Series/Truck Series doubleheader was plagued by misty and foggy weather. But NASCAR officials fought through the weather challenges to get both races in the books. Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch put on dominating performances in their respective trips to Victory Lane. The twin bill is a unique part of the calendar that Atlanta has hosted the last few years. It’s an idea that may find its way to some other tracks on the schedule as NASCAR looks to reinvent the overall national series slate in the next couple of years. Two races in one day with children under 12 admitted for free is about as fan-friendly an initiative as you’ll find in professional sports.
- Kyle Busch’s win put him on top of the Truck Series all-time win list and broke a tie he held with Ron Hornaday Jr. It was inevitable Busch would break the record and he’s compiled 52 wins between racing for Billy Ballew Motorsports and Kyle Busch Motorsports during his Truck Series career. As with anything involving the polarizing Busch, there’s controversy attached to his breaking the mark. None of it will matter as Busch will keep adding to that win mark on his steady march to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
- Speaking of future schedules, it will be interesting to see where Atlanta winds up on the reportedly reimagined 2021 slate. The late February date has not exactly been kind to the track and the area in recent years. However starting on the east coast immediately after Daytona has been part of the sport dating back decades with Richmond and Rockingham hosting races in that time frame for years. Whether Atlanta stays in the post Daytona spot or not is just one of the many questions swirling.
The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Motor Racing Network.
