Brad Keselowski, No. 2 driver for Ford Team Penske, won his first Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race early Monday morning. Keselowski completed three-tenths of a second in front of Jimmie Johnson, who came in runner up until failing the post-race inspection. Jimmie Johnson’s car failed the post-race inspection and he was disqualified. Brad Keselowski extends losing streak of Jimmie Johnson to 102 races
Cup Series executive Jay Fabian said that the No. 48 vehicle’s rear alignment failed in the assessment after Sunday’s race. Johnson and the group were given the last-place in the grid. Johnson additionally forfeits the 11 stage points he had earned in Sunday’s race. No. 48 group boss Cliff Daniels theorized early Monday morning when the punishment was reported that something may have broken on the vehicle and that the group would examine.
Disappointed about our post-race OSS. We think something must've broken but won't know until we get it back to the shop tomorrow and can diagnose. Tough news after a strong night. This team is getting stronger We are focused forward. We’ll be back Wednesday with another great car
— Cliff Daniels (@DanielsCliff) May 25, 2020
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Chase Elliott, who had a huge lead until a caution with two laps to go, crossed the line third. Chase Elliott lost yet another potential NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This time Brad Keselowski took away the race.
For the second NASCAR Cup Series race in succession, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott was in a situation to win in the end laps. Subsequent to conquering a pit lane speeding penalty and a call not to pit dropped him. What’s more, for the second race in succession, he missed the mark.
No. ☝️! @keselowski | #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/9B0ebGKIpr
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 25, 2020
Kurt Busch defeated Jimmie Johnson by .009 seconds to take the Busch Pole at NASCAR Coca-Cola 600. Kurt set a time of 29.790 seconds in his number 1 Chevy for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Jimmie Johnson scored a lap time of 29.799 and a top speed of 181.214 mph for the provisional pole. Although, Kurt broke his lap time by .009 seconds to take the pole position at Charlotte, North Carolina.
The 600-mile race was at that point the longest race on the NASCAR schedule. It went significantly longer after William Byron’s spin with five-laps to go.
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Although the race was the longest in distance however it began on Sunday and completed on Monday as downpour cleared over the rambling 1.5-mile superspeedway after 50 laps, stopping racing for almost an hour and a half.
“I feel like I have thrown this race away a handful of times, and I thought we were going to lose it today,” Keselowski said. “I have lost it the way Chase lost it, and it really stinks. And today we finally won it that way.”
“I was kind of bummed. I wanted to win the 600 my whole life and wanted to win in front of everybody,” he said. “But that’s not always how it works. I know there are fans that wish they could be in the stands.”
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It was the 1st win for Keselowski this season, his first Coca-Cola 600 triumph, and the first win at this occasion for Ford since 2002.