Brad Keselowski outdueled Alex Bowman late and withstood a two lap shootout on a restart to earn the win in the Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway Saturday night. The Penske Racing driver now has three victories after twelve races in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Keselowski and his Ford Mustang team worked on the vehicle throughout the night to get the car into contention late. The driver out of Rochester Hills, Michigan led only 12 laps enroute to his second career victory at Kansas Speedway. Keselowski battled past Bowman with less than 10 laps to go in the race.
“There were some opportunities there and I took advantage of them,” said Keselowski after the race.
Penske Racing swept the racing on Saturday. Simon Pagenaud winning the IndyCar Grand Prix earlier in the day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway earlier in the day, and Keselowski securing the victory in the Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Bowman the Oh-So Close Man
Bowman, who led 63 laps and appeared poised to win his first career race, came up just short in the final laps of the Digital Ally 400 after being passed by Keselowski. After his runner-up finish, The Hendrick Motorsports driver now has three 2nd place finishes in a row, and continues to carry his momentum into strong runs each race.
“Dangit, we ran 2nd again. Just bad lane choices and gave the 2 a shot to my outside at the end there with five or six to go and it was kind of over from there,” said Bowman after his runner-up finish.
While finishing 2nd and coming within laps from a victory can be frustrating, the driver out of Tuscan, Arizona has a lot to be proud out and is earning recognition with his strong performances.
“If you finish 2nd three weeks in a row, you’re going to win a race. He’s got a lot to be proud of,” race winner Keselowski stated on Bowman’s performances in the last three weeks.
Bowyer and Jones Exchange Words after the Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway
On the final restart of the race Erik Jones and Clint Bowyer fought hard for the third place position, with Bowyer being forced to lift as Jones attempted to block the Stewart-Haas Racing driver. Both drivers had a difference of opinions after the Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway.
“What are you going to do, turn him right in front of the field and hurt him? I mean, he puts you in a bad situation. I lifted for him and it cost me three spots,” said Bowyer on pitroad after the race.
Bowyer continued, “That was dumb on his part – I should have just wrecked him I guess. Our Rush Truck Center Ford was fast all weekend long – that pisses me off.”
“I should have just wrecked him.” – @ClintBowyer on @erik_jones pic.twitter.com/L1uOtEatMx
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 12, 2019
Meanwhile, Jones understood Bowyer’s frustration but felt his move was justified in his effort to win the race, “I’d be mad if I was him but it’s just racing – You got to get aggressive and fight for every position and that’s all I was doing at the end of the race.”
Harvick’s Drought Continues in Kansas
After starting from the pole, leading 104 laps, and running 1st in the final stage, a windshield tear off forced Kevin Harvick to make an unscheduled pitstop, ending any hope of a victory for the 2014 MENCS Champion.
Trouble for @KevinHarvick!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 12, 2019
The leader is forced to make an unscheduled stop in the final stage! pic.twitter.com/hu9g2xPlz5
At this point last season, Harvick had already collected five wins and was a contender week after week. This season however, the #4 Stewart-Haas Racing team has had a combination of bad luck and underperformance keeping them out of victory lane through 12 races in 2019. Harvick was only able to climb back up to 13th, a dismal finish for one of the favorites heading into the night.
