Story By: BRANDON LEE / RFK RACING – LINCOLN, AL – Brad Keselowski won stage two of Sunday’s NASCAR Playoffs race at Talladega Superspeedway, but his day ended early after a multi-car incident took out the Solomon Plumbing Ford with 25 laps to go.
“It was just one of those Talladega pushing and shoving deals,” Keselowski said following the crash. “I just gave a really light push to the 42 car and it turned around on him, so unfortunate for us. We were able to win the second stage and were in a pretty good position there. It sucks for everybody. I hate it for him. I hate it for us, but it is what it is.”
Keselowski – the six-time Talladega winner – led two different times as nearly 70 lead changes occurred throughout the afternoon. He showed speed early in the weekend, putting the No. 6 fifth in qualifying on Saturday.
After a fairly calm stage one where Keselowski finished 20th, he began his charge into the top five just after lap 100. Following a round of green-flag pit stops, the Solomon Plumbing machine took the lead on lap 108, and went on to win stage two.
He began the third stage in third, and was patiently awaiting a charge to the front late, before the yellow on lap 163 ended his day prematurely.