Brad Keselowski is the most comfortable driver in NASCAR's Chase to the Sprint Cup after winning the opening race at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday. Keselowski is the first driver to clinch a spot in the Contender Round of the 10-race Chase.
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Under the new Chase format, four drivers will be eliminated after every third race. Keselowski entered the Chase as the top seed and automatically advanced to the second round with the win, so he doesn't have anything to worry about in the next two races.
"Man, the next two weeks are going to be a lot of fun, knowing we don't have to worry too much and we are going to move up," Keselowski said. The win on Sunday was his Sprint Cup Series-leading fifth of the year.
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"It's not that you can take more chances, but you have less stress," he said. "We can really buckle down and focus on the next bracket. Maybe crack the whip a little less the next two weeks and give the guys a break, so maybe it's a small advantage."
Keselowski started the race in the 25th position after qualifying was rained out and the order was determined by practice speeds. The 2012 Sprint Cup champion used a three-wide pass to take the lead with 15 laps to go. With Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson dueling side by side, Keselowski took a risk and drove right down the middle of them to take control of the race.
"I saw Kyle and Kevin racing each other really hard, they were aggressively side drafting and I was waiting for an opportunity to strike and it came," Keselowski said. "The car stuck and everything came together."
Jeff Gordon finished second and Larson took third. Keselowski's Team Penske teammate Joey Logano took fourth while Harvick fell to fifth. Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch took the next three spots. Jamie McMurray, who isn't eligible for the Chase, took ninth and Matt Kenseth finished 10th.
Aside from Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports drivers had a disappointing showing as Chase drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne finished 11th through 13th. The rest of the Chase field included Ryan Newman (15th), Carl Edwards (20th), AJ Allmendinger (22nd), Greg Biffle (23rd) and Aric Almirola (41st).
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