Keselowski lets off gas, hangs on in Nationwide

SPARTA, Ky. -- Brad Keselowski thinks he has a sixth sense that lets him know how much fuel he has in whatever car he's driving.

It didn't fail him Friday at Kentucky Speedway.

The defending NASCAR Nationwide Series champion used a light touch on the gas pedal in the final miles to pick up his first victory of the season, needing only one tank of fuel to navigate the final 67 laps and beat Kevin Harvick by more than a second.

Kyle Busch, who started 41st after crashing during qualifying, was third, followed by Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler.

"If you keep kind of paying in, the machine is going to pay out," Keselowski said. "If you keep doing the right things long enough, you will be rewarded, and today was a day of reward."

And dominance. Keselowski led 132 laps and spent the majority of the race pulling away from the rest of the 43-car field. Harvick was the only one able to stay within striking distance, but a late miscue cost him dearly.

Both drivers were attempting to stretch their fuel during the lengthy green-flag run at the end when Harvick's crew ordered him to pit only to tell him to stay out at the last second and hope for a caution after another car spun out.

The yellow flag never flew, and Harvick wasted valuable gas getting up to speed while giving Keselowski enough breathing room to survive.

"I was as confused as you could have imagined," Harvick said. "I should have just done what I wanted to do, that would have been easier."

Keselowski put together his best performance since winning at Gateway last fall to beat a field stacked with fellow Sprint Cup regulars in town to run in tonight's inaugural Cup race at the track.

The 27-year-old dominated NASCAR's second-tier series a year ago, winning six times while running away with the championship. Things haven't been quite so smooth this season. His previous best finish this year was second at Texas in April, but he has had several close calls.

Keselowski thought he would win at Las Vegas only to cut a tire on the final lap. He was in front with a handful of laps left last week at Daytona only to see his Penske Racing Dodge fade to 17th.

"This year has been a series of what-ifs, and today was actually not one of those days," he said.

Joey Logano, looking for his fourth straight win at Kentucky, ran out of gas on the final lap and finished 10th.

Sadler took over the Nationwide points lead after Reed Sorenson ran into trouble on pit road and finished 17th.

Busch, who won the Trucks race Thursday after starting on the back row, nearly did it again. He wrecked during qualifying and was forced to go to a backup car. He had little trouble working his way into the top 10, but couldn't quite find the speed to chase down Harvick and Keselowski, who combined to lead all but 12 of the 200 laps.

■ NHRA -- At Joliet, Ill., Spencer Massey led Top Fuel qualifying at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals with a 3.819-second run at 319.29 mph.

Top Fuel standings leader Del Worsham was second at 3.859 and 314.53 mph, and Antron Brown third at 3.869 and 314.61.

Mike Neff (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) led their divisions.