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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Rolling like dice in Vegas

Keselowski cashes in on Earnhardt Jr.’s gamble

Brad Keselowski takes a confetti shower after winning NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Las Vegas. (Associated Press)
Greg Beacham Associated Press

LAS VEGAS – Dale Earnhardt Jr. knew he probably didn’t have enough fuel to finish. Being in Vegas, he decided to gamble anyway.

And when Earnhardt’s tank went bust on the final lap, Brad Keselowski was right there to cash in.

Keselowski surged ahead when Earnhardt ran out of fuel, claiming a dramatic victory Sunday in the NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt’s Chevy sputtered and slowed coming out of the second turn, and Keselowski roared past him on the backstretch in his Penske Ford to claim the first weekend sweep of his career.

Keselowski followed up Saturday’s Nationwide Series victory with his first Las Vegas Cup win, doing it in exhilarating fashion against the friend and mentor who gave him his first big break in racing.

“That’s what you live for as a driver, at least I do,” Keselowski said. “Those moments where you’re side by side, and you lay it all out on the racetrack and bring back the car with the tires smoking, engine smoking, and you’re worn out inside because you gave it all you had. It was one of those races there at the end.”

Keselowski knew all about the fuel shortage faced by Earnhardt and Carl Edwards, who both made their final pit stops about 10 laps before him. So Keselowski decided to force the issue, getting around Edwards and pushing for the lead so Earnhardt would be forced to abandon his conservative, fuel-saving lines.

“I felt like we could run him down,” Keselowski said about the driver who put him in his first Nationwide ride. “He was going to have to burn fuel to keep me behind him. At that point, it was just a matter of whether a yellow (flag) came out or not, because it was just a ticking time bomb. It worked in our favor today.”

Earnhardt finished second and didn’t regret it, secure in his overall position thanks to the new rules in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, which puts increased emphasis on wins. Still, Earnhardt was just a few ounces of fuel shy of earning his second victory in three races to start the season.

The Daytona 500 champion was disappointed, but not discouraged after his spectacular start to the NASCAR season. He also finished second last week.

“We weren’t supposed to make it,” Earnhardt said. “We were trying to save as much as we can and make it work, but we knew we were short. We wouldn’t have finished second if we didn’t have that strategy.”

Keselowski, the 2012 Sprint Cup champion, virtually assured himself of a spot in the Chase after missing it last season.

Earnhardt also praised NASCAR’s new Chase setup, which allowed him to take a fuel gamble in Vegas after winning already this season. Additional wins are worth bonus points in the Chase, while a second-place finish doesn’t help his position much – hence the motivation to go for broke on an empty tank.

“I think the new format is definitely is showing it has tons of positives,” Earnhardt said. “It’s better as far as entertainment for our sport. It gives us freedom, and it’s nice to have that freedom to do the things that we did today, even though we knew our odds weren’t good.”