With up to five spots available for the Sprint Summer Showdown, Brad Keselowski’s win at Bristol on Saturday night locks in four drivers that could win a total of $3,000,000 if any of the four can take the checkered flag at Atlanta Motor Speedway during the Sept. 4 AdvoCare 500.
Keselowski got out front following the final pit stop thanks to fast service by his No. 2 Miller Lite blue deuce crew and never looked back, taking the checkered flag for his fourth-career win. The win came at a Bristol track where Keselowski had never finished better than 13th.
Keselowski, the hottest driver on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit over the last month, won his second race during the Sprint Summer Showdown qualifying races and his third of the season at the Tennessee half-mile. Since breaking his left ankle in a testing crash at Road Atlanta, the Michigan native has four top-three finishes, including those two wins. Winning his second race during the Sprint Summer Showdown qualifying-races ensures four drivers will be eligible for the money bonus at AMS.
“That sounds simple, but I’m sure there’s a lot of guys at Atlanta that are going to give us a run for the money,” Keselowski said in Victory Lane regarding having only three other drivers to battle for the $3,000,000 at Atlanta. “We’re proud of this, proud of the opportunity to win the Sprint Summer Showdown.”
The run through the standings for the No. 2 team has been nothing short of remarkable. Following the July 2 event at Daytona, Keselowski found himself 22nd in points and in danger of not making the Chase. Since then, Keselowski has climbed 11 spots in the points standings to 11th. Yet to be made official by NASCAR, a third win locks him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup and being only 21 points out of the top-10, Keselowski may make the Chase without the aid of the Wild Card.
Paul Menard, Brad Keselowski, Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch are the drivers that are eligible for the $1,000,000 payday if any of these four can take the checkered flag at the AdvoCare 500 at AMS over Labor Day weekend.
The Sprint Summer Showdown was introduced earlier this summer as a way to up the level of competition for the five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events leading up to Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Sept. 4 AdvoCare 500.
The four Sprint Summer Showdown winning drivers will have more than their wallets on their mind when the Sprint Cup circuit hits Atlanta. Each eligible driver will be paired up with a lucky fan, and both the fan and a charity of the driver’s choice will have a chance to win $1,000,000. Keselowski’s charity is his personal charity, the Checkered Flag Foundation.
Atlanta Motor Speedway PR
