NCS:Brad Keselowski wins Cup playoff race at Richmond

Brad Keselowski won Saturday’s NASCAR Cup playoff race at Richmond Raceway, earning him a spot in the second round of the playoffs.

“Man, this thing was awesome,” Keselowski told NBCSN post-race.

Driver No. 2 led 192 of the 400 lap race, including the final 48 laps.

Keselowski said post-race that he hopes this id the car they use for the championship race at Phoenix later this year.

“We knew this was gonna be a really big pit strategy race, but we had the speed, we had the strategy. This team today did it all,” Keselowski told NBCSN post-race.

Rounding out the top five were Martin Truex Jr. in second, Joey Logano in third, Austin Dillion in fourth and Chase Elliott in fifth.

Kyle Busch, who before the race started failed pre-race inspection twice, finished sixth.

Completing the top ten were Kevin Harvick in seventh, Aric Almirola in eighth, Alex Bowman in ninth and Clint Bowyer in tenth.

Clint Bowyer, who finished tenth currently holds the final transfer spot to the second round of the playoffs. He ahead of William Byron by three points and ahead of Cole Custer by eight points. Matt DiBenedetto is 25 points below the cutoff and Ryan Blaney is 27 points below the cutoff.

Denny Hamlin secured a spot in the second round of the playoffs with his 12th place finish.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday Sept. 19th at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. This race will cut the playoff field from 16 drivers to 12 drivers.