2016 Kobalt 400: Keselowski Passes Busch Late at Las Vegas

Brad Keselowski won the 2016 Kobalt 400, the third race of the Sprint Cup season, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on 6 March 2016. The race covered 267 laps and was decided in the closing stages, when Keselowski passed Kurt Busch with five laps to go. Joey Logano took second, ahead of Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon.

What was the setting for the race?

Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a 1.5 mile tri-oval intermediate speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 2016 Kobalt 400 ran over 267 laps of the asphalt surface at this track, which is 1.500 mi (2.414 km) in length.

The entry list was released on Monday, 29 February, at 3:10 p.m. Eastern time, with thirty-nine cars entered. Brian Vickers was the only driver change from the previous race, returning to the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

Two test sessions were held before the weekend. Jimmie Johnson was fastest in the first, at 27.982 seconds, and Aric Almirola led the second at 27.988 seconds. Denny Hamlin hit the wall during the second session and used a backup car. Because the change came before qualifying, he would not start from the back of the field.

A late pass with five laps to go gave Brad Keselowski his first win of 2016 at Las Vegas.

How did practice and qualifying go?

Brad Keselowski was fastest in the first practice at 27.646 seconds, a speed of 195.327 mph (314.348 km/h). Carl Edwards was quickest in the second practice at 28.189 seconds, and Matt Kenseth topped the final session at 28.502 seconds, or 189.460 mph (304.906 km/h).

Kurt Busch took the pole with 27.505 seconds, which was 196.328 mph (315.959 km/h). He said the car was insanely fast, and that after a tight second run the crew had made big adjustments that paid off in the final round. Joey Logano qualified second and said second always stings most. He said he had pushed as hard as he could, but he got tight in turns one and two, and that was enough to cost him the speed he needed for pole.

Kyle Busch qualified 23rd and described his car as out of control, with chattering front tyres. Carl Edwards hit the wall during qualifying and switched to a backup car, so he started from the back of the field. He called going to the backup frustrating, because the original car had been very fast, but he was confident the replacement would be just as quick.

How did the race start?

Kurt Busch led the field to the green flag at 4:11 p.m. under clear Nevada skies. Gusts of 30 mph (48 km/h) blew debris across the track, and the first caution came on lap 31 for rain. Busch was penalised for speeding on pit road and went to the back, and Clint Bowyer also dropped down after an uncontrolled tyre.

After ten laps Busch had a 1.5 second lead over Logano, which Logano halved by lap 25. Logano took the lead on lap 45 by getting past Denny Hamlin into turn three. Matt Kenseth made an unscheduled stop on lap 74 for a loose wheel and rejoined in 35th place, one lap down.

Debris on the backstretch brought a second caution on lap 99. Keselowski and Logano swapped the lead on pit road, but Jimmie Johnson took the lead after pitting for right-side tyres only. Greg Biffle, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. each drew a speeding call on pit road, and each had to serve a pass-through penalty.

Logano passed Johnson on lap 178 in traffic to retake the lead. Johnson and Logano then swapped the lead on pit road, with Logano exiting in front. Debris in turn one brought a third caution on lap 179, and Keselowski was penalised for speeding on pit road, which sent him to the back. Paul Wolfe, his crew chief, said the team had shown its strength in overcoming that setback.

What happened in the later stages?

The fourth caution came with 69 laps to go after a single-car spin in turn two. A dust storm then delayed the restart, and Johnson passed Kenseth in turn four to take the lead with 57 laps to go. Logano opted not to pit when Johnson did, and he assumed the race lead.

A fifth caution came with 53 laps to go for a two-car wreck in turn four involving Kyle Larson and Regan Smith. Kyle Busch moved past Logano in turn three, going to the front with 43 laps to go.

Not long after the restart, with 44 laps to go, Kenseth got loose in turn one and hit the wall. Chase Elliott ran into his rear, and Kurt Busch clipped Carl Edwards while avoiding the wreck, sending both spinning. Kenseth said he did not know exactly what had happened, and Elliott called the incident disappointing and said he should have avoided the wreck.

Kurt Busch led the restart with 35 laps to go and pulled away from Logano, but the gap closed to under a second with 15 laps left. He then reported that his right-front tyre was falling apart, and Keselowski closed in.

How did Keselowski seal the win?

Keselowski passed Kurt Busch for the lead with five laps to go and drove on to victory. It was his 18th career win and the first of 2016, his second at Las Vegas and the second for Team Penske at the track. Keselowski left Las Vegas sixth in the points, and although Ford had won the race, it still trailed Toyota by 11 points in the manufacturer standings.

Keselowski described the day as really great, despite challenges from pit road, the weather and the cautions. He said the Miller Lite Ford team had been too strong for the rivals who tried to fight them off.

Logano said he had finished second so many times already that year, and that the whole weekend had ended in second place, from qualifying to practice to the race. He said he wanted to break through and get a trophy.

Kyle Busch said his car had developed a vibration after the right-side tyres went on, and that it had grown worse until the car was as tight as it had been all day. He called the weekend horrible, but he said the team had started to run in the top five.

Dillon said that after his speeding penalty he had done everything he could to get back on the lead lap, and that the caution had fallen perfectly. He added that his car had been running lap times faster than the leader in the middle of the race, even when the team was laps down. Ryan Blaney finished sixth and called it a satisfying day, since the team had fast cars. He said they had driven up through the field early but had given back too much track position later on.

Race statistics at a glance

Johnson led the most laps, 76, on his way to third place. Kyle Busch was fourth and Dillon fifth. Kurt Busch led 31 laps from the pole and finished ninth.

How was the race covered?

Fox Sports covered the race for its 16th time at Las Vegas. Mike Joy, the 2001 race winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip called the action from the booth.

The Performance Racing Network carried the radio call, simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice, Mark Garrow and Wendy Venturini called the race from the booth while the field ran through the tri-oval. Rob Albright and Pat Patterson called the action from billboards outside turns two and three, and Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum worked pit road for television.