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Brad Keselowski overcame two red flag delays for rain and a speeding penalty to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race in Phoenix.

The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang gave the team its first Series victory of the 2018 season and scored his second win at the Arizona oval. The victory was the 63rd all-time for Team Penske in NXS competition.

Keselowski beat Justin Allgaier to the finish line by .530 second.

Finishing third was  Kyle Busch and fourth was Christopher Bell.

“It was a solid team effort,” said Keselowski, who led 66 laps, second only to Allgaier’s 76. “I wasn’t perfect today by any stretch of the imagination, but the car was really strong.

“Really, really good for about 50-60 laps. The last 20 laps it would fall off pretty good but the guys made it count. I am really proud of them.”

Keselowski regained the lead on Lap 179 near the end of a long cycle of green flag pit stops and stayed comfortably ahead of Allgaier the rest of the way.

“It was disheartening to take the lead and fall back after the pit stop,” said Bell, whose car couldn’t keep up with those of his rivals on fresh tires. “I struggled on the short run getting up to speed, and those guys drove away from me.”

“I learned something from Brad running behind him,” said Allgaier, who chipped away at Keselowski’s lead before time ran out. “I was able to run him back down from what I learned.”

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NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – DC Solar 200

ISM Raceway

Avondale, Arizona

Saturday, March 10, 2018

1. (2) Brad Keselowski(i), Ford, 200.
2. (1) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
3. (5) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 200.
4. (4) Christopher Bell #, Toyota, 200.
5. (6) Jamie McMurray(i), Chevrolet, 200.
6. (8) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 200.
7. (9) Matt Tifft, Chevrolet, 200.
8. (3) Cole Custer, Ford, 200.
9. (24) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 199.
10. (40) Tyler Reddick #, Chevrolet, 199.
11. (10) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 199.
12. (17) Kaz Grala #, Ford, 199.
13. (14) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 199.
14. (12) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 199.
15. (7) Ryan Truex, Chevrolet, 199.
16. (13) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 199.
17. (15) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 199.
18. (11) Ryan Reed, Ford, 199.
19. (18) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 199.
20. (21) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 198.
21. (16) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 198.
22. (22) Alex Labbe #, Chevrolet, 198.
23. (20) Dylan Lupton, Ford, 198.
24. (19) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 197.
25. (23) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 197.
26. (26) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 196.
27. (27) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 195.
28. (31) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 195.
29. (28) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 194.
30. (34) Spencer Boyd #, Chevrolet, 194.
31. (32) Stephen Leicht, Toyota, 193.
32. (39) Josh Bilicki #, Toyota, 193.
33. (33) Vinnie Miller #, Chevrolet, 192.
34. (38) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 190.
35. (37) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, 185.
36. (36) Chad Finchum #, Toyota, Engine, 104.
37. (29) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Brakes, 56.
38. (35) Matt Mills #, Chevrolet, Accident, 54.
39. (30) David Starr, Chevrolet, Engine, 24.
40. (25) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Brakes, 18.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  103.019 mph.

Time of Race:  01 Hrs, 56 Mins, 29 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.530 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  4 for 24 laps.

Lead Changes:  10 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   J. Allgaier 1-10; B. Keselowski(i) 11-33; J. Allgaier 34-49; T. Reddick # 50-53; K. Busch(i) 54-92; J. Allgaier 93-142; B. Keselowski(i) 143-163; C. Bell # 164-168; T. Reddick # 169-170; K. Grala # 171-178; B. Keselowski(i) 179-200.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  J. Allgaier 3 times for 76 laps; B. Keselowski(i) 3 times for 66 laps; K. Busch(i) 1 time for 39 laps; K. Grala # 1 time for 8 laps; T. Reddick # 2 times for 6 laps; C. Bell # 1 time for 5 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 7,20,22,18,21,42,2,19,3,11

Stage #2 Top Ten: 18,21,00,42,11,23,7,24,38,20

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