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Keselowski downplays winning maneuver in first Chase race

Brad Keselowski sealed his fifth win of the season with a timely pass late at Chicagoland, but he's not resting on his laurels.

ONE RACE into the Chase and we already have a defining term: the "Keselowski Pass." This is not a scenic place out West.

Kevin Harvick and rookie Kyle Larson were dueling for the lead late in the Chase opener Sunday. When Harvick drove low on the track at Chicagoland Speedway and Larson went high, Keselowski darted between them with 16 laps remaining. The classic maneuver had the crowd roaring.

"I just saw a hole and I went for it," Keselowski said. "The 4 [Harvick] and the 42 [Larson] were racing really hard, doing all the things they needed to do. It just opened a hole. I didn't know if my car would stick or not, but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't try it."

The next Chase race is Sunday at New Hampshire. Guess who won the July race? Right, Keselowski. He's also won the last two Cup races. With a series-leading five victories, Keselowski is sizzling.

However, before everyone awards him his second Chase title, remember Matt Kenseth won last year's first two Chase races, led the points after five races, tied with Jimmie Johnson for the points lead after seven races, then finished runner-up to Johnson by 19 points.

Referring to Roger Penske, Keselowski said Sunday, "My boss would say, 'Don't read your own press clippings.' I want to enjoy the moment, but I still know there's 9 weeks to go. We have a bit of a hall pass for the next two, which I'm very appreciative.

"But those other seven, nobody cares that we won Chicago, nobody cares that we won Richmond or the other three races. It keeps resetting. You have to reset yourself. You have to keep developing the car and pushing as a team, whether it's on pit road, the car handling, spec, whatever it might be, or driver tactics.

"So I want to be thankful for today, but I know there's a long ways to go. [Winning] was about as much of a statement as you can make on a Week 1. I don't want to understate it, but certainly don't want to overstate it."

By winning, Keselowski automatically advances to the round of 12, to be determined after the third Chase race at Dover, Del.

Let's not forget an "atta boy!" for Larson following his great drive. Starting 42nd in a backup Chevrolet because he crashed in practice, Larson worked his way to the front and led 20 laps.

After Larson finished third, there was a nice moment when Jeff Gordon put his arm around Larson and spoke with him on pit road. Gordon said he just told Larson how proud he is of him.

"I think this kid is the real deal," Gordon said. "He's going to be a star in this series for a long time. I really wanted to see him win, because I like him and I know he's going to win a lot of races, but I also didn't want to see those other guys win.

"I'm a big fan. I like seeing young guys out there driving like that. That's so much fun. That's what this sport is all about. I just want to let him know what a great job I thought he did."

Larson said he appreciated Gordon's gesture.

"It means a lot," Larson said. "He gave me some advice on the restarts. I'm never out front really, I'm never on the front row, so I don't know what to do. You look at my Nationwide races, I'm maybe on the front row a handful of times. Then the Cup Series, another handful. I'm still learning that part of it.

"He came down to give me some advice, which was nice. I know Jeff thinks a lot about me and I think a lot about him, too. It was fun racing him. I definitely wanted to beat him. I was trying all I could. Just tried a little bit too hard."

Domestic bliss intact

Evidently, dishes were not bouncing off the walls of Danica Patrick's or boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s motor homes after their race cars made contact late in the Chicagoland race.

Running 18th with only 10 laps to go, Patrick suffered damage on the right front of her Chevrolet after she made contact with Stenhouse's Ford. She managed to finish 19th. Stenhouse was 17th.

"I heard my spotter [Brandon Benesch] say that the 14 [Tony Stewart] was below me on track, and I didn't know the 17 [Stenhouse] was there on the high side of the track," Patrick said. "My spotter took the blame on that one. I just didn't know Ricky was up there, and I obviously don't want to hit his car or anyone else with 10 laps to go. I talked with Ricky afterward, and we're fine. It's just a tough deal."

Interesting that in an e-mail to the media after the race from Stenhouse's team, Patrick was referred to as "a competitor" and not by name.

This week's race

Sylvania 300

New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H.

When: Sunday, 2 p.m.

TV/Radio: ESPN/WNPV (1440-AM)

Course: 1.058-mile oval

Distance: 301 laps/318.458 miles

Forecast: showers, upper 70s

Last year's winner: Matt Kenseth

Last year's pole: Ryan Newman, 136.497 mph

Track qualifying record: Kyle Busch, 138.13 mph (July 2014)

Track facts: Matt Kenseth led four times for 106 laps, including the final 53, in winning last year's race. Kyle Busch was second, Greg Biffle was third. Martin Truex Jr. led the second most laps (98), but finished 10th ... Brad Keselowski is first Ford driver in 14 Sprint Cup races to win at Chicagoland. He'll seek his third consecutive victory of the season Sunday. Rusty Wallace is the last Ford driver to compile a three-race Cup series winning streak, at Dover, Pocono and Michigan in June 1994 ... Jimmie Johnson (2003) and Kurt Busch ('04) are the only drivers to sweep at New Hampshire ... Thirteen drivers have won the last 13 races at the track ... Jeff Burton still has the most wins at New Hampshire (four). His last win at the track was 14 years ago. Chasers Kurt Busch, Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, plus Tony Stewart, are three-time winners. Gordon's last W at the track was in 1998.

Wins: Brad Keselowski, 5; Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Joey Logano, 3 each; Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards, 2 each; Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne, 1 each.

CHASE STANDINGS

1. Brad Keselowski 2,059

2. Jeff Gordon 2,052

3. Joey Logano 2,049

4. Kevin Harvick 2,047

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2,042

6. Jimmie Johnson 2,041

7. Kyle Busch 2,041

8. Denny Hamlin 2,041

9. Kurt Busch 2,039

10. Kasey Kahne 2,034

11. Matt Kenseth 2,034

12. Carl Edwards 2,030

13. Ryan Newman 2,029

14. AJ Allmendinger 2,025

15. Greg Biffle 2,021

16. Aric Almirola 2,007

Up next: AAA 400, Sept. 28, Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del., 2 p.m.; TV: ESPN; last year's winner: Jimmie Johnson.