After a eventful end to the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moved to Kentucky Motor Speedway for the Quaker State 400. After very limited practice time this week, and with a new rules package, it was bound to be a exciting night.
Brad Keselowski, who started second, wasted no time in passing polesitter Austin Dillon to take the lead, a lead that he would hold untill the first caution of the night came out at Lap 19 when J.J. Yeley spun Josh Wise into the wall.
Keselowski maintained his lead on the restart, a lead which he would hold untill the competition caution came out at Lap 30. Kyle Busch won the race off pit road to take his first lead of the night.
The next caution would be Lap 81 for debris in Turn 4. This gave the leaders a opportunity to make pit stops, as they were nearing the end of their pit window. Busch won the race off pit road to maintain his lead.
Keselowski finally caught Busch on Lap 91, and after a few laps of them battling for the lead, Keselowski finally cleared Busch to retake the lead.
The caution would return on Lap 99 when Kurt Busch spun in Turn 4. Keselowski would not pit, and would maintain his lead.
He would keep that lead until Lap 122 when Yeley brought out another caution, this time after he got loose and hit the wall. Keselowski had issues on pit road as his crew could not control his right front tire. They avoided a penalty because NASCAR ruled that the car hit the tire, causing it to roll away. Despite not getting a penalty, Keselowski still lost nine spots.
That mishap gave the lead back to Kyle Busch, who maintained it untill Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought out a caution at Lap 136 when he hit the wall. Busch would opt to not pit, which would maintain his lead.
Busch led the field back to green, but the green flag run only lasted a few laps before the caution returned, thanks to a crash involving Jeb Burton, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Matt Dibenedetto, and Tony Stewart.
Again, Busch would not pit, rather opting to maintain his track position. He led the field back to green on Lap 147. Again, the run would only last a few laps, as the caution returned on Lap 152 for debris in Turn 4.
The top-14, including Busch, would not pit, but Keselowski did, dropping him back to 18th place.
The leaders would catch a break on Lap 186 when the caution returned for more debris. The caution came right when the leaders were due to make green flag pit stops. Ryan Newman would stay out, and he would lead the field to green. Busch wasted no time retaking the lead on the restart, as Newman fell back to eighth place.
Danica Patrick hit the wall on Lap 207 thanks to contact from Dale Earnhardt Jr. Patrick then bumped Earnhardt on pit road, before both teams were penalized for having too many pit crew members over the wall. Patrick picked up an additional penalty for pitting too early.
Denny Hamlin gained the lead as he won the race off pit road. He would be tested immediately, as Edwards and Busch forced the action and made it a three wide race for the lead. Hamlin would hold the lead, despite the challenges untill Lap 220 when the caution came out due to Kyle Larson hitting the wall due to a tire rub. Patrick again got penalized for too many crewmen over the wall, her second offense of this penalty on the night.
Hamlin led the field to green, but got loose and dropped back to third. Joey Logano then took the lead. He would maintain that lead for a while, but on Lap 249, Busch passed Logano for good.
The last few laps passed without any further incidents, and Kyle Busch picked up his second win of the season after missing the first half of the season after breaking his leg in the season opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona.
NASCAR granted him an exception, meaning if he qualified for the chase on all other fronts, he would be eligible for the chase. After the win, he was only five spots away from being chase eligible. A remarkable feat for someone who only is running half the season.
The series now moves to New Hampshire next Sunday for the New Hampshire 301.