RICHMOND, Va. — Brad Keselowski dominated the Federated Auto Parts 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway, leading all but 17 of the 400 laps on his way to his fourth win of the season.
Keselowski’s 383 laps led included all laps from 127 to the checkered flag. He goes into the Chase for the Sprint Cup as the top seed.
Jeff Gordon finished second. Despite a third-place finish, Clint Bowyer missed taking the 16th and final Chase berth by seven points. That spot went to Greg Biffle, who finished 19th, two laps down.
Ryan Newman claimed the 15th Chase spot with a ninth-place finish in the race.
Jamie McMurray finished fourth at Richmond and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five.
Gordon was running second to Keselowski when a cycle of green flag pit stops got under way just past the halfway point. But after pitting two laps earlier and having fresher tires for two extra laps, Harvick cycled to second.
After a caution on lap 263, though, Harvick was unable to maintain second. Instead, he lost spots to Gordon, Bowyer and McMurray.
Bowyer ran second to Keselowski for several laps before Gordon retook the position on lap 325.
There were no caution-causing incidents on the track. The yellow flag waved four times throughout the race, once for a competition caution, twice for debris and the final time with about 70 laps to go when a fan tried to climb the catch-fence between the track and grandstands in turn four.
Keselowski and Harvick were the only race leaders in the first 200 laps, with Harvick ahead for 17 laps and Keselowski the other 183.
Keselowski started on the pole and led until he was passed by Harvick on lap 43. Harvick led two different times in the first half of the race, each time losing the lead on pit road during caution.
Harvick got off pit road third behind Keselowski and Gordon during a competition caution that came out on lap 50. He took second from Gordon on the restart and then the lead from Keselowski on lap 120.
Harvick, again, came off pit road third to Keselowski and Gordon during the second caution on lap 125. But unlike before, Harvick was unable to quickly make up the lost positions.