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Richmond NASCAR: Brad Keselowski dominates as 2014 Chase field set

Brad Keselowski dominated at Richmond to take his fourth win of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season as Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle clinched the final spots in the Chase

Chase outsider Clint Bowyer finished third behind Jeff Gordon after a determined drive in which he ran as high as second in pursuit of the win he needed to claim one of the remaining shootout places.

It was not enough for the Michael Waltrip Racing driver, and Newman and Biffle officially secured their own places in the Chase thanks to their superior points tallies.

Keselowski led 383 of the 400 laps from pole position, though he did have some competition.

Kevin Harvick closed on the 2012 Cup champion by running a high line early on and took the lead on lap 43.

Officials threw a competition caution after 50 laps to allow the teams to check tyre wear after rain had hit the track earlier on Saturday.

Keselowski reclaimed the lead in the pitstops and pulled away once more prior to being reeled in again by Harvick.

Gordon and Bowyer also closed on the leader before Matt Kenseth brought out the second caution with the only crash of the race.

The #20 Toyota speared into the wall after Kenseth lost the rear of the car while running the perilous high line on lap 120.

Keselowski would not lose the lead again as Harvick and Bowyer had slow stops, allowing Gordon to move into second.

Harvick complained bitterly about the handling of his Stewart-Haas Chevrolet thereafter and eventually faded to fifth, behind Jamie McMurray - another driver desperately seeking a first win that would seal a Chase position.

He made good ground early on, gaining seven places from 15th on the grid in the first 20 laps, but his progress then slowed.

Biffle endured a difficult race that saw him lapped by Keselowski on lap 204 and he had an anxious wait to see if Bowyer would beat him to the final Chase place. He ultimately finished 19th and claimed the spot by just seven points, while ninth sufficed for Newman.

After a long run of 131 laps the third caution came out for more debris on the track. The field had all pitted during the uninterrupted run and the order settled down.

Bowyer seized second on the restart as Keselowski pulled out his lead once more.

Gordon moved back into second on lap 315 before the final caution was thrown 24 laps later due to a spectator attempting to climb the Turn 4 catch fence.

Keselowski pulled away in the final run to the flag as he took Team Penske's 400th victory across all forms of competition and claimed the top seed heading into the 10-race Chase for this season's championship.

Results - 400 laps:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                     Time/Gap
 1.  Brad Keselowski     Penske Ford              2h51m55.000s
 2.  Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet            +0.797s
 3.  Clint Bowyer        Waltrip Toyota                +6.512s
 4.  Jamie McMurray      Ganassi Chevrolet             +8.538s
 5.  Kevin Harvick       Stewart-Haas Chevrolet        +8.757s
 6.  Joey Logano         Penske Ford                  +11.246s
 7.  Kurt Busch          Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       +12.368s
 8.  Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet           +12.911s
 9.  Ryan Newman         Childress Chevrolet          +14.266s
10.  Aric Almirola       Petty Ford                   +16.439s
11.  Kyle Larson         Ganassi Chevrolet            +16.956s
12.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet           +17.426s
13.  Brian Vickers       Waltrip Toyota               +17.579s
14.  Kyle Busch          Joe Gibbs Toyota             +18.984s
15.  Tony Stewart        Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       +19.222s
16.  Danica Patrick      Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       +22.454s
17.  Kasey Kahne         Hendrick Chevrolet             -1 lap
18.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet            -1 lap
19.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford             -2 laps
20.  Austin Dillon       Childress Chevrolet           -2 laps
21.  Denny Hamlin        Joe Gibbs Toyota              -2 laps
22.  Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford             -4 laps
23.  AJ Allmendinger     JTG Daugherty Chevrolet       -4 laps
24.  Reed Sorenson       Baldwin Chevrolet             -4 laps
25.  Martin Truex Jr     Furniture Row Chevrolet       -4 laps
26.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr  Roush Fenway Ford             -4 laps
27.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford                    -5 laps
28.  Justin Allgaier     HScott Chevrolet              -5 laps
29.  David Gilliland     Front Row Ford                -5 laps
30.  Cole Whitt          BK Toyota                     -6 laps
31.  Casey Mears         Germain Chevrolet             -6 laps
32.  Josh Wise           Parsons Chevrolet             -6 laps
33.  David Ragan         Front Row Ford                -6 laps
34.  Landon Cassill      Hillman Chevrolet             -6 laps
35.  Mike Bliss          Baldwin Chevrolet             -6 laps
36.  David Stremme       Circle Sport Chevrolet        -8 laps
37.  Michael Annett      Baldwin Chevrolet             -8 laps
38.  Alex Bowman         BK Toyota                     -9 laps
39.  Travis Kvapil       FAS Lane Ford                 -9 laps
40.  Joe Nemechek        NEMCO Toyota                 -12 laps
41.  Matt Kenseth        Joe Gibbs Toyota             -70 laps
42.  Ryan Truex          BK Toyota                    -87 laps

Retirements:

     JJ Yeley            BK Toyota                     31 laps
2014 Chase line-up

Brad Keselowski     Penske Ford              4 wins
Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet       3 wins
Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet       3 wins
Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet       3 wins
Joey Logano         Penske Ford              3 wins
Kevin Harvick       Stewart-Haas Chevrolet   2 wins
Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford        2 wins
Kasey Kahne         Hendrick Chevrolet       1 win
Kyle Busch          Joe Gibbs Toyota         1 win
Denny Hamlin        Joe Gibbs Toyota         1 win
Kurt Busch          Stewart-Haas Chevrolet   1 win
Aric Almirola       Petty Ford               1 win
AJ Allmendinger     JTG Daugherty Chevrolet  1 win
Matt Kenseth        Joe Gibbs Toyota         Points
Ryan Newman         Childress Chevrolet      Points
Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford        Points


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