Edwards~Keselowski Controversy at Gateway NASCAR NW 7.17.10

Описание: At the expense of Nationwide Series points leader Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards won Saturday night's Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway, as Keselowski wrecked and took several hard hits just short of the finish line while battling Edwards for the lead.

As Edwards and Keselowski raced side-by-side off the final corner, contact between their two cars sent Keselowski hard into the outside wall, then across the track into the inside barrier, where Shelby Howard smashed into Keselowski's Dodge.

Edwards continued across the stripe, followed closely by Reed Sorenson. Pole-sitter Trevor Bayne ran third, Paul Menard fourth and Steve Wallace fifth. Keselowski was credited with a 14th-place finish after Howard knocked him across the finish line. NASCAR continued to review the finishing order at race's end.

The victory was Edwards' second of the season and the 27th of his career. The last-lap contact between Edwards and Keselowski appeared to be Edwards' payback for getting moved out of the lead by Keselowski a handful of laps from the finish.

Keselowski came to the pits on Lap 180 of 200 after Ryan Truex's spin in Turn 4 brought out the fourth caution of the race. Keselowski restarted sixth on Lap 184, as the five drivers ahead of him -- Bayne, Sorenson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Howard and Brian Scott -- elected to stay on the track.

By the time Kevin Harvick smacked the Turn 2 wall on Lap 188, Keselowski was running second behind Bayne.

Keselowski had his way with the race until a mistake during a green-flag cycle of pit stops cost him nearly four seconds.

Keselowski spun on the way to pit road on Lap 121 and came out third behind Harvick and Edwards, 3.9 seconds behind the leader. Edwards overtook Harvick on Lap 128, and Keselowski moved past Harvick for second five laps later.

On Lap 142, Keselowski slipped past Edwards for the lead, moments before NASCAR called the second caution of the race for debris in Turn 3. Edwards regained the lead on the subsequent restart and held it until Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Brad Coleman and Matt DiBenedetto collided in Turn 2 on Lap 151.