A late pass gives Martin Truex Jr. the win; Kyle Busch bloodied in fight on pit road.
LAS VEGAS — Martin Truex Jr. passed Brad Keselowski with two laps to go, avoiding a last-lap wreck that led to a pit-road brawl that left Kyle Busch bloodied in a wild NASCAR Cup finish Sunday.
An aggressive Joey Logano got into Busch, sending him spinning down pit road at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Moments later, Busch and Logano tangled, with crew members pulling Busch away as blood ran down his forehead.
“There wasn’t much talking, just a lot of swinging,” Logano said. “I was racing hard there at end.”
Asked if any blows were landed, Logano replied, “None to me.”
Busch was pulled up off the ground by crew members and taken to the infield care center to get his forehead checked. He was quickly treated and released.
“I got dumped. He flat out just drove straight in the corner and wrecked me,” Busch said. “That’s how Joey races, so he’s going to get it.”
The fight overshadowed a tough-luck finish for Keselowski, who appeared to be pulling away after a restart and on his way to his second win in as many weeks when he ran into mechanical problems.
“I just know it was something major,” he said. “It wouldn’t turn and I lost brakes.”
Truex passed him and held on to become the first driver to win all three segments in NASCAR Cup’s new stage racing.
Kyle Larson was second, followed by Chase Elliott, Logano and Keselowski.
Truex won the first two race stages and re-took the lead with 39 laps to go after a lengthy cycle of green-flag pit stops. After a hard-charging Keselowski went in front, Danica Patrick blew an engine, bringing out a caution.
Keselowski, who started from the pole, just beat Truex out of pit road after their four-tire stops. He chose the outside lane on the restart and shot ahead until his car slowed.
Denny Hamlin was sixth, followed by Ryan Blaney, Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer.
Jimmie Johnson was 11th, marking the first time since he became a full-time driver in 2002 that he has failed to have a top-10 finish in the first three races.
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