Keselowski led 75 laps to pick up the victory in the South Point 400, the first playoff race of 2018. The win was his third in a row.
“To start off the playoffs with the win, that’s really strong,” Keselowski told NBCSN after the race. “We nailed the pit stops and the restarts when it counted and that put us in position. Really, really proud of the team today.”
Kyle Larson placed second while Martin Truex Jr. finished third.
Twelve playoff drivers were involved in collisions, including Kevin Harvick and Erik Jones, two top contenders, who were both knocked out on the 147th lap.
Harvick blew a tire and drifted into the back of Jones’ car. Both cars were ruled too damaged to continue the race.
Harvick entered the race as the No. 2 seed in the playoffs while Jones started on the pole.
“It’s unfortunate we had that happen,” Jones said to NBCSN after the wreck. “Nothing Kevin can do, nothing we can do. It’s not the situation we need to be in. We have some work to do now.”
Truex Jr. topped the leaderboard in Stage 1 while Keselowski was the Stage 2 winner. There were 12 cautions and 23 lead changes in the race
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup results at Las Vegas
Brad Keselowski Kyle Larson Martin Truex Jr. Joey Logano Ryan Blaney Aric Almirola Kyle Busch Daniel Suarez Ryan Newman Paul Menard Austin Dillon Regan Smith Trevor Bayne AJ Allmendinger Chris Buescher Corey Lajoie JJ Yeley Landon Cassill Alex Bowman Ross Chastain Kurt Busch Jimmie Johnson Clint Bowyer Matt DiBenedetto Jeffrey Earnhardt Kyle Weatherman David Ragan BJ McLeod Michael McDowell Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Reed Sorenson Denny Hamlin Timmy Hill Ty Dillon Jamie McMurray Chase Elliott William Byron Bubba Wallace Kevin Harvick Erik Jones
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